The complete mitochondrial genome of Philus pallescens Bates, 1866 (Coleoptera: Vesperidae) and its phylogenetic implications

We sequenced and assembled the complete mitochondrial genome of Philus pallescens from Madou, Tainan County, Taiwan. The complete mitogenome of P. pallescens is 15,750 bp long, and contains 13 protein-coding, 22 tRNA and two rDNA genes. Nucleotide compositions of the mitogenome of P. pallescens are A: 38.08%, T: 32.25%, C: 18.67%, and G: 11.00%. The AT and GC skewness of the mitogenome sequence were 0.0828 and −0.25845 respectively, showing the genome composition skewed toward adenine and cytosine. The phylogenetic position of Chrysomelidae is sister to all the other families in the superfamily Chrysomeloidea. The results indicate that Chrysomeloidea Cerambycidae is not a monophyletic group. Philus is phylogenetically close to Spiniphilus. Vesperidae is monophyletic and sister to Disteniidae. Mitogenomic data from this study will provide useful information for further studies on the population genetics, speciation, and pest management of P. pallescens.