Phylogeny of the genusMorphoFabricius 1807: insights from two mitochondrial genes (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)

Abstract

Abstract. Two phylogenies of Morpho butterfl ies were previously published, founded on morphological data analysis. These phylogenies shared similarities but also several differences. In the present study we used partial sequences of the CO1 and Cyt b mitochondrial genes to infer the phylogenetic relationships between the subgenera. From the ten subgenera previously described, seven are shown to be monophyletic: Iphimedeia, Laurschwartzia, Iphixibia, Megamede, Grasseia, Balachowskyna and Deyrollia. Although no consensus came out about the deepest relationships between the subgenera, it seems that the clade (Laurschwartzia, Iphimedeia) diverged very early from the other Morpho butterfl ies. The results also consolidated the recent creation of the subgenus Deyrollia for two species previously included into the subgenus Cytheritis. The subgenus Balachowskyna may be included in Cytheritis but the unclear position of M. zephyritis make diffi cult to affi rm it. Morphological and molecular data, considered together, suggest that the Brazilian Pessonia species could be included in the subgenus Morpho.Résumé. Phylogénie du genre Morpho Fabricius 1807 à partir de deux gènes mitochondriaux (Lepidoptera : Nymphalidae). Les deux précédentes études phylogénétiques du genre Morpho reposaient sur l'analyse de caractères morphologiques. Leurs résultats montraient des similitudes, mais aussi des différences importantes. Cette nouvelle étude explore les relations phylogénétiques entre les différents sous-genres de Morpho en s'appuyant sur l'analyse de séquences partielles des gènes mitochondriaux CO1 et Cyt b. Sept des dix sous-genres antérieurement décrits apparaissent monophylétiques : Iphimedeia, Laurschwartzia, Iphixibia, Megamede, Grasseia, Balachowskyna et Deyrollia. Bien que les relations anciennes entre les sous-genres ne fassent l'objet d'aucun consensus, le clade (Laurschwartzia, Iphimedeia) semble avoir très tôt divergé des autres Morpho. Les espèces autrefois regroupées dans le sous-genre Cytheritis ne forment pas un groupe monophylétique. La création récente du sous-genre Deyrollia, pour deux espèces aux caractères morphologiques originaux, est renforcée par les données moléculaires. Le sous-genre Balachowskyna pourrait en fait constituer un groupe d'espèce au sein des Cytheritis mais le doute subsistant quant à la position de M. zephiritis interdit toute conclusion sur ce point. Les données morphologiques et moléculaires, considérées ensemble, suggèrent que les espèces brésiliennes du sous-genre Pessonia pourraient être incluses dans le sous-genre Morpho.

Molecular phylogeny of Indonesian Lymantria Tussock Moths (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) based on CO I gene sequences

“…This study showed that CO I gene alone was not enough to produce synapomorphies on each node but this gene was able to show a good support for a certain closely-related species. Previous study showed the mitochondrial gene CO I was very useful when combined with Cytochrome b to resolve the relationships in the genus Morpho (Nymphalidae) (Cassildé et al, 2012), or when combined with CO II in the genus Papilio (Caterino and Sperling, 1999). In addition, the combination of the CO I and EF-1α increased resolution and supports most of the phylogenetic relationships suggested by separate analysis of Ectoedemia s. str.…”

Morpho morphometrics: Shared ancestry and selection drive the evolution of wing size and shape inMorphobutterflies

“…We selected 119 sequences from two previously published datasets (Cassildé et al. ; Penz et al. ) and complemented this dataset with 24 additional nuclear sequences (see Supporting Information S1).…”

“…Although the genus has received recent attention to resolve phylogenetic relationships (Penz and DeVries ; Cassildé et al. , ; Penz et al. ; Blandin and Purser ), a completely resolved phylogenetic tree is still lacking.…”

Diversification of Morpho butterflies (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae): a re‐evaluation of morphological characters and new insight from DNA sequence data

“…Penz & DeVries (2002) hypothesized that all species with larvae that feed on monocotyledonous plants represented early branches of the Morpho phylogeny, implying a single evolutionary switch to eudicot‐feeding. In contrast, the analysis by Cassildé et al (2010) implied a pattern of host plant use where eudicot‐feeding habits evolved once and was subsequently reversed. Forest species of Morpho are known to have distinct vertical distributions where the males of some glide at or above the forest canopy level, and others fly at lower strata.…”