Ancient Neotropical origin and recent recolonisation: Phylogeny, biogeography and diversification of the Riodinidae (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea)

Abstract

We present the first dated higher-level phylogenetic and biogeographic analysis of the butterfly family Riodinidae. This family is distributed worldwide, but more than 90% of the c. 1500 species are found in the Neotropics, while the c. 120 Old World species are concentrated in the Southeast Asian tropics, with minor Afrotropical and Australasian tropical radiations, and few temperate species. Morphologically based higher classification is partly unresolved, with genera incompletely assigned to tribes. Using 3666bp from one mitochondrial and four nuclear markers for each of 23 outgroups and 178 riodinid taxa representing all subfamilies, tribes and subtribes, and 98 out of 145 described genera of riodinids, we estimate that Riodinidae split from Lycaenidae about 96Mya in the mid-Cretaceous and started to diversify about 81Mya. The Riodinidae are monophyletic and originated in the Neotropics, most likely in lowland proto-Amazonia. Neither the subfamily Euselasiinae nor the Nemeobiinae are monophyletic as currently constituted. The enigmatic, monotypic Neotropical genera Styx and Corrachia (most recently treated in Euselasiinae: Corrachiini) are highly supported as derived taxa in the Old World Nemeobiinae, with dispersal most likely occurring across the Beringia land bridge during the Oligocene. Styx and Corrachia, together with all other nemeobiines, are the only exclusively Primulaceae-feeding riodinids. The steadily increasing proliferation of the Neotropical Riodininae subfamily contrasts with the decrease in diversification in the Old World, and may provide insights into factors influencing the diversification rate of this relatively ancient clade of Neotropical insects.

The first complete genomes of Metalmarks and the classification of butterfly families

“…It is possible that the additional GSTs and CP450s in Calycopis and Calephelis are related to their ability to feed on more toxic foods not palatable to other species: Calycopis species are known to be detritivores. Although Calephelis do not feed on detritus, they survive well on old and even partly rotten leaves (Kendall, 1959) and the sister genus of Calephelis , Detritivora , is a detritus feeder (Espeland et al, 2015; Hall and Harvey, 2002). …”

“…We used default values for all other parameters. We used two calibration points: one is the fossil of butterfly dated to the late Paleocene Fur Formation (56 million years ago) (Grimaldi and Engel, 2005), and thus the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of butterflies should have originated more than 56 million years ago (Mya); another is the MRCA of Lycaenidae and Riodinidae, which was previously dated to the around 88 Mya, with a 95% confidence interval of 73.2–102.5 Mya (Espeland et al, 2015). …”

“…The only remaining butterfly family without a reference genome, the Metalmarks (Riodinidae) includes about 1500 species, mostly in the Neotropics (Espeland et al, 2015; Zhang, 2013). Traditionally placed phylogenetically closest to the Blues (Lycaenidae) (De Jong et al, 1996), Metalmarks are rather small butterflies known for exceptional diversity of wing shapes, colors, and patterns (DeVries, 1997; Espeland et al, 2015).…”

“…Traditionally placed phylogenetically closest to the Blues (Lycaenidae) (De Jong et al, 1996), Metalmarks are rather small butterflies known for exceptional diversity of wing shapes, colors, and patterns (DeVries, 1997; Espeland et al, 2015). While most possess typical roundish wings, some have wings that are irregular, angular and even with long tails as in Papilionidae.…”

“…Many Metalmarks are patterned with metallic spots, hence the name. Taxonomically, Metalmarks are sometimes treated as a subfamily of Blues (Lycaenidae) (Ackery et al, 1999; Ehrlich, 1958; Scott, 1986), although most recent studies, including those based on DNA work, assigned family ranks to Metalmarks (Espeland et al, 2015; Robbins, 1988; Wahlberg et al, 2005; Zhang, 2013). Due to all these reasons, Metalmarks are interesting targets for comparative genomics.…”