The Lepidoptera fossil record encompasses all 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. 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. [1] Putative fossil stem group representatives of Amphiesmenoptera (the clade comprising Trichoptera and Lepidoptera) are known from the Triassic. [2] : 567
Previously, the earliest known lepidopteran fossils were three wings of Archaeolepis mane , a primitive moth-like species from the Jurassic, about 190 million years ago, found in Dorset, UK, which show scales with parallel grooves under a scanning electron microscope and a characteristic wing venation pattern shared with Trichoptera (caddisflies). [3] [4] In 2018, the discovery of exquisite fossilised scales from the Triassic-Jurassic boundary were reported in the journal Science Advances. They were found as rare palynological elements in the sediments of the Triassic-Jurassic boundary from the cored Schandelah-1 well, drilled near Braunschweig in northern Germany. This pushes back the fossil record and origin of glossatan lepidopterans by about 70 million years, supporting molecular estimates of a Norian (c. 212 million years) divergence of glossatan and non-glossatan lepidopterans. The authors of the study proposed that lepidopterans evolved a proboscis as an adaptation to drink from droplets and thin films of water for maintaining fluid balance in the hot and arid climate of the Triassic. [5]
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. [1] Many more fossils are found from the Cenozoic, and particularly the Eocene Baltic amber. The oldest genuine butterflies of the superfamily Papilionoidea have been found in the Early Eocene (Ypresian) MoClay or Fur Formation of Denmark. The best preserved fossil lepidopteran is considered to be the Eocene Prodryas persephone from the Florissant Fossil Beds. [6] [7]
Lepidoptera and Trichoptera (caddisflies) are more closely related to one another than to 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 a gland with which they make and manipulate silk. Willi Hennig grouped the two orders into the Amphiesmenoptera superorder; they are sisters, and together are sister to the extinct order Tarachoptera. [8]
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). [9] 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. [9]
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. [9] 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. [1]
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. [1]
The Yponomeutoidea is the first group to have significant numbers of species whose larvae feed on herbaceous plants, as opposed to woody plants. [1] 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. [1] 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. [1] 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. [1] The Rhopalocera, comprising the Papilionoidea (butterflies), Hesperioidea (skippers), and the Hedyloidea (moth-butterflies), are the most recently evolved. [9] There is quite a good fossil record for this group, with the oldest skipper dating from 56 million years ago. [1]
This is a list of all described fossil Lepidoptera species. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] Taxa marked with † are extinct.
Several fossils originally described as lepidopterans have subsequently been assigned to other groups, some as basal Amphiesmenoptera, others into other entirely distinct insect orders. [16]
From the late middle Jurassic (164–165 mya) from the Daohugou fossil beds of Inner Mongolia. [17]
Tineidae is a family of moths in the order Lepidoptera described by Pierre André Latreille in 1810. Collectively, they are known as fungus moths or tineid moths. The family contains considerably more than 3,000 species in more than 300 genera. Most of the tineid moths are small or medium-sized, with wings held roofwise over the body when at rest. They are particularly common in the Palaearctic, but many occur elsewhere, and some are found very widely as introduced species.
Eomeropidae is a family of aberrant, flattened scorpionflies represented today by only a single living species, Notiothauma reedi, known from the Nothofagus forests in southern Chile, while all other recognized genera in the family are known only as fossils, with the earliest definitive fossil known from Liassic-aged strata, and the youngest from Paleogene-aged strata.
The Baltic region is home to the largest known deposit of amber, called Baltic amber or succinite. It was produced sometime during the Eocene epoch, but exactly when is controversial. It has been estimated that these forests created more than 100,000 tons of amber. Today, more than 90% of the world's amber comes from Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia. It is a major source of income for the region; the local Kaliningrad Amber Combine extracted 250 tonnes of it in 2014 and 400 tonnes in 2015.
Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils. This includes the study of body fossils, tracks (ichnites), burrows, cast-off parts, fossilised feces (coprolites), palynomorphs and chemical residues. Because humans have encountered fossils for millennia, paleontology has a long history both before and after becoming formalized as a science. This article records significant discoveries and events related to paleontology that occurred or were published in the year 1936.
Dictyopharidae is a family of planthoppers, related to the Fulgoridae. The family comprises nearly 760 species in more than 150 genera which are grouped into two subfamilies, Dictyopharinae and Orgeriinae.
