Abstract:

• Gomphomastacinae is a unique subfamily in Eumastacidae—distinct morphology and distributed in central Asia, far away from all other subfamilies in America.

• Our time-calibrated phylogeny based on mitogenomes confirmed the phylogenetic position of Gomphomastacinae and provided information for distinguishing alternative hypotheses regarding the biogeographic origin of this subfamily.

• The phylogeny also revealed that diversifications among this subfamily's alpine genera on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau are ancient pre-Miocene events, suggesting an in-situ adaptation process to high-altitude living.

Key words: divergence time, Eumastacidae, Gomphomastacinae, mitochondrial genome, phylogeny