Complete mitochondrial genome of the darkling beetle Gonocephalum outreyi (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) with phylogenetic implications

The complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Gonocephalum outreyi was determined by using next-generation sequencing approach. The full length of this mitogenome is 15,836 bp, which consists of 37 typical metazoan mitochondrial genes with an identical genome organization to ancestral insects. The majority of the protein-coding genes begin with the codon ATN, except for cox1 and cox2 with AAT and AAA, respectively. To elucidate the phylogenetic position of G. outreyi, we used various sequence coding schemes for protein-coding genes and the combined nucleotide sequences of all mitochondrial genes for tree building under the Bayesian and Maximum Likelihood inferences. The phylogenetic results consistently supported G. outreyi as a member of the family Tenebrionidae. The monophyly of both Tenebrionoidea and Tenebrionidae were strongly supported. The Scraptiidae and Melandryidae were recovered to be non-monophyletic in regards to the Osphya. Within Tenebrionidae, the subfamilies Diaperinae and Tenebrioninae were found to be non-monophyletic. •The first study to reconstruct the complete mitogenome of Gonocephalum by NGS.•The full mitogenome of G. outreyi has an identical organization to ancestral insects.•The phylogenetic results supported Gonocephalum in the family Tenebrionidae.•The monophyly of both Tenebrionoidea and Tenebrionidae were strongly supported.•The subfamilies Diaperinae and Tenebrioninae were found to be non-monophyletic.