Phylogenetic Reconstructions Based on Mitogenomes Reveal the Paraphyly of the Subfamily Isotominae of Isotomidae (Collembola: Entomobryomorpha)

Our findings suggest that the current subfamily boundaries are not natural and that key diagnostic traits, such as furcal structure, likely reflect symplesiomorphies or various forms of homoplasy-including convergent evolution, parallelism, and evolutionary reversals-rather than unique synapomorphies defining monophyletic groups. This study provides essential genomic resources and highlights the need for an integrative taxonomic revision of Isotomidae that incorporates both molecular and morphological data, with particular emphasis on redefining subfamilies boundaries and reassessing diagnostic morphological traits.