Mitogenomics and Phylogeny of Seven African Saturniidae (Lepidoptera)

African Saturniidae (Lepidoptera) have not been included in recent mitochondrial phylogenies except for two edible species of economic importance in Southern Africa. To bridge this gap, we sequenced the complete mitochondrial genomes for seven additional species (Epiphora bauhinia, Heniocha dyops, Gonimbrasia tyrrhea, Bunaea alcinoe, Nudaurelia cytherea, Vegetia ducalis and Vegetia grimmia), including the first representatives of the tribe Micragonini for comparative mitogenomics and phylogenetic reconstruction of the family. The mitochondrial gene content and organization were conserved across Saturniidae. After testing for different datasets of genes, the only tree able to successfully recover the four tribes as monophyletic clades included the two rRNA gene sequences (12S rRNA and 16S rRNA) in addition to the full complement of 13 protein-coding genes.