Evolution and classification of the ant subfamily Dolichoderinae from the phylogenomic perspective

The ubiquitous ant subfamily Dolichoderinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) is one of the "big four" subfamilies wherein most diversity is concentrated. Its members range from rare and specialized taxa, such as the perplexing subterranean Anillidris, to common and economically significant species such as the Argentine ant, Linepithema humile. However, our understanding of dolichoderine evolution and systematics has never been studied from a phylogenomic perspective; the last molecular phylogeny having been performed over a decade ago, using limited Sanger-sequenced loci and relatively limited taxon sampling. Here, we revisit the phylogeny of Dolichoderinae using a subgenomic ultraconserved elements under maximum likelihood and Bayesian frameworks and a variety of partitioning and coalescent approaches. We more than double taxon inclusion, sampling all but one genera, including several for which sequence data were previously unavailable. Our results partially recapitulate the current tribal and generic classification, while also revealing novel and sometimes surprising relationships, which we corroborate from morphology and address through taxonomic actions. We revise divergence dating estimates under an unresolved fossilized-birth-death model and greatly expanded fossil tip inclusion, and use this chronogram for historical biogeographic inference.