Phylogenetic systematics, diversification, and biogeography of Cerurinae (Lepidoptera: Notodontidae) and a description of a new genus

Abstract

We present the first dated molecular phylogeny of the Cerurinae moths (Notodontidae), based on sequence data for 666 loci generated by anchored hybrid enrichment. Monophyly of Cerurinae is corroborated, which includes the following genera: Pararethona Janse, Pseudorethona Janse, Oreocerura Kiriakoff, stat. rev., Cerurella Kiriakoff, Notocerura Kiriakoff, Hampsonita Kiriakoff, Afrocerura Kiriakoff, Cerurina Kiriakoff, Neoharpyia Daniel, Furcula Lamarck, Neocerura Matsumura, Americerura St Laurent and Goldstein, gen. nov., Cerura Schrank, and Kamalia Koçak & Kemal. The type species of the Neotropical genus Tecmessa Burmeister, T. annulipes (Berg), which had been incorrectly assigned to Cerurinae, is recovered in Heterocampinae; and Americeruragen. nov. is proposed to receive 17 unambiguously cerurine species transferred from Tecmessa. Divergence time estimates recover a crown age of Notodontidae roughly coincident with the K-Pg boundary, and a late-Oligocene crown age for Cerurinae. An African origin is inferred for Cerurinae, followed by colonization of the Palearctic, the Americas, Indomalaya, and Australasia during the Miocene. At least three independent colonizations of the Americas are inferred, one in the mid-Miocene associated with ancestral Americeruragen. nov. and two in the Pliocene and Pleistocene within Furcula. We hypothesize that the global spread of Cerurinae was enabled by that of its primary caterpillar foodplants in the Salicaceae. State-dependent diversification analyses suggest that cerurines diversified most rapidly in temperate climates.

Bark-feeding Kamalia priapus (Lepidoptera: Notodontidae) damaging Homalium ceylanicum trees in Vietnam

“…2a, b). This identification was confirmed through comparison with those previously provided by Schintlmeister (2008) andSt Laurent et al (2023). The characteristic features, as determined through the morphological examination of 38 specimens, are described as follows:…”

“…The process lead to the successful collection of pupae, adults and eggs. The identification of 38 adult specimens was carried out using the identification keys provided in Schintlmeister (2008) andSt Laurent et al (2023). These specimens were then deposited in the insect collection of the FPRC in Hanoi, Vietnam.…”

“…Among which, K. priapus (type locality: N. Vietnam, Cuc Phuong Nat. Park, 120 km SW Hanoi) is widely distributed in Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Southern China (Schintlmeister 1997;Sondhi et al 2006;Schintlmeister 2008;Hideki and Masaru 2016;St Laurent et al 2023). Potential host plants for K. priapus could be species of the Salicaceae family (St Laurent et al 2023).…”

“…Park, 120 km SW Hanoi) is widely distributed in Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Southern China (Schintlmeister 1997;Sondhi et al 2006;Schintlmeister 2008;Hideki and Masaru 2016;St Laurent et al 2023). Potential host plants for K. priapus could be species of the Salicaceae family (St Laurent et al 2023). In China, successful breeding which was conducted on Populus and Salix trees was achieved using eggs sourced from Vietnam (Schintlmeister 2008).…”

Biogeographic–tectonic calibration of 14 nodes in a butterfly timetree

“…Most current studies of biogeography use the same method to analyse spatial aspects of evolution (adopting a priori areas and using one or more "ancestral area" algorithms), and the same method to establish the time line of evolution (using fossil calibrations to give maximum clade ages). This is seen in many recent studies on Lepidoptera (for example, Kodandaramaiah et al, 2018;Toussaint et al, 2019Toussaint et al, , 2021aToussaint et al, , 2021bCrews and Esposito, 2020;Chazot et al, 2021;Krupitsky et al, 2021;Matos-Marav ı et al, 2021;Usami et al, 2021;Zhao et al, 2022;St Laurent et al, 2023). Biogeography would benefit from a greater diversity of approaches, as the current methods of area analysis and dating analysis have serious shortcomings (see introductory sections, above).…”