Dynamine alexae

Jong, Rienk De, 2017, Fossil butterflies, calibration points and the molecular clock (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea), Zootaxa 4270 (1), pp. 1-63 : 15

alexae . Dynamine alexae Peñalver & Grimaldi, 2006

Nymphalidae : Biblidinae .

Dominican Republic, Cordillera Septentrional between Santago and Puerto Plata, Dominican Amber ; Aquitanian, early Miocene.

Depository: AMNH (holotype, DR-18-2).

Published figures: Peñalver & Grimaldi (2006: Figs 3–5 ).

Most of the left wings with the color pattern still partly preserved, abdomen with male genitalia and distal part of mid- and hind legs. The allocation of the fossil to the extant genus Dynamine ( Nymphalidae , Biblidinae ) is based on the striking wing pattern, the dark brown abdomen with a white underside, and the rounded outer margin of the hindwing without expansions or tails. It is similar to the extant genus Lucinia , that however has larger wing ocelli and the margin of the hindwing is not rounded. No further structural reasons for the allocation of the fossil are given. Unfortunately, the apomorphy of Biblidinae (the hypandrium) is not mentioned or discussed in Peñalver & Grimaldi (2006), although they extensively discuss the genitalia that are adjacent to the hypandrium (cf. Freitas & Brown 2004). This is regrettable since wing pattern is more likely attributable to convergence and mimicry than to structural characters. This issue is exemplified by the remark by Peñalver & Grimaldi (2006) that a similar pattern is found in Lucinia . In the expansive analysis of Nymphalidae by Wahlberg et al. (2009), the subfamily is split into two monophyletic groups. In Wahlberg et al. (2009) Dynamine and Lucinia are in the same group, but distant from each other, with Dynamine being the first offshoot of the group (of which 18 genera have been included), while Lucinia is five divergence events later nearer to the crown. These relationships suggest that their similarity is either due to convergence, or alternatively to a symplesiomorphy. In the absence of structural arguments, and if the fossil is used for calibration, then it should be placed near the root of the Biblidinae . This is precisely where Wahlberg et al. (2009) put the calibration point. However, they put a minimum date on this point of 20 Ma. According to Iturralde-Vinent & MacPhee (1996), the age of Dominican amber is 15–20 Ma. By choosing the higher age, the derived divergence estimate may be 33 % too high, if 15 Ma would be the correct age for the amber.

Figures

FIGURES 3 – 4. Wing venation of (A) Pareronia Bingham, 1907 (Pieridae), and (B) Hasora Moore, 1881 (Hesperiidae). See text for explanation.

FIGURE 5. Ƒanessa amerindica Miller & Brown, 1989, holotype, collections of Invertebrate Paleontology, University of Florida. Photo by Roger Portell. Fig. 6. Pseudoneorina coulleti Nel & Descimon, 1984. France, Dép. Alpes-de-Haute- Provence, Dauphin, specimen in coll. M. Henrotay; photo by courtesy of M. Henrotay. Fig. 7. Archaeolycorea ferreirai Martins-Neto, 1989. Fig. 4 A of original description. Fig. 8. Oligodonta florissantensis Brown, 1976, holotype, collections of Invertebrate Paleontology, University of Florida. Photo by courtesy of Akito Kawahara. Fig. 9. Neorinella garciae Martins- Neto, Kucera-Santos, de Moraes Vieira & de Campos Fragoso, 1993. Fig. 3 A of original description. Fig. 10. Protocoeliades kristenseni de Jong, 2016, holotype, Zoologisk Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark. Photo by Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Washington DC, USA.