Mitogenomic evidence reveals convergent evolution of minute eyeless soil-dwelling weevils in Mesoamerica and the Mediterranean (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

We describe and illustrate two new species of minute, eyeless, soil-dwelling weevils, each representing a new monotypic genus: Kisin akabali Barrios-Izs & Morrone, gen. et sp. n., from Guatemala, and Xadarhinus dofoi Barrios-Izs & Morrone, gen. et sp. n., from Mexico. Mitogenomic phylogenetic analyses recover these genera, together with the similarly eyeless Yagder serratus from Mexico and two additional undescribed Mexican specimens, as a deeply divergent lineage outside the clade of the "higher" Curculionidae. Despite their striking morphological resemblance to the minute, flightless, and eyeless Mediterranean Raymondionyminae, this newly recognized Mesoamerican lineage is phylogenetically distant from them, representing a remarkable example of convergent evolution. No available family-group name can be confidently assigned to this lineage. Pending a more comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of Curculionoidea, we therefore treat it as Curculionidae incertae sedis.