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.2015 Feb 4;15(1):12.
doi: 10.1186/s12862-015-0290-8.

The fossil record and taphonomy of butterflies and moths (Insecta, Lepidoptera): implications for evolutionary diversity and divergence-time estimates

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The fossil record and taphonomy of butterflies and moths (Insecta, Lepidoptera): implications for evolutionary diversity and divergence-time estimates

Jae-Cheon Sohn et al. BMC Evol Biol..

Abstract

Background: It is conventionally accepted that the lepidopteran fossil record is significantly incomplete when compared to the fossil records of other, very diverse, extant insect orders. Such an assumption, however, has been based on cumulative diversity data rather than using alternative statistical approaches from actual specimen counts.

Results: We reviewed documented specimens of the lepidopteran fossil record, currently consisting of 4,593 known specimens that are comprised of 4,262 body fossils and 331 trace fossils. The temporal distribution of the lepidopteran fossil record shows significant bias towards the late Paleocene to middle Eocene time interval. Lepidopteran fossils also record major shifts in preservational style and number of represented localities at the Mesozoic stage and Cenozoic epoch level of temporal resolution. Only 985 of the total known fossil specimens (21.4%) were assigned to 23 of the 40 extant lepidopteran superfamilies. Absolute numbers and proportions of preservation types for identified fossils varied significantly across superfamilies. The secular increase of lepidopteran family-level diversity through geologic time significantly deviates from the general pattern of other hyperdiverse, ordinal-level lineages.

Conclusion: Our statistical analyses of the lepidopteran fossil record show extreme biases in preservation type, age, and taxonomic composition. We highlight the scarcity of identified lepidopteran fossils and provide a correspondence between the latest lepidopteran divergence-time estimates and relevant fossil occurrences at the superfamily level. These findings provide caution in interpreting the lepidopteran fossil record through the modeling of evolutionary diversification and in determination of divergence time estimates.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Proportional representation of 4,593 lepidopteran fossils categorized by preservational type, abundance, age, and associated locality, documented in Sohn et al. [32]. (A), Proportional representation of preservational types in the lepidopteran body-fossil record (N = 4,262).(B), Proportional representation of trace-fossil types in the lepidopteran fossil record (N = 331).(C), Frequency distribution of lepidopteran body and trace fossils (N = 4,561) by geochronologic age, preservational type, abundance, and number (N = 145) of lepidopteran-bearing localities. The age of Baltic Amber is taken as middle Eocene, discussed in Labandeira [74], and the overall geochronology is after Gradstein et al. [36], indicated by the scale bar at bottom, in millions of years. Abbreviations: Mid, Middle; Pal, Paleocene; Olig., Oligocene; Pl, Pliocene; the Pleistocene + Holocene occurs to the right of the Pliocene.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Fossil records of lepidopteran superfamilies arranged by recent molecular phylogenetic studies. Circles on vertical lines indicate important fossil occurrences, representing from one occurrence to a temporally constrained cluster of multiple occurrences present within an approximate 5 million-year interval. White circles indicate putative fossil identifications; gray circles indicate the fossil identifications based on reasonable evidence. The solid vertical lines spanning geologic time indicate definitive fossil evidence, whereas dashed line segments represent no or unreliable fossil evidence. The numbers within the circles were assigned successively along each lineage from lower left to upper right of the cladogram; see Additional file 1 for details. The “stars” indicate the divergence time estimates by Wahlberg et al. [15]: crown group (solid stars) or stem group ages (open stars). The cladogram and higher-group labels in left column follow Regier et al. [40] with a few modifications for topologically unstable superfamilies. A few minor superfamilies such as Douglasioidea, Simaethistoidea, and Whalleyanoidea were omitted. The age of Baltic Amber is taken as middle Eocene, discussed in Labandeira [74], the overall geochronology is after Gradstein et al. [36]. Abbreviation: Ma, millions of years.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Family-level diversity of the Lepidoptera and Amphiesmenoptera (Lepidoptera + Trichoptera). Modern data for the Amphiesmenoptera is from Labandeira [44], shown as yellow circles; a mid 1990’s understanding of Lepidopteran history is from Labandeira [44], as purple circles; and current understanding of lepidopteran history is from Sohn et al. [32], as orange circles. The range-through method tabulating occurrence data was used, with data plotted at interval midpoints [9]. The age of Baltic Amber is taken as middle Eocene, discussed in Labandeira [74]; the geochronology at bottom is after Gradstein et al. [36]. The scale bar at bottom designates geologic time, in millions of years. Abbreviations: 1, Pliocene; 2, Pliocene + Pleistocene + Holocene.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Family-level diversity of four major, ordinal-level, holometabolous lineages. Symbols for ordinal-level lineages: Trichoptera, purple; Coleoptera, blue; Diptera, brown; and Hymenoptera, green. All data were sourced from Labandeira [44], with updates. The range-through method was used, with data plotted at interval midpoints [9]. The age of Baltic Amber is taken as middle Eocene, discussed in Labandeira [74]; the geochronology at bottom is after Gradstein et al. [36]. The scale bar designates geologic time, in millions of years. Abbreviations: 1, Pliocene; and 2, Pleistocene + Holocene.
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References

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