Extinction and biogeography in the Caribbean: new evidence from a fossil riodinid butterfly in Dominican amber.

We describe a new species of extinct riodinid butterfly, Voltinia dramba, from Oligo-Miocene Dominican amber (15-25 Myr ago). This appears to be the first butterfly to be taxonomically described from amber, and the first adult riodinid fossil. The series of five specimens represents probably the best-preserved fossil record for any lepidopteran. The phenomenon of extant Voltinia females ovipositing on arboreal epiphytes probably explains the discovery of multiple female V. dramba specimens in amber. Voltinia dramba appears to be one of many extinct butterfly species on Hispaniola. The northwestern Mexican distribution of the explicitly hypothesized sister species, the extant V. danforthi, supports the hypothesis that V. dramba reached Hispaniola by the 'proto-Greater Antillean arc', dating the divergence of V. dramba and V. danforthi to 40-50 Myr ago. This date is contemporaneous with the oldest known butterfly fossils, and implies a more ancient date of origin for many of the higher-level butterfly taxa than is often conceded.