Although scales are a defining and conspicuous feature of moths and butterflies (Lepidoptera), their earliest evolution predates the group but is shrouded by a dearth of fossil evidence. Herein, we report two new species in mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber, representing lineages closely related to Lepidoptera: one represents the extinct Tarachoptera, with dense scales on the fore- and hindwings, while the other is an early lineage of caddisflies, with a hindwing covered by a single layer of angustifoliate scales. A novel phylogenetic analysis of 174 morphological characters and 73 extant and fossil representatives of Mecopterida demonstrates a monophyletic origin of scales in the common ancestor of Tarachoptera, Trichoptera, and Lepidoptera; that Tarachoptera are monophyletic but their scale morphology is plesiomorphic for the whole group; and that scales were lost early in caddisfly evolution before reappearing multiple times within the clade. Collectively, these fossils provide clarity into the origin and early evolution of scales before their diversification among the moths and butterflies.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.06.086 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Natural and sexual selection and functional roles influence colouration but not the amount of variation in butterfly wing colour patterns.
BMC Ecol Evol
January 2025
National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, GKVK Campus, Bellary Road, Bengaluru, 560065, India.
Background: Trait variation is shaped by functional roles of traits and the strength and direction of selection acting on the traits. We hypothesized that in butterflies, sexually selected colouration is more variable owing to condition-dependent nature and directional selection on sexual ornaments, whereas naturally selected colouration may be less variable because of stabilising selection. We measured reflectance spectra, and extracted colour parameters, to compare the amount of variation in sexually versus naturally selected colour patches across wing surfaces and sexes of 20 butterfly species across 4 families (Nymphalidae, Papilionidae, Pieridae, Lycaenidae).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDorsoventral comparison of intraspecific variation in the butterfly wing pattern using a convolutional neural network.
Biol Lett
January 2025
Department of Agricultural and Environmental Biology, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Butterfly wing patterns exhibit notable differences between the dorsal and ventral surfaces, and morphological analyses of them have provided insights into the ecological and behavioural characteristics of wing patterns. Conventional methods for dorsoventral comparisons are constrained by the need for homologous patches or shared features between two surfaces, limiting their applicability across species. We used a convolutional neural network (CNN)-based analysis, which can compare images of the two surfaces without focusing on homologous patches or features, to detect dorsoventral bias in two types of intraspecific variation: sexual dimorphism and mimetic polymorphism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHawks, Doves, and Perissodus microlepis. Undermining the selected effects theory of function.
Hist Philos Life Sci
January 2025
Department Civilization and Forms of Knowledge, University of Pisa, Pisa, PI, Italy.
The selected effects theory is supposed to provide a fully naturalistic basis for statements about what biological traits or processes are for without appeal to final causes or intelligent design. On the selected effects theory, biologists are allowed to say, for instance, that hindwing eyespots on butterfly wings serve to deflect predators' attacks away from vital organs because a similar fitness-enhancing effect explains why eyespots themselves were favoured by natural selection and persisted in the population. This is known as the explanatory dimension of the selected effects theory.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFElevated Temperature Diminishes Reciprocal Selection in an Experimental Plant-Pollinator-Herbivore System.
Ecol Lett
January 2025
Department of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, University of Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland.
The geographic mosaic of coevolution predicts reciprocal selection, the first step in coevolution, to vary with changing biotic and abiotic environmental conditions. Studying how temperature affects reciprocal selection is essential to connect effects of global warming on the microevolutionary patterns of coevolution to the ecological processes underlying them. In this study, we investigated whether temperature influenced reciprocal selection between a plant (Brassica rapa) and its pollinating butterfly herbivore (Pieris rapae).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPacific Northwest native plants and native cultivars, part I: pollinator visitation.
Environ Entomol
January 2025
Horticulture Department, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA.
Planting native flora is a popular conservation strategy for pollinators. When searching for native plants, consumers may encounter cultivars of native plants, which can have different phenotypic traits than plants found in wild populations ("wild-type native plants"). Previous research evaluating pollinator visitation to wild-type native plants and native cultivars has yielded mixed results, in terms of whether their visitation rates are similar or distinct.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!