Taxacom: Baking the Papilio cake

[John Grehan]

'Baking' is exactly what a recent paper on Papilio (butterfly) origins
does. In the paper: A comprehensive phylogeny and revised taxonomy
illuminate the origin and diversification of the global radiation of
Papilio (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) by Condamine et al (2023) doi:
10.1016/j.ympev.2023.107758.

The authors state that “Molecular dating and biogeographic analyses
indicate that Papilio originated ca. 30 million years ago (Oligocene), in a
northern region centered on Beringia. A rapid early Miocene radiation in
the Paleotropics is revealed within Old World Papilio, potentially
explaining their low early branch support. Most subgenera originated in the
early to middle Miocene followed by synchronous southward biogeographic
dispersals and repeated local extirpations in northern latitudes.”

Sounds good? Only if one overlooks the type of analysis that follows
standard recipes shown in the literature to misrepresent evidence. This
paper continues the time honored tradition of going ahead anyway. The
temporal dimension uses fossil calibrated divergence estimates that can
only provide minimum ages, but they blandly present them otherwise. And
their biogeographic 'analysis' uses simplistic models that can generate
chance dispersal scenarios when vicariance is also consistent with the
biogeographic pattern. And to top it off, the authors present their center
of origin and chance dispersal model as if it's the only one in existence
for their group, conveniently 'forgetting' the vicariance analysis of the
Achillides group. (they must have 'forgotten' as I did send the paper to
some of the authors :)

This paper is of itself not important, just an illustration of the baking a
cake approach to biogeography that does not even bother with distribution
maps, but creates artificial areas as if they have empirical existence. I
guess this is what passes for as the soup of the day.

John Grehan

-- 
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