RESUMEN
Melitaea klili Benyamini, 2021 was recently described from Israel as a species closely related to M. telona Fruhstorfer, 1908, but different in phenology, ecological preferences and with an allopatric distribution. Here, based on comparative examinations of mitochondrial DNA-barcodes, male genitalia and larval behaviour under laboratory conditions, we synonymize M. klili with M. telona. The COI barcodes of M. klili were found to be identical to those of M. telona. Analysis of 658 bp fragment of the mitochondrial gene COI demonstrated that the minimum uncorrected p-distance between M. ornata and M. telona was 1.98%. This value is remarkably less than the 3% threshold traditionally accepted as a species boundary in DNA barcoding studies. The morphological differences between these taxa are minimal. In fact, M. ornata and M. telona represent two phylogenetic lineages, the taxonomic status of which (separate species or subspecies of the same species) is intermediate and debatable.
Asunto(s)
Mariposas Diurnas , Masculino , Animales , Mariposas Diurnas/genética , Filogenia , ADN Mitocondrial/genética , Mitocondrias/genética , Genes Mitocondriales , Código de Barras del ADN TaxonómicoRESUMEN
The Palearctic blue butterfly genus Pseudophilotes Beuret, 1958 is not homogenous regarding the morphology of its genital structures. For this reason, some of its species have been considered to be representatives of other genera of the subtribe Scolitantidina (subfamily Polyommatinae). Here, we address these taxonomic problems by analyzing the phylogenetic relationships between the genera, subgenera, and species of this subtribe inferred via the analysis of five nuclear and two mitochondrial DNA sequences. We demonstrate that the enigmatic Asian species P. panope (Eversmann, 1851) belongs to the genus Pseudophilotes but not to Praephilotes Forster, 1938 or Palaeophilotes Forster, 1938 and does not represent the independent genus Inderskia Korshunov, 2000, as hypothesized previously. We synonymize P. svetlana Yakovlev, 2003 (syn. nov.) and P. marina Zhdanko, 2004 (syn. nov.) with P. panope. We demonstrate a deep genetic divergence between lineages that were previously considered as subspecies of the single species Iolana iolas (Ochsenheimer, 1816). As a result, we confirm the multispecies concept of the genus Iolana Bethune-Baker, 1914. We show that the Holarctic genus Glaucopsyche can be divided into four subgenera: Glaucopsyche Scudder, 1872 (=Shijimiaeoides Beuret, 1958), Apelles Hemming, 1931, Bajluana Korshunov and Ivonin, 1990, and Phaedrotes Scudder, 1876.
RESUMEN
The species of the Melitaea ala Staudinger, 1881 complex are distributed in Central Asia. Here we show that this complex is a monophyletic group including the species, M. ala, M. kotshubeji Sheljuzhko, 1929 and M. enarea Fruhstorfer, 1917. The haploid chromosome number n=29 is found in M. ala and M. kotshubeji and is, most likely, a symplesiomorphy of the M. ala complex. We show that M. ala consists of four subspecies: M. ala zaisana Lukhtanov, 1999 (=M. ala irtyshica Lukhtanov, 1999, syn. nov.) (South Altai, Zaisan Lake valley), M. ala ala (Dzhungarian Alatau), M. ala bicolor Seitz, 1908 (North, East, Central and West Tian-Shan) and M. ala determinata Bryk, 1940 (described from "Fu-Shu-Shi", China). We demonstrate that M. kotshubeji kotshubeji (Peter the Great Mts in Tajikistan) and M. kotshubeji bundeli Kolesnichenko, 1999 (Alai Mts in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan) are distinct taxa despite their geographic proximity in East Tajikistan. Melitaea enarea is widely distributed in the southern part of Central Asia and is sympatric with M. kotshubeji.
RESUMEN
Chromosomal and molecular analyses of rapidly evolving organisms such as Polyommatus Latreille, 1804 blue butterflies are essential for understanding their taxonomy and evolutionary history, and the studies of populations from their type localities are crucially important for resolving problems of nomenclature and species identity. Here we present data on the topotypical population of the blue butterfly species described as Lycaena damone var. cyanea Staudinger, 1899. This taxon was described from Khankendi (Nagorno-Karabakh, Caucasus), and rediscovered at the type locality for the first time since it was collected there in 1869. The specimens were found on dry stony meadows with a predominance of Onobrychis radiata Bieberstein, 1810, on upper border of oak forests. Their haploid chromosome number (n) was established as n = 17. Chromosomal and mitochondrial DNA barcode analyses of the studied samples from type-locality provided an opportunity for the critical taxonomic re-examination of Caucasian species of the subgenus Agrodiaetus Hübner, 1822 of the genus Polyommatus Latreille, 1804. The obtained data support the interpretation of the P. (A.) cyaneus (Staudinger, 1899) and P. (A.) carmon (Herrich-Schäffer, 1851) as two different, not closely related species complexes as previously hypothesized by Hugo de Lesse. On the contrary, the treatment by Walter Forster who considered these taxa as two groups of conspecific populations was not supported by our data.
RESUMEN
We used a combination of morphological data (genitalia structure) and a molecular marker (a 658bp fragment of the COI gene) to demonstrate that carpenter moth populations from central and southern Morocco, previously identified as Cossus cossus (Linnaeus, 1758) based on external morphology, represent a new species, described herein as C. romantsovi Yakovlev Shapoval, sp. n. The genetic divergence of the new species with respect to other members of genus Cossus is significant and includes at least 23 fixed nucleotide substitutions in the 658 bp of the COI barcode.