Summary A test was performed of Carey's (1963) Caribbean Gulf of Mexico continental drift reconstruction by superimposing numerous butterfly distributions onto the model. When this was done, their ranges (including those overlapping North America, South America, and Africa) became more aligned and contiguous, and land fragments presently far apart were juxtaposed, thus favouring this particular model over others. The tectonic events between the Americas, the Caribbean, and Africa are outlined from initial rifting and disaggregation to the present. It is assumed from their distribution patterns that butterflies had evolved prior to continental drift and sea-floor spreading in the Atlantic region, i.e. at least by the Upper Jurassic—Lower Cretaceous, although their meager fossil record sheds no light on this. The high Andean links with Cordilleran North American butterflies cannot simply be due to a corridor over the Central American high mountains since there are no alpine species there and since these were derived from the lower, surrounding forests. Many southern United States butterfly species are probably remnants of the Lower Cretaceous Neotropical fauna. The Central American butterflies are mainly a northern extension of tropical South America. The improverished Antillean butterfly fauna shows more relationship with Central America than northern South America, although the reverse should be true if strictly long-distance dispersal by ocean currents, prevailing winds, and hurricanes were responsible. African—American butterfly links are comparatively few and are phylogenetically primitive by and large, so that perhaps few butterfly lines had evolved before the Atlantic formed. In general, the rich butterfly fauna of South America is distinct from Africa, in Ithomiinae, Heliconiinae, Riodinidae, Dismorphiinae, Morphinae, Brassolinae, Anetiinae, etc. Africa has some peculiar groups like Lipteninae, Nemeobiinae, and many nymphalids not shared with South America. These groups probably proliferated after the two continents became isolated from one another. Butterflies and their associated angiosperm foodplants likely originated in the Oriental-Malaysian-Indonesian-Australian tropics since most primitive lines are located there. It appears that butterflies evolved polyphletically from various moth lines, from the Castniidae, Lymantridae, and other families as yet unspecified.
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Jan 1, 1983
J A Scott 
Open Access
