Wahlberg, N. | bioRxiv Science

bioRxiv2018

Disarticulating and Reassembling Amphipyrinae (Lepidoptera, Noctuoidea, Noctuidae)

Amphipyrinae have long been a catchall taxon for Noctuidae, with most members lacking discernible morphological synapomorphies that would allow their assignment to one of the many readily diagnosable noctuid subfamilies. Here data from seven gene regions (>5,500 base pairs) for more than 120 noctuid genera are used to infer a phylogeny for Amphipyrinae and related subfamilies. Sequence data for 57 amphipyrine genera--most represented by the type species of the genus--are examined. Presented here are: the first large-scale molecular phylogenetic study of Amphipyrinae and largest molecular phylogeny of Noctuidae to date; several proposed nomenclatural changes for well supported results; and the identification of areas of noctuid phylogeny where greater taxon sampling and/or genomic-scale data are needed. Adult and larval morphology, along with life history traits, for taxonomic groupings most relevant to the results are discussed. Amphipyrinae are significantly redefined; many former amphipyrines, excluded as a result of these analyses, are reassigned to other noctuid subfamily-level taxa. Four genera, Chamaeclea Grote, Heminocloa Barnes & Benjamin, Hemioslaria Barnes & Benjamin, and Thurberiphaga Dyar are transferred to the tribe Chamaecleini Keegan & Wagner New Tribe in Acontiinae. Stiriina is elevated to Stiriinae Revised Status, Grotellina is elevated to Grotellinae Revised Status, and Annaphilina is elevated to Annaphilini Revised Status. Acopa Harvey is transferred to Bryophilinae, Aleptina Dyar is transferred to Condicinae, Leucocnemis Hampson and Oxycnemis gracillinea (Grote) are transferred to Oncocnemidinae, Nacopa Barnes & Benjamin is transferred to Noctuinae, and Narthecophora Smith is transferred to Stiriinae. Azenia Grote (and its subtribe Azeniina), Cropia Walker, Metaponpneumata Moschler, Sexserrata Barnes & Benjamin, and Tristyla Smith are transferred to Noctuidae incertae sedis. Hemigrotella Barnes & McDunnough (formerly in subtribe Grotellina) is retained in Amphipyrinae.\n\nThis published work has been registered in ZooBank, http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:4A140782-31BA-445A-B7BA-6EAB98ED43FA

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2018

The Trials and Tribulations of Priors and Posteriors in Bayesian Timing of Divergence Analyses: the Age of Butterflies Revisited

The need for robust estimates of times of divergence is essential for downstream analyses, yet assessing this robustness is still rare. We generated a time-calibrated genus-level phylogeny of butterflies (Papilionoidea), including 994 taxa, up to 10 gene fragments and an unprecedented set of 12 fossils and 10 host-plant node calibration points. We compared marginal priors and posterior distributions to assess the relative importance of the former on the latter. This approach revealed a strong influence of the set of priors on the root age but for most calibrated nodes posterior distributions shifted from the marginal prior, indicating significant information in the molecular dataset. We also tested the effects of changing assumptions for fossil calibration priors and the tree prior. Using a very conservative approach we estimated an origin of butterflies at 107.6 Ma, approximately equivalent to the Early Cretaceous-Late Cretaceous boundary, with a credibility interval ranging from 89.5 Ma (mid Late Cretaceous) to 129.5 Ma (mid Early Cretaceous). This estimate was robust to alternative analyses changing core assumptions. With 994 genera, this tree provides a comprehensive source of secondary calibrations for studies on butterflies.

evolutionary biology↗