Species delimitation and evolutionary relationships among Phoebis New World sulphur butterflies (Lepidoptera, Pieridae, Coliadinae)

Abstract

The most accepted taxonomic treatment of the New World sulphurs of the genus Phoebis Hübner, [1819] recognizes 16 species including those in the current synonyms Aphrissa and Rhabdodryas. This total conflicts with the results of several recent pierid DNA barcode studies across the Neotropics. We used a five‐locus dataset to carry out species delimitation analyses using the coalescence‐based method implemented in bpp software. After testing the resulting species hypotheses using marginal likelihood estimates, we inferred their phylogenetic relationships and performed an ancestral range reconstruction with biogeobears. Our analyses recovered two different hypotheses, 26 and 24 species, that scored the highest marginal likelihood estimate. Differences between these two hypotheses, when reconciled with barcode clusters and morphology, indicated that 24 is the most likely number of species. Phoebis neocypris stat. rev., Phoebis rurina stat. rev., Phoebis virgo stat. rev., Phoebis marcellina stat. rev., Phoebis thalestris stat. rev., and Phoebis rorata stat. rev. are raised to the species rank. We dated the crown age of Phoebis to the mid‐Miocene, with the islands of the Greater Antilles as the most probable ancestral range. Three main clades of Phoebis diverged early in the evolutionary history of the genus, but most extant species‐level diversity arose after the Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary. Our analyses recovered alternate range expansions and contractions, and dispersal from the islands to the continent and back, in the three main clades. Both sympatric and allopatric speciation seem to have shaped the current species richness.

Integrative taxonomy clarifies species limits in the hitherto monotypic passion‐vine butterfly genera Agraulis and Dryas (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Heliconiinae)

“…In the present work, we use two mitochondrial and four nuclear markers to investigate possible cryptic diversity within Agraulis and Dryas, using a coalescent-based approach that has been increasingly used in recent years (Yang, 2015;Matos-Maraví et al, 2019;Núñez et al, 2020). We also perform the first morphometric and wing pattern studies for taxonomic purposes within both genera.…”

Checklist of butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea) of an urban area of Caatinga-Atlantic Forest ecotone in Bahia, Brazil

“…For both methods, the specimens that could not be identified in the field were captured and transported in entomological envelopes to the Laboratório de Sistemática de Insetos (LASIS) at UEFS, where they were adequately mounted, labeled and identified through specialized bibliography (i.e., Brown-Jr 1992;Santos et al 2014;orlandin et al 2020) and consultation to specialists (listed in the Acknowlegment section). The taxonomic nomenclature follows laMas (2004), Mielke (2005) and WaHlberg et al (2009), with subsequent modifications (Murillo-raMos et al 2018;núñez et al 2019;Cong et al 2019). After being identified, the specimens were listed and deposited at the Entomological Collection Prof. Johann Becker of the Zoology Museum of the Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana (MZFS).…”

A complete COI library of Samoan butterflies reveals layers of endemic diversity on oceanic islands

“…Molecular surveys of different insect groups on islands have also shown evolutionary determinism, species characterized by lower dispersal and a lesser degree of ecological generalism, have a higher probability of showing diverging populations and endemic elements (Dapporto et al, 2017; Matos‐Maraví et al, 2014; Núñez et al, 2020; Salces‐Castellano et al, 2021; Scalercio et al, 2020; Sourakov & Zakharov, 2011). Another common result of molecular surveys is that classic taxonomy lists based on morphological features show common cases of incongruence with assessments based on molecular approaches.…”

“…Due to different speciation processes operating on oceanic islands compared to mainland (Whittaker et al, 2017; Whittaker & Fernández‐Palacios, 2007), the patterns of discordance between the perceived diversity (morphology‐based taxonomy) and genetic divergence could vary. Divergence usually occurs faster on islands after founder effects and genetic drift, and because of directional selection and radiation episodes following stepping‐stone colonization to neighbouring islands (Clegg et al, 2002; Coyne & Orr, 2004; Lescak et al, 2015; Matos‐Maraví et al, 2014; Núñez et al, 2020; Whittaker & Fernández‐Palacios, 2007). By contrast, in mainland scenarios, the geographical continuity of a population can be interrupted in time other than in space, mostly due to climatic changes, and lineages may speciate in parapatry involving episodes of gene flow (Mallet, 2005; Ebdon et al, 2021 for butterflies).…”