Editing Butterfly (section)

==Paleontology==

{{further|Prehistoric Lepidoptera}}

The earliest [[Lepidoptera]] fossils date to the [[Triassic]]-[[Jurassic]] boundary, around 200{{nbsp}}million years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Eldijk|first1=Timo J. B. van|last2=Wappler|first2=Torsten|last3=Strother|first3=Paul K.|last4=Weijst|first4=Carolien M. H. van der|last5=Rajaei|first5=Hossein|last6=Visscher|first6=Henk|last7=Schootbrugge|first7=Bas van de|date=2018-01-01|title=A Triassic-Jurassic window into the evolution of Lepidoptera|journal=Science Advances|volume=4|issue=1|pages=e1701568|doi=10.1126/sciadv.1701568|pmid=29349295|issn=2375-2548|pmc=5770165|bibcode=2018SciA....4.1568V}}</ref> Butterflies evolved from moths, so while the butterflies are [[monophyletic]] (forming a single [[clade]]), the moths are not. The oldest known butterfly is ''[[Protocoeliades|Protocoeliades kristenseni]]'' from the [[Palaeocene]] aged [[Fur Formation]] of Denmark, approximately 55{{nbsp}}million years old, which belongs to the family [[Hesperiidae]] (skippers).<ref>{{Cite journal|last=De Jong|first=Rienk|date=2016-08-09|title=Reconstructing a 55-million-year-old butterfly (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae)|journal=European Journal of Entomology|volume=113|pages=423–428|doi=10.14411/eje.2016.055|doi-access=free}}</ref> [[Molecular clock]] estimates suggest that butterflies originated sometime in the Late [[Cretaceous]], but only significantly diversified during the Cenozoic,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Chazot|first1=Nicolas|last2=Wahlberg|first2=Niklas|last3=Freitas|first3=André Victor Lucci|last4=Mitter|first4=Charles|last5=Labandeira|first5=Conrad|last6=Sohn|first6=Jae-Cheon|last7=Sahoo|first7=Ranjit Kumar|last8=Seraphim|first8=Noemy|last9=de Jong|first9=Rienk|last10=Heikkilä|first10=Maria|date=2019-02-25|title=Priors and Posteriors in Bayesian Timing of Divergence Analyses: The Age of Butterflies Revisited|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syz002|journal=Systematic Biology|volume=68|issue=5|pages=797–813|doi=10.1093/sysbio/syz002|issn=1063-5157|pmc=6893297|pmid=30690622|access-date=9 July 2021|archive-date=19 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719044623/https://academic.oup.com/sysbio/article/68/5/797/5300234|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Kawahara |first1=Akito Y. |last2=Storer |first2=Caroline |last3=Carvalho |first3=Ana Paula S. |last4=Plotkin |first4=David M. |last5=Condamine |first5=Fabien L. |last6=Braga |first6=Mariana P. |last7=Ellis |first7=Emily A. |last8=St Laurent |first8=Ryan A. |last9=Li |first9=Xuankun |last10=Barve |first10=Vijay |last11=Cai |first11=Liming |last12=Earl |first12=Chandra |last13=Frandsen |first13=Paul B. |last14=Owens |first14=Hannah L. |last15=Valencia-Montoya |first15=Wendy A. |date=2023-05-15 |title=A global phylogeny of butterflies reveals their evolutionary history, ancestral hosts and biogeographic origins |journal=Nature Ecology & Evolution |volume=7 |issue=6 |pages=903–913 |doi=10.1038/s41559-023-02041-9 |issn=2397-334X |pmc=10250192 |pmid=37188966|bibcode=2023NatEE...7..903K }}</ref> with one study suggesting a North American origin for the group.<ref name=":0" /> The oldest American butterfly is the [[Late Eocene]] ''[[Prodryas|Prodryas persephone]]'' from the [[Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument|Florissant Fossil Beds]],<ref name="MeyerSmith2008">{{cite book |last1=Meyer |first1=Herbert William |last2=Smith |first2=Dena M . |title=Paleontology of the Upper Eocene Florissant Formation, Colorado |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-OcQecTR5_QC&pg=PA6 |year=2008 |publisher=Geological Society of America |isbn=978-0-8137-2435-5 |page=6 |access-date=8 January 2016 |archive-date=24 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424121728/https://books.google.com/books?id=-OcQecTR5_QC&pg=PA6 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.faculty.ucr.edu/~legneref/identify/lepidopt.htm |title=Lepidoptera – Latest Classification |work=Discoveries in Natural History & Exploration |publisher=University of California |access-date=15 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120407055233/http://www.faculty.ucr.edu/~legneref/identify/lepidopt.htm |archive-date=7 April 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> approximately 34{{nbsp}}million years old.<ref>{{cite journal |last1 = McIntosh |first1 = W. C. |display-authors=et al |year = 1992 |title = Calibration of the Latest Eocene-Oligocene geomagnetic Polarity Time Scale Using 40Ar/39Ar Dated Ignimbrites |journal = Geology |volume = 20 |issue = 5| pages = 459–463 |doi=10.1130/0091-7613(1992)020<0459:cotleo>2.3.co;2| bibcode = 1992Geo....20..459M }}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" caption="Butterfly fossils" widths="180px" heights="180px">
File:Prodryas.png|''[[Prodryas|Prodryas persephone]]'', a [[Late Eocene]] butterfly from the [[Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument|Florissant Fossil Beds]], 1887 engraving
File:PZSL1889Plate31 Fossil Papilionid Butterfly Lithopsyche antiqua from Early Oligocene Bembridge Marls.png|''[[Lithopsyche antiqua]]'', an [[Early Oligocene]] butterfly from the Bembridge Marls, [[Isle of Wight]], 1889 engraving
</gallery>