Adrián Villastrigo

Working on macroevolutionary patterns

SNSB - Zoologische Staatssammlung München (Munich, Germany)

Biography

My research has focused on the evolutionary patterns of habitat transitions in aquatic Coleoptera by combining molecular biology, ecology, and taxonomy. I am interested in understanding how biodiversity is assembled and the evolutionary processes behind it.

My current projects include:

Cryptic diversity in coastal habitats in the western Palaearctic region using supralittoral Ochthebius beetles.
Evolutionary dynamics across an extreme altitudinal gradient in Southeast Asia: from alpine to subterranean habitats
High-altitude water beetle evolution in the Andes Cordillera

Interests

Macroevolution
Ecology
Biodiversity
Water beetles

Education

PhD in Biodiversity, 2019

University of Barcelona / Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-UPF)
M.S. in Environmental hazards, 2014

University of León
BSc in Biology, 2013

University of León

Featured Publications

Phylogenetic placement and description of Ngaliadessus humphreysi gen. et sp. nov. Watts and Villastrigo (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae), a subterranean diving beetle from the Ngalia Basin in central Australia

The largest diversity in the world of subterranean diving beetles (Dytiscidae) has been discovered in underground waters of the Australian arid zone. The majority of species are from the Dytiscidae genera Limbodessus Guignot, 1939 (Bidessini) and Paroster Sharp, 1882 (Hydroporini) and are distributed within two major regions: calcrete islands of central Western Australia and the Ngalia Basin of the Northern Territory. Here, we use an integrative approach based on morphological and molecular analyses…

Watts C, Villastrigo A, Langille BL, Stringer DN, Bradford TM, Humpreys WF, Austin AD, Balke M, Cooper SJB

Phylogenetic placement and description of Ngaliadessus humphreysi gen. et sp. nov. Watts and Villastrigo (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae), a subterranean diving beetle from the Ngalia Basin in central Australia

New Caledonia’s enigmatic terrestrial diving beetle Typhlodessus monteithi is a derived species of Paroster

The classification of highly adapted species in well-studied clades may be obscured by convergent character evolution. This is for example the case in aquatic lineages adapted to subterranean (and shallow subterranean) habitats, in which species usually possess reduced eyes and wings as well as translucent cuticles. In 1985, the terrestrial diving beetle genus and species Typhlodessus monteithi Brancucci (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) was described from a shallow subterranean habitat in New Caledonia…

Villastrigo A, Deharveng L, Balke M

DOI

New Caledonia’s enigmatic terrestrial diving beetle Typhlodessus monteithi is a derived species of Paroster

Habitat preference and diversification rates in a speciose lineage of diving beetles

The long-term geological stability of aquatic habitats has been demonstrated to be a determinant in the evolution of macroinvertebrate fauna, with species in running (lotic) waters having lower dispersal abilities, smaller ranges and higher gene flow between populations than species in standing (lentic) environments. Lotic species have been hypothesized…

Villastrigo A, Abellán P, Ribera I

DOI

Habitat preference and diversification rates in a speciose lineage of diving beetles

The neglected diversity of the Ochthebius fauna from Eastern Atlantic and Central and Western Mediterranean coastal rockpools (Coleoptera, Hydraenidae)

We describe four species of Ochthebius subgenus Cobalius (Coleoptera, Hydraenidae) from coastal rockpools of the western Palaearctic Rregion: O. anzar sp. nov. (south Morocco, plus a dubious possible specimen from Lanzarote, Canary Islands), O. cortomaltese sp. nov. (Malta), O. evae sp. nov. (Atlantic coast of…

Villastrigo A, Hernando C, Millán A, Ribera I

DOI

The neglected diversity of the Ochthebius fauna from Eastern Atlantic and Central and Western Mediterranean coastal rockpools (Coleoptera, Hydraenidae)

Irreversible habitat specialization does not constrain diversification in hypersaline water beetles

Specialization to extreme environments is often considered an evolutionary dead-end, leading to irreversible adaptations and reduced evolvability. There is, however, mixed evidence for this macroevolutionary pattern, and limited data from speciose lineages. Here, we tested the effect of habitat specialization…

Villastrigo A, Arribas P, Ribera I

DOI

Irreversible habitat specialization does not constrain diversification in hypersaline water beetles

A molecular phylogeny of the tribe Ochthebiini (Coleoptera, Hydraenidae, Ochthebiinae)

Ochthebiinae, with c. 650 species distributed worldwide, are the second most speciose subfamily of the aquatic beetle family Hydraenidae. They are ecologically the most diverse hydraenid subfamily, with terrestrial species as well as species in almost all types of aquatic habitats, including hypersaline waters…

Villastrigo A, Jäch MA, Cardoso A, Valladares LF, Ribera I

DOI