Disentangling Taxonomic Confusions in the <i>Aporia agathon</i> Group Using Mitochondrial Genomic Data (Lepidoptera: Pieridae)

Disentangling Taxonomic Confusions in the <i>Aporia agathon</i> Group Using Mitochondrial Genomic Data (Lepidoptera: Pieridae)

Pierid species of the <i>Aporia agathon</i> group are among the largest Sino-Himalayan members of genus <i>Aporia</i>, with four conventionally recognised species, namely <i>A. agathon</i>, <i>A. largeteaui</i>, <i>A. gigantea</i>, and <...

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Main Authors: Shao-Ji Hu, Ya-Qi Jia, Xin Zhang, Yu-Feng Hsu, Alexander L. Monastyrskii, Van Lien Vu, Si-Xun Ge, Kuang Duan, Zhuo-Heng Jiang, Valerio Sbordoni, Min Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-12-01
Series:Insects
Subjects:
black-vein pierids
type specimens
Sino-Himalayan species
Hengduan Mountains
new subspecies
phylogenetic reconstruction
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/15/12/988
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Summary:Pierid species of the <i>Aporia agathon</i> group are among the largest Sino-Himalayan members of genus <i>Aporia</i>, with four conventionally recognised species, namely <i>A. agathon</i>, <i>A. largeteaui</i>, <i>A. gigantea</i>, and <i>A. lemoulti</i>. Recent publications indicated that some of these species may contain more than one species despite their similar morphological characters. The present research analysed this group of butterflies using mitogenomic data, and proved that <i>A. japfuensis</i> <b>stat. nov.</b>, <i>A. bifurcata</i> <b>stat. nov.</b>, <i>A. moltrechti</i> <b>reinst. stat.</b>, <i>A. kuangtungensis</i> <b>stat. nov.</b> and <i>A. omotoi</i> <b>stat. nov.</b> should be recognised as distinct species, while <i>lemoulti</i><b>stat. rev.</b>, <i>gigantea</i> <b>stat. nov.</b> and <i>fanjinensis</i> <b>stat. rev.</b> should be subspecies of <i>A. largeteaui</i>. Two new subspecies, namely <i>A. kuangtungensis yufeii</i> <b>ssp. nov.</b> and <i>A. kuangtungensis josephi</i> <b>ssp. nov.</b> were described. Illustrations of specimens and male and female genitalia of each taxon were provided in this article with an updated classification system. Variable melanism and yellow tinge are two major factors causing historical taxonomic confusion; thus, such characters should be less crucial for this species group. Future research is still necessary to elucidate the evolutionary history of these species along with other <i>Aporia</i> taxa, as well as the mechanism of variable melanism and yellow coloration.
ISSN:2075-4450

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