Euphaeidae, sometimes incorrectly named Epallagidae and commonly called gossamerwings, is a family of damselflies in the odonate superfamily Calopterygoidea. The family is small, consisting of around 78 species living species in nine genera occurring in the Palearctic, Australasia, and Asia. The family contains two subfamilies, Euphaeinae, encompassing all the living species and a single fossil genus, and the extinct Eodichromatinae, encompassing fossil genera from the Eocene to late Oligocene. Euphaeid species are large and mostly metallic-coloured, looking similar to species of damselflies in the family Calopterygidae.
Stigmellites is a genus of Lepidopteran fossils. It is only known from trace fossils of leaf mines.
Palaeovespa is an extinct genus of wasp in the Vespidae subfamily Vespinae. The genus currently contains eight species: five from the Priabonian stage Florissant Formation in Colorado, United States, two from the middle Eocene Baltic amber deposits of Europe, and one species from the late Paleocene of France.
Baltimartyria is an extinct genus of primitive metallic moths in the family Micropterigidae. The genus is solely known from the Early Eocene Baltic amber deposits in the Baltic Sea region of Europe. The genus currently contains two described species, Baltimartyria proavitella and Baltimartyria rasnitsyni.
Eolepidopterigoidea is an extinct superfamily of moths, containing the single family Eolepidopterigidae, although the genus Undopterix is sometimes placed in a separate family Undopterigidae. The type-genus of the family is Eolepidopterix.
Micropterigoidea is the superfamily of "mandibulate archaic moths", all placed in the single family Micropterigidae, containing currently about twenty living genera. They are considered the most primitive extant lineage of lepidoptera, and the sole superfamily in the suborder Zeugloptera. The name comes from the Greek for mikros, little and pterux, a wing. Unique among the Lepidoptera, these moths have chewing mouthparts rather than a proboscis, and are seen feeding, often in large aggregations, on the pollen of the flowers of many herbaceous plants, shrubs and trees. The fossil record of the group goes back to the middle-late Jurassic with the earliest known species being Auliepterix from the Karabastau Formation in Kazakhstan.
Paleolepidopterites is a collective genus of fossil moths which can not be placed in any defined family. The included species were formerly placed in the leaf-roller family Tortricidae and are known from fossils found in Russia and the United States. The collective genus contains three species: Paleolepidopterites destructus, Paleolepidopterites florissantanus, and Paleolepidopterites sadilenkoi, formerly placed within the genera Tortrix and Tortricites respectively. The three species were formally redescribed and moved to the new collective genus by Heikkilä et al. (2018).
Protostephanus is an extinct genus of crown wasp in the Hymenoptera family Stephanidae known from an Eocene fossil found in the United States of America. The genus contains a single described species, Protostephanus ashmeadi placed in the stephanid subfamily Stephaninae.
Eulithomyrmex is an extinct genus of ant in the formicid subfamily Agroecomyrmecinae. The genus contains two described species, Eulithomyrmex rugosus and Eulithomyrmex striatus. Eulithomyrmex is known from a group of Late Eocene fossils which were found in North America.
Aphaenogaster donisthorpei is an extinct species of ant in formicid subfamily Myrmicinae known from a Late Eocene fossil from North America. A. donisthorpei was one of two Aphaenogaster species described in the 1930 paper.
Holcorpa is a genus of extinct insects in the scorpionfly order Mecoptera. Two Eocene age species found in Western North America were placed into the genus, H. dillhoffi and H. maculosa.
Plecia is a genus of March flies (Bibionidae) comprising many species, both extant and fossilised.
This list of fossil arthropods described in 2011 is a list of new taxa of trilobites, fossil insects, crustaceans, arachnids and other fossil arthropods of every kind that have been described during the year 2011. The list only includes taxa at the level of genus or species.
Florissantia is an extinct monotypic genus of planthopper in the dictyopharid subfamily Dictyopharinae. The single species, Florissantia elegans, was described by Samuel Hubbard Scudder (1890) from fossils found in the Florissant Formation of Colorado.
Palaeorehniidae is an extinct family of katydid-like orthopterans that has been described from the fossil record. The family is known from the Paleocene to the end of the Eocene and has been described from North America and Scotland. Circumscription and placement of the group has changed several times since it was first described in 1939, with the group currently treated as a family that is incertae sedis in the suborder Ensifera. Five monotypic genera are assigned to the family.
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