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. 2018 Jan 10;4(1):e1701568.
doi: 10.1126/sciadv.1701568. eCollection 2018 Jan.

A Triassic-Jurassic window into the evolution of Lepidoptera

Timo J B van Eldijk  1 , Torsten Wappler  2 , Paul K Strother  3 , Carolien M H van der Weijst  1 , Hossein Rajaei  4 , Henk Visscher  1 , Bas van de Schootbrugge  1
Affiliations

A Triassic-Jurassic window into the evolution of Lepidoptera

Timo J B van Eldijk et al. Sci Adv. .

Abstract

On the basis of an assemblage of fossilized wing scales recovered from latest Triassic and earliest Jurassic sediments from northern Germany, we provide the earliest evidence for Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies). The diverse scales confirm a (Late) Triassic radiation of lepidopteran lineages, including the divergence of the Glossata, the clade that comprises the vast multitude of extant moths and butterflies that have a sucking proboscis. The microfossils extend the minimum calibrated age of glossatan moths by ca. 70 million years, refuting ancestral association of the group with flowering plants. Development of the proboscis may be regarded as an adaptive innovation to sucking free liquids for maintaining the insect's water balance under arid conditions. Pollination drops secreted by a variety of Mesozoic gymnosperms may have been non-mutualistically exploited as a high-energy liquid source. The early evolution of the Lepidoptera was probably not severely interrupted by the end-Triassic biotic crisis.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Lepidopteran scales in palynological preparations, as seen in transmitted light.
(A) Serrated scale from the Hettangian [316.70 m below surface (mbs)]. (B) Scale with a rounded apical margin from the Rhaetian (337.50 mbs). Scale bars, 20 ÎĽm.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Quantitative record of selected form species of gymnosperm pollen in the Schandelah-1 core and stratigraphic position of insect (wing) scales.
Lepidopteran and unidentified scales are present at the top of the Arnstadt Formation (Rhaetian) between 337.50 and 336.80 mbs and in the basal layers of the Lias Alpha-1 Formation (Hettangian) between 317.90 and 316.40 mbs (see Materials and Methods).
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. SEM images of scales from the basal Hettangian.
(A) Lepidopteran type I scale with solid structure and herringbone pattern. (B to E) Lepidopteran type II scales with hollow structure, cross-ridges, perforations, and in some cases (C to E) serrations of the apical margin. (F) Fringed scale of indeterminate origin. (G) Histological section of type I scale. (H and I) Histological sections of type II scales.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4. Detailed SEM images of selected scales shown in Fig. 3.
Labeling same as in Fig. 3. (A) Detail of a type I scale showing herringbone pattern. (B) Detail of a type II scale showing oblique crests at the apical margin. (C to E) Type II scales showing hollow structure, perforations, cross-ridges, and microribs (arrows in Fig. 3, C and D). (F) Detail of a fringed scale of indeterminate origin showing distinct apical margin.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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