The endemic Atlantochrysa atlantica (McLachlan) (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) on Atlantic Islands: African or American origin?

Atlantochrysa atlantica (McLachlan) is restricted to Madeira and the Canary Islands. To determine its origin, molecular and morphological methods were used to identify its closest relatives among 40 species of Chrysopidae in 23 genera. Phylogenetic analysis of nuclear DNA from PepCK, wg, and ATPase show monotypic Atlantochrysa in a clade that includes American Meleoma and African Cunctochrysa; within the clade, Atlantochrysa is the sister taxon of those two genera together. Adult morphology and proximity to Africa suggest an origin in Africa from a Cunctochrysa-like ancestor, while larval morphology and habits support an origin in the Western Hemisphere from a Meleoma-like ancestor. A Bayesian phylogenetic analysis places the origin of this clade at around 20 mya. Atlantochrysa probably evolved in the early Miocene from an African relative of either Cunctochrysa or Meleoma, or from a shared African ancestor of both genera lacking the trash-carrying suite of specialisations.