Biogeography of the heart of Melanesia

新几内亚是美拉尼西亚的中心，动植物种类繁多。这种多样性通常归因于复杂的地质过程，这些地质过程形成了复合的新几内亚大陆，特别是在过去的约2500万年里。以前，我们的经验表明，在过去的几百万年里，大规模的中央造山运动是谱系多样化的一个重要动力。我们已经揭示了从高地到低地再到低地的复杂栖息地迁移模式，以及相对较近的、大规模的、正在进行的水生甲虫在新几内亚的多样化。在这里，我们关注一个悬而未决的问题，即在可能更古老的西巴布亚中央高地发生多样化事件的时间，以及在附属于这些山脉的蛇绿岩带中可能存在的古老谱系。生物学家以前从未去过这个地区，我们看到了一个独特的机会，可以填补地图上的空白，并提供数据，以更好地了解不同地质地形在多样化生物群进化中的作用。

New Guinea is the heart of Melanesia and truly megadiverse in terms of flora and fauna. This diversity has often been attributed to complex geological processes that have shaped the composite New Guinea landmass, especially over the past c. 25 million years. Previously, we have empirically shown that the massive central orogeny during the past few million years was one important motor for lineage diversification. We have revealed complex patterns of habitat shifts from highlands to lowlands and back, and a comparably recent, massive, and ongoing diversification of aquatic beetles across New Guinea. Here, we focus on an open question, i.e. the timing of diversification events in the presumably older west Papuan central highlands and the possible existence of ancient lineages in the Ophiolite belt attached to these mountains. This area has never been visited by biologists before, and we see a unique opportunity to virtually fill a white spot on the map and provide data to better understand the role of different geological terranes in the evolution of a diverse biota.