A cladistic analysis of the species of Sericania Motschulsky, 1860, was executed using fifty-six morphological characters of adults. The monophyly of the genus is supported by the phylogenetic trees generated. Among the three major lineages indicated by the strict consensus tree the East Asian Sericania fuscolineata lineage represents the genus Sericania as defined "originally" and adopted by subsequent authors. The second, the clade Sericania nepalensis group + Sericania sp. 2, is a sister group to the S. fuscolineata clade. Both constitute a sister group to the third major lineage, the Sericania kashmirensis clade, which is endemic in the drier North-West Himalaya where it is the most diverse monophyletic group of Sericini. Provided that the stem species of the S. kashmirensis clade was xerophilous, the origin of this clade can not predate the early Miocene. Based on paleoclimatical and geological data, two competing hypotheses are proposed to explain the evolution of the xerophilous Sericania lineage: (a) a basal splitting within Sericania occurred because of the altitudinal and climatic barrier posed by the Himalaya, which separated the xerophilous lineage in the north (Tibet) from the hygrophilous lineage in the south-east (S slope of Himalaya/ Tibet), or (b) it was a consequence of the increase in the climatic east-west contrast along the southern slope of the Himalaya, which strengthened with the onset of monsoons 8 Ma ago.
Odoric of Pordenone (c. 1275/85-1331), a Franciscan friar and one of the chief travelers to Asia during the later Middle Ages, traveled between 1314/131899 ab 1330 to the "eastern parts of the world" (orientalium partium), and on the return journey he may have visited Tibet (or some of its outlying areas). After his return in 1330, he dictated an account of his travels, which soon became a best-seller. Since it included many descriptions and facts not mentioned in Marco Polo´s "Il Milione", the text became an important source both for the fictious account of "John Mandeville" and the famous Catalan Atlas of 1375. There are many mysteries about Odoric and his travels, including some doubt as to whether he was actually in China. In addition, very little is known about his missionary activities in China and about his journey back to Europe. One of the everlasting questions is: Was he really in Tibet, as mentioned in his account?