Tracing the radiation of Maniola (Nymphalidae) butterflies: new insights from phylogeography hint at one single incompletely differentiated species complex.

ABSTRACT: The use of DNA sequence data often leads to the recognition of cryptic species within putatively well-known taxa. The opposite case, detecting less diversity than originally described, has, however, far more rarely been documented. Maniola jurtina, the Meadow Brown butterfly, occurs all over Europe, whereas all other six species in the genus Maniola are restricted to the Mediterranean area. Among them, three are island endemics on Sardinia, Cyprus, and Chios, respectively. Maniola species are almost indistinguishable morphologically, and hybridization seems to occur occasionally. To clarify species boundaries and diversification history of the genus, we reconstructed the phylogeography and phylogeny of all seven species within Maniola analyzing 138 individuals from across its range using m

SUBMITTER: Kreuzinger AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4298433 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature