Elusive ditrysian phylogeny: an account of combining systematized morphology with molecular data (Lepidoptera)

Abstract

BackgroundDitrysia comprise close to 99 % of all butterflies and moths. The evolutionary relationships among the ditrysian superfamilies have received considerable attention in phylogenetic studies based on DNA and transcriptomic data, but the deepest divergences remain for large parts unresolved or contradictory. To obtain complementary insight into the evolutionary history of the clade, and to test previous hypotheses on the subdivision of Ditrysia based on morphology, we examine the morphology of larvae, pupae and adult males and females of 318 taxa representing nearly all ditrysian superfamilies and families. We present the most comprehensive morphological dataset on Ditrysia to date, consisting of over 500 morphological characters. The data are analyzed alone and combined with sequence data (one mitochondrial and seven nuclear protein-coding gene regions, sequenced from 422 taxa). The full dataset consists of 473 exemplar species. Analyses are performed using maximum likelihood methods, and parsimony methods for the morphological dataset. We explore whether combining morphological data and DNA-data can stabilize taxa that are unstable in phylogenetic studies based on genetic data only.ResultsMorphological characters are found phylogenetically informative in resolving apical nodes (superfamilies and families), but characters serving as evidence of relatedness of larger assemblages are few. Results include the recovery of a monophyletic Tineoidea, Sesioidea and Cossoidea, and a stable position for some unstable taxa (e.g. Epipyropidae, Cyclotornidae, Urodoidea + Schreckensteinioidea). Several such taxa, however, remain unstable even though morphological characters indicate a position in the tree (e.g. Immidae). Evidence supporting affinities between clades are suggested, e.g. a novel larval synapomorphy for Tineidae. We also propose the synonymy of Tineodidae with Alucitidae, syn. nov.ConclusionsThe large morphological dataset provides information on the diversity and distribution of morphological traits in Ditrysia, and can be used in future research on the evolution of these traits, in identification keys and in identification of fossil Lepidoptera. The “backbone” of the phylogeny for Ditrysia remains largely unresolved. As previously proposed as an explanation for the scarcity of molecular signal in resolving the deeper nodes, this may be due to the rapid radiation of Ditrysia in the Cretaceous.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-015-0520-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A global checklist of the Bombycoidea (Insecta: Lepidoptera)

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First records of Elachistinae from New Caledonia: evidence of repeated dispersal events with Australia (Lepidoptera, Gelechioidea, Elachistidae)

“…Nevertheless, by all evidence available Gelechioidea are much younger than the most ancient lepidopteran group, Micropterigidae. Gelechioidea is, according to the current hypothesis, a fairly recent group of Lepidoptera belonging to the clade Apoditrysia, possibly the first branch of the 'advanced' crown group of Lepidoptera, the Obtectomera (Mutanen et al 2010, Bazinet et al 2013, Heikkilä et al 2015. It seems reasonable that the possible sister-species level link between New Caledonian and Australian elachistine taxa is a result of rather recent, repeated colonization events, while the biogeography of Micropterigidae, a truly old group, can better be explained by ancient tectonic events as postulated by Gibbs and Lees (2014).…”

Re-examining the rare and the lost: a review of fossil Tortricidae (Lepidoptera)

“…The phylogenetic position of Tortricidae and their closest relatives are not known for certain (e.g. Mutanen et al 2010;Regier et al 2012;Kawahara & Breinholt 2014;Timmermans et al 2014;Heikkilä et al 2015;Fagua et al 2017). Also, the re-examination of fossils in other groups is still in progress and identifications in those families remain unverified.…”

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