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PARALLELISMS IN THE EVOLUTION OF THE SATURNIID MOTHS
Author(s) -
Michener Charles D.
Publication year - 1949
Publication title -
evolution
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.84
H-Index - 199
eISSN - 1558-5646
pISSN - 0014-3820
DOI - 10.1111/j.1558-5646.1949.tb00012.x
Subject(s) - biology , genealogy , art history , classics , history
Parallelism or convergence in evolution is so well known that any biologist can list examples of organisms which look alike or have certain similar structures but nonetheless are only distantly related. The best known instances of convergence, such as the similarity of body form of whales and fish, or of foreleg structure of mantids (Orthoptera) and Mantispids (Neuroptera), involve adaptations of very dissimilar animals to similar modes of life. The examples of parallelism found in the Saturniidae are of a different sort, involving independent acquisition of similar characters by closely related moths. The Saturniidae is a particularly favorable group for this study because the survival of numerous annectent forms has made possible a rather clear understanding of the phylogeny of the group. Without this knowledge of the phylogeny, parallelisms such as those discussed below would not be recognizable as such. The purpose of this paper, then, is to list similar characteristics which have arisen repeatedly in the course of the evolution of these moths, and to consider the reasons for this repetition. The present analysis is based upon a detailed morphological study of the genera of the saturnioid moths of the western hemisphere, and a less thorough study of those of the eastern hemisphere. The full results of this investigation will be published elsewhere. Two South American genera, each known from a single species, are omitted from consideration here because insufficient material has been available to me. Their relationships are roughly known, however, and their inclusion in the study would not materially affect the conclusions. In the western hemisphere there are 93 genera and subgenera. The number of species is doubtful but there appear to be at least 700 and perhaps 1000 or more good species, many of them with numerous recognizable subspecies.