Speciation in Pararge (Satyrinae: Nymphalidae) butterflies – North Africa is the source of ancestral populations of all Pararge species

Abstract

Abstract. The genus Pararge comprises three species: P. aegeria, distributed in Europe and North Africa; P. xiphia, endemic to Madeira; and P. xiphioides, endemic to the Canary Islands. Two subspecies are recognized in P. aegeria, P. a. tircis and P. a. aegeria, distributed in northern and southern Europe, respectively. In the 1970s, P. aegeria appeared on Madeira. However, despite the status of P. aegeria as a model species in ecological studies, the evolutionary history of Pararge remains unknown. We studied the phylogenetic relationships of the three Pararge species, using the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase subunit I and the nuclear gene wingless to infer modes and times of speciation. On the basis of our analyses, Pararge forms a strongly supported monophyletic group, with the DNA haplotypes of the three species also forming well-supported monophyletic groups. We found that P. xiphia diverged first from the common ancestor a maximum of five million years ago, with P. xiphioides and P. aegeria being sister species that diverged a maximum of three million years ago. The two subspecies, P. a. tircis and P. a. aegeria, were not distinguishable on the basis of DNA haplotypes; instead, our data clearly distinguished between European specimens and those from North Africa. Madeiran P. aegeria has North African haplotypes and thus originated from there rather than from Europe. We raise the name meone Stoll, 1780 from synonymy to subspecies status (Parage aegeria meone stat. rev.) for populations in North Africa and Maderia. We hypothesize that the Mediterranean Sea forms a strong barrier to dispersal for Pararge butterflies, and has done so for approximately the past one million years.

The Maghreb – one more important biodiversity hot spot for tiger beetle fauna (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Cicindelinae) in the Mediterranean region

“…all Maghreb species of Calomera , Cephalota , Cylindera , and Grammognatha ) (Putchkov and Matalin 2003; Serrano 2013). Similar patterns in faunal elements have been noted also among other groups of invertebrates, including some groups of insects (Weingartner et al 2006; Riservato et al 2009; Habel et al 2008), scorpions (Gantenbein and Largiadèr 2003), amphibians and reptiles (Busack 1986; Schleich et al 1996; Alvarez et al 2000; Cox et al 2006), mammals (Dobson 1998; Cosson et al 2005; Temple and Cuttelod 2008; Skog et al 2009) and plants (Thompson 2005). …”

“…First is the topographic position of Maghreb within the West Palaearctic realm as the area was (and still is, mainly because of Gibraltar and Sicily sea straits) an important natural bridge between European and African faunas (eg. Harris et al 2002; Paulo et al 2002; Carranza et al 2004, 2006; Veith et al 2004; Fritz et al 2006; Weingartner et al 2006; Recuero et al 2007; Habel et al 2008, 2010; Skog et al 2009). As a result of these biogeographical links between both continents at different times, presently Maghreb region is inhabited by a mixed tiger beetle fauna with representatives of 22 species belonging to eight different groups according to their chorotypes (Table 1).…”

Phylogeography and counter-intuitive inferences in island biogeography: evidence from morphometric markers in the mobile butterfly Maniola jurtina (Linnaeus) (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae)

“…The prediction model assumes that the ancestral population over the whole continental studied area was the western one. This is suggested by the unexpected presence of the western lineage in several Italian islands and by the recent findings of Weingartner, Wahlberg & Nylin (2006), who revealed that the North African population of the Satyrinae butterfly Pararge aegeria (Linnaeus) represents the ancestral lineage for all European species and forms of Pararge. Thus, the centroid value of Cv of the African source is assumed to be the ancestral form (Cv A).…”

“…These findings also expand our knowledge on European post glacial colonization history from Mediterranean refuges. To date, five of the potential combinations of colonization pathway, referred to as colonization paradigms (Hewitt, 1999(Hewitt, , 2000Schmitt, Gießl & Seitz, 2003;Schmitt, Röber & Seitz, 2005;Habel, Schmitt & Müller, 2005;Habel et al, 2008;Weingartner et al, 2006;Schmitt, 2007), have been described emanating from four mainland areas: Iberia, Italy, the Balkans, and North Africa. These pathways focus attention on movement north into Europe from the Mediterranean.…”

Threat status in butterflies and its ecological correlates: how far can we generalize?

“…In order to decide which species to contrast with each other we used phylogenetic information from recent molecular studies when available (Brunton 1998;Wahlberg and Zimmermann 2000;Zimmermann et al 2000;Wahlberg and Nylin 2003;Kandul et al 2004;Simonsen 2005;Weingartner et al 2006;U. Kodandaramaiah & N. Wahlberg, unpublished Coenonympha phylogeny), and in other cases we had to rely on traditional classification (Higgins 1975).…”