{ "abstract": "Wild silkmoths (Saturniidae) are one of the most emblematic and well-studied families of moths. Yet, the absence of a robust phylogenetic framework based on a comprehensive taxonomic sampling impedes our understanding of their evolutionary history. We sequenced and analyzed 1024 ultraconserved elements (UCEs) and their flanking regions to infer the relationships among 338 species of Saturniidae representing all described subfamilies, tribes, and genera. We investigated systematic biases in genomic data and performed dating and historical biogeographic analyses using extinction-free and state-dependent speciation and extinction models to document the evolutionary history of wild silkmoths in space and time. Using gene genealogy interrogation, we showed that saturation of nucleotide sequence data blurs our understanding of early divergences and first biogeographic events. Our results support a Neotropical origin of saturniids but remain inconclusive with respect to the extent of the ancestral range for the family. The “traditional” hypothesis of an origin restricted to the Neotropics is supported by models that account for founder-effect dispersal, but a new alternative scenario recovered from other models is proposed and considered a better fit to the hypothetical modes of diversification in these moths. It estimates a broader ancestral range covering the Neotropical, West Nearctic, and East Palearctic bioregions and emphasizes the critical role of Beringia as a route between the New World and the Old World during the Eocene. Interestingly, all the early branching lineages of Saturniidae that diversified into today’s recognized subfamilies are characterized by a very strong geographic conservatism, except for one noticeable exception, the Saturniinae subfamily, that is now present on all continents but Antarctica. Overall, our results provide a framework for in-depth investigations into the spatial and temporal dynamics of all saturniid lineages and for the integration of their evolutionary history into further global studies of biodiversity and conservation. Rather unexpectedly for a taxonomically well-known family such as Saturniidae, the proper alignment of taxonomic divisions and ranks with our phylogenetic results leads us to propose substantial rearrangements of the family classification, including the description of one new subfamily and two new tribes.", "abstract_shown": true, "affiliations": [ "Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, EPHE-PSL, Sorbonne Université, Université des Antilles , 45 rue Buffon, F-75005 Paris ,", "Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRS, EPHE, Sorbonne Université, Université des Antilles, Paris, France ()", "Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations (CBGP), INRAE, CIRAD, IRD, Montpellier SupAgro, Université de Montpellier , 755 avenue du campus Agropolis CS 30016, F-34988 Montpellier ,", "Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations (CBGP), INRAE, CIRAD, IRD, Montpellier SupAgro, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France", "CESAB, Centre de Synthèse et d’Analyse sur la Biodiversité , 5 rue de l'École de médecine, F-34000 Montpellier ,", "CESAB, Centre de Synthèse et d'Analyse sur la Biodiversité, Montpellier, France", "Centre d’Écologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive (CEFE), Université de Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD , 1919 route de Mende, F-34090 Montpellier ,", "Institut des Sciences de l'Évolution de Montpellier (ISEM), CNRS, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France", "Centre d'Écologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive (CEFE), Université de Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France", "Molécules de Communication et Adaptation des Microorganismes (MCAM), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS , 61 rue Buffon, F-75005 Paris ,", "Service de Systématique Moléculaire, UAR 2700 DOHNEE, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle , 57 rue Cuvier, F-75005 Paris ,", "Center for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph , 50 Stone Road East, N1G2W1 Guelph, Ontario ,", "Molécules de Communication et Adaptation des Microorganismes (MCAM), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Paris, France", "Service de Systématique Moléculaire, UAR 2700 2AD, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France", "Natural History Museum , Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London, SW7 5BD ,", "Center for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada", "Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Université Savoie Mont Blanc, Laboratoire d’Écologie Alpine (LECA) , 2233 rue de la Piscine, F-38400 Saint Martin d'Heres ,", "Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom", "INRAE, UR633, Zoologie Forestière , 2163 avenue de la pomme