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1887 engraving of Prodryas persephone, a fossil Lepidopteran from the Eocene.

Prehistoric Lepidoptera are both butterflies and moths that lived before recorded history. The fossil record for Lepidoptera is lacking in comparison to other winged species, and tending not to be as common as some other insects in the habitats that are most conducive to fossilization, such as lakes and ponds, and their juvenile stage has only the head capsule as a hard part that might be preserved. The location and abundance of the most common moth species are indicative that mass migrations of moths occurred over the Palaeogene North Sea, which is why there is a serious lack of moth fossils.[1] Yet there are fossils, some preserved in amber and some in very fine sediments. Leaf mines are also seen in fossil leaves, although the interpretation of them is tricky.[2]

Putative fossil stem group representatives of Amphiesmenoptera (the clade comprising Trichoptera and Lepidoptera) are known from the Triassic. [3]: 567  The earliest known fossil lepidopteran is Archaeolepis mane from the Jurassic, about 190 million years ago in Dorset, UK.[2] The fossil belongs to a small primitive moth-like species, and its wings are showing scales with parallel grooves under a scanning electron microscope and a characteristic wing venation pattern shared with Trichoptera (Caddisflies).[2] Only two more sets of Jurassic lepidopteran fossils have been found, as well as 13 sets from the Cretaceous, which all belong to primitive moth-like families.[2] Many more fossils are found from the Tertiary, and particularly the Eocene Baltic amber. The oldest genuine butterflies of the superfamily Papilionoidea have been found in the Paleocene MoClay or Fur Formation of Denmark. The best preserved fossil lepidopteran is the Eocene Prodryas persephone from the Florissant Fossil Beds.

Phylogeny

Phylogenetic hypothesis of major lepidopteran lineages superimposed on the geologic time scale. Angiosperm radiation spans 130-95 mya from the earliest angiosperms, to angiosperm domination of vegetation.

Lepidoptera and Trichoptera (caddisflies) are more closely related than any other taxa, sharing many similarities that are lacking in other insect orders; for example the females of both orders are heterogametic, meaning they have two different sex chromosomes, whereas in most species the males are heterogametic and the females have two identical sex chromosomes. The adults in both orders display a particular wing venation pattern on their forewings. The larvae of both orders have mouth structures and gland with which they make and manipulate silk. Willi Hennig grouped the two sister orders into the Amphiesmenoptera superorder. This group probably evolved in the Jurassic, having split from the now extinct order Necrotaulidae.[2]

Micropterigidae, Agathiphagidae and Heterobathmiidae are the oldest and most basal lineages of Lepidoptera. The adults of these families do not have the curled tongue or proboscis, that are found in most members order, but instead have chewing mandibles adapted for a special diet. Micropterigidae larvae feed on leaves, fungi, or liverworts (much like the Trichoptera).[4] Adult Micropterigidae chew the pollen or spores of ferns. In the Agathiphagidae, larvae live inside kauri pines and feed on seeds. In Heterobathmiidae the larvae feed on the leaves of Nothofagus, the southern beech tree. These families also have mandibles in the pupal stage, which help the pupa emerge from the seed or cocoon after metamorphosis.[4]

The Eriocraniidae have a short coiled proboscis in the adult stage, and though they retain their pupal mandibles with which they escaped the cocoon, their mandibles are non-functional thereafter.[4] Most of these non-ditrysian families, are primarily leaf miners in the larval stage. In addition to the proboscis, there is a change in the scales among these basal lineages, with later lineages showing more complex perforated scales.[2]

With the evolution of the Ditrysia in the mid-Cretaceous, there was a major reproductive change. The Ditrysia, which comprise 98% of the Lepidoptera, have two separate openings for reproduction in the females (as well as a third opening for excretion), one for mating, and one for laying eggs. The two are linked internally by a seminal duct. (In more basal lineages there is one cloaca, or later, two openings and an external sperm canal.) Of the early lineages of Ditrysia, Gracillarioidea and Gelechioidea are mostly leaf miners, but more recent lineages feed externally. In the Tineoidea, most species feed on plant and animal detritus and fungi, and build shelters in the larval stage.[2]

The Yponomeutoidea is the first group to have significant numbers of species whose larvae feed on herbaceous plants, as opposed to woody plants.[2] They evolved about the time that flowering plants underwent an expansive adaptive radiation in the mid-Cretaceous, and the Gelechioidea that evolved at this time also have great diversity. Whether the processes involved co-evolution or sequential evolution, the diversity of the Lepidoptera and the angiosperms increased together.

