The roles of wing color pattern and geography in the evolution of Neotropical Preponini butterflies

Diversification rates and evolutionary trajectories are known to be
influenced by phenotypic traits and the geographic history of the
landscapes that organisms inhabit. One of the most conspicuous traits in
butterflies is their wing color pattern, which has been shown to be
important in speciation. The evolution of many taxa in the Neotropics has
also been influenced by major geological events. Using a dated,
species-level molecular phylogenetic hypothesis for Preponini, a colorful
Neotropical butterfly tribe, we evaluated if diversification rates were
constant or varied through time, and how they were influenced by color
pattern evolution and biogeographic events. We found that Preponini
originated approximately 28 million years ago and that diversification has
increased through time consistent with major periods of Andean uplift.
Even though some clades show evolutionarily rapid transitions in
coloration, contrary to our expectations, these shifts were not correlated
with shifts in diversification. Involvement in mimicry with other
butterfly groups might explain the rapid changes in dorsal color patterns
in this tribe, but such changes have not increased species diversification
in this group. However, we found evidence for an influence of major
Miocene and Pliocene geological events on the tribe's evolution.
Preponini apparently originated within South America and range evolution
has since been dynamic, congruent with Andean geologic activity, closure
of the Panama Isthmus and Miocene climate variability.