de pin, F-45075 Orléans ,", "Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l’Insecte, UMR7261 CNRS—Université de Tours , 20 Avenue Monge, Parc Grandmont, F-37200", "Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Université Savoie Mont Blanc, Laboratoire d'Écologie Alpine (LECA), Grenoble, France", "Laboratoire Évolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB UMR5174), Université Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier, CNRS, IRD , 118 Route de Narbonne, F-31062 Toulouse ,", "INRAE, UR633, Zoologie Forestière, F-45075 Orléans, France", "Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte, UMR7261 CNRS - Université de Tours, France", "Laboratoire Évolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB UMR5174), Université Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier, CNRS, IRD, Toulouse, France", "Institut des Sciences de l’Évolution de Montpellier (ISEM), CNRS, Université de Montpellier , Place Eugène Bataillon, F-34095 Montpellier ," ], "article_type": null, "arxiv": null, "author_total": 16, "authors": [ { "affs": [ 0, 1 ], "name": "Rodolphe Rougerie", "orcid": "0000-0003-0937-2815" }, { "affs": [ 2, 3 ], "name": "Astrid Cruaud", "orcid": "0000-0001-8932-4199" }, { "affs": [ 2, 0, 3, 1 ], "name": "Pierre Arnal", "orcid": "0000-0002-6799-2409" }, { "affs": [ 4, 0, 5, 1 ], "name": "Liliana Ballesteros‐Mejia", "orcid": "0000-0003-2790-8652" }, { "affs": [ 6, 7 ], "name": "Thibaud Decaëns", "orcid": "0000-0003-0915-3882" }, { "affs": [ 0, 8 ], "name": "Marianne Élias", "orcid": "0000-0002-1250-2353" }, { "affs": [ 9, 10, 1 ], "name": "Delphine Gey", "orcid": "0000-0002-5656-1793" }, { "affs": [ 11, 12, 13 ], "name": "Paul D. N. Hebert", "orcid": "0000-0002-3081-6700" }, { "affs": [ 14, 15 ], "name": "Ian J. Kitching", "orcid": "0000-0003-4738-5967" }, { "affs": [ 16, 17 ], "name": "Sébastien Lavergne", "orcid": "0000-0001-8842-7495" }, { "affs": [ 18, 19, 20 ], "name": "Carlos López‐Vaamonde", "orcid": "0000-0003-2278-2368" }, { "affs": [ 21, 22, 23 ], "name": "Jérôme Murienne", "orcid": "0000-0003-1474-7829" }, { "affs": [ 21, 24 ], "name": "Yves Cuenot", "orcid": "0000-0002-9755-811X" }, { "affs": [ 2, 24 ], "name": "Sabine Nidelet", "orcid": "0000-0003-0437-319X" }, { "affs": [ 25, 3 ], "name": "Fabien L. Condamine", "orcid": "0000-0003-1673-9910" }, { "affs": [ 2, 3 ], "name": "Jean–Yves Rasplus", "orcid": "0000-0001-8614-6665" } ], "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2va99jrfgmxdz.bib", "cited_by": 17, "doi": "10.1093/sysbio/syag056", "fulltext_url": null, "id": "2va99jrfgmxdz", "issns": [ "1063-5157", "1076-836X" ], "landing_url": "https://hal.science/hal-05743702v1", "language": "en", "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0", "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0", "licence_source": "article", "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/", "metadata_licence": null, "native_subjects": [ [ "hal", "0.info" ], [ "hal", "0.sdv" ], [ "hal", "1.info.info-mo" ], [ "hal", "1.sdv.ba" ], [ "hal", "1.sdv.bbm" ], [ "hal", "1.sdv.bid" ], [ "hal", "1.sdv.gen" ], [ "hal", "2.sdv.ba.zi" ], [ "hal", "2.sdv.bbm.gtp" ], [ "hal", "2.sdv.bid.evo" ], [ "hal", "2.sdv.bid.spt" ], [ "hal", "2.sdv.gen.gpo" ], [ "openalex", "1109|Lepidoptera: Biology and Taxonomy" ], [ "openalex", "1311|Lepidoptera: Biology and Taxonomy" ] ], "openalex": "W4220832356", "pdf_url": "https://hal.science/hal-05743702/document", "pmcid": null, "pmid": "42500966", "published": "2026-07-24", "publisher": "Oxford University Press (OUP)", "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2va99jrfgmxdz.ris", "sources": [ { "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:31Z", "native_id": "hal-05743702", "source": "hal", "url": "https://hal.science/hal-05743702v1" }, { "first_seen": "2026-10-30T13:26:46Z", "native_id": "W4220832356", "source": "openalex", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.03.29.486224" } ], "subjects": [ { "field": "biochemistry", "origin": "hal:2.sdv.bbm.gtp", "subfield": "proteomics-metabolomics" }, { "field": "biology", "origin": "hal:1.sdv.bid", "subfield": "ecology" }, { "field": "biology", "origin": "hal:2.sdv.bid.evo", "subfield": "evolutionary-biology" }, { "field": "biology", "origin": "hal:1.sdv.gen", "subfield": "genetics-genomics" }, { "field": "biology", "origin": "hal:1.sdv.ba", "subfield": "zoology-behaviour" } ], "title": "Phylogenomics Illuminates the Evolutionary History of Wild Silkmoths in Space and Time (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae)", "title_text": "Phylogenomics Illuminates the Evolutionary History of Wild Silkmoths in Space and Time (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae)", "type": "peer-reviewed", "updated_at": "2026-11-07T13:20:50Z", "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2va99jrfgmxdz", "venue": "Systematic Biology", "versions": [] }