In the so-called "Macrolepidoptera", which constitutes about 60% of lepidopteran species, there was a general increase in size, better flying ability (via changes in wing shape and linkage of the forewings and hindwings), reduction in the adult mandibles, and a change in the arrangement of the crochets (hooks) on the larval prolegs, perhaps to improve the grip on the host plant.[2] Many also have tympanal organs, that allow them to hear. These organs evolved eight times, at least, because they occur on different body parts and have structural differences.[2] The main lineages in the Macrolepidoptera are the Noctuoidea, Bombycoidea, Lasiocampidae, Mimallonoidea, Geometroidea and Rhopalocera. Bombycoidea plus Lasiocampidae plus Mimallonoidea may be a monophyletic group.[2] The Rhopalocera, comprising the Papilionoidea (butterflies), Hesperioidea (skippers), and the Hedyloidea (moth-butterflies), are the most recently evolved.[4] There is quite a good fossil record for this group, with the oldest skipper dating from 56 million years ago.[2]

Recorded species

This is a list of all recorded fossil Lepidoptera species.[5][6][7][8][9][10]

Excluded from Lepidoptera

Order Trichoptera Family Eocoronidae Tindale, 1981

Order Mecoptera

Superfamily unassigned

Butterflies

Family Hesperiidae

Family Lycaenidae

Family Nymphalidae

Family Papilionidae

1898 illustration of Doritites bosniackii
1898 illustration of Doritites bosniackii

Family Pieridae

Family Riodinidae

Moths

Family Adelidae

Family Archaeolepidae

Family Arctiidae

Family Autostichidae

Family Bucculatricidae

Family Castiniidae

Family Copromorphidae

Family Cossidae

Family Curvicubitidae Hong, 1984

Family Elachistidae

Superfamily Eolepidopterigoidea Family Eolepidopterigidae

Family Ethmiidae

Family Geometridae

Family Gracillariidae

Family Heliodinidae

Family Hepialidae

Family Incurvariidae

Family Lymantriidae

Family Lyonetiidae

Family Mesokristenseniidae Huang, Nel & Minet, 2010

Family Micropterigidae

Family Nepticulidae

  • Foliofossor Jarzembowski, 1989
    • Foliofossor cranei Jarzembwoski, 1989 (England, Paleocene, described from mines in Platanus) (originally placed in Agromyzidae)
  • Stigmellites Kernbach, 1967
    • Stigmellites araliae (Fric, 1882) was described from a fossil mine in a Araliaceae species. It was found in the Czech Republic.
    • Stigmellites baltica (Kozlov, 1988) was described from a fossil mine in Baltic amber dated to the Eocene
    • Stigmellites caruini-orientalis Straus, 1977 was described from a fossil mine in Carpinus orientalis fossilis species dated to the Pliocene. It was found in Hessen, Germany.
    • Stigmellites heringi Kernbach, 1967 was described from a fossil mine in a Berberis species dated to the Pliocene. It was found in Hessen, Germany.
    • Stigmellites kzyldzharica (Kozlov, 1988) was described from a fossil mine in a Platanus species. It was found in Kazakhstan.
    • Stigmellites messelensis Straus, 1976 was described from a fossil mine dated to the Eocene. It was found in Messel, Germany.
    • Stigmellites pliotityrella Kernbach, 1967 was described from a fossil mine in Fagus silvatica dated to the Pliocene. It was found in Hessen, Germany.
    • Stigmellites samsonovi Kozlov, 1988 was described from a fossil mine in Trochodendroides arctica. It was found in Kazakhstan.
    • Stigmellites serpentina (Kozlov, 1988) was described from a fossil mine in Trochodendroides arctica. It was found in Kazakhstan.
    • Stigmellites sharovi (Kozlov, 1988) was described from a fossil mine in Trochodendroides arctica. It was found in Kazakhstan.
    • Stigmellites tyshchenkoi (Kozlov, 1988) was described from a fossil mine in Platanus latior. It was found in Kazakhstan.
    • Stigmellites zelkovae Straus, 1977 was described from a fossil mine in a Zelkova species dated to the Pliocene. It was found in Hessen, Germany.

Family Noctuidae

Family Notodontidae

Family Pterophoridae

Family Psychidae

Family Oecophoridae

Family Pyralidae

Family Saturniidae

Family Sphingidae

Family Symmocidae

Family Tineidae

Family Tortricidae

Family Yponomeutidae

Family Zygaenidae

See also

References

  1. ^ Rust, Jest (2000). "Palaeontology: Fossil record of mass moth migration". Nature. 405 (6786): 530–531. doi:10.1038/35014733. PMID 10850702. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Grimaldi, D. and Engel, M. S. (2005). Evolution of the Insects. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-82149-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Powell, Jerry A. (2009). "Lepidoptera". In Resh, Vincent H.; Cardé, Ring T. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Insects (2 (illustrated) ed.). Academic Press. pp. 557–587. ISBN 9780123741448. Retrieved 14 November 2010. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |chapterurl= (help)
  4. ^ a b c d Scoble, Malcolm J. (September 1995). "2". The Lepidoptera: Form, Function and Diversity (1 ed.). Oxford University: Oxford University Press. pp. 4–5. ISBN 0198549520.
  5. ^ Las Mariposas Fósiles
  6. ^ Handbuch der Zoologie
  7. ^ leptree
  8. ^ Die Psychidae des baltischen Bernsteins
  9. ^ Lepidoptera Genera
  10. ^ LepIndex

External links

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