Phylogenetic Relationships of Butterflies in the Subfamily Limenitinae Based on Mitochondrial Cytochrome b Gene Sequences
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Graphical Abstract
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Abstract
The present study investigated phylogenetic relationships of the subfalimy Limenitinae based on sequence data of the mitochondrial Cyt b gene of 25 species, covering 10 genera of the subfamily, using Ariadne ariadne as outgroup. Phylogenetic trees were reconstructed with neighbor-joining (NJ), maximum parsimony (MP) and Bayesian inference (BI) methods. It is indicated that the involved species of this subfamily clustered into two clades: the first clade includes those of the genus Neptis, Phaedyma,Pantoporia and Lintinga; the second one includes those of the genus Parthenos,Moduza,Limenitis, Athyma, Lexias and Euthalia. The genus Limenitis is suggested to be monophyletic; and the genera Euthalia and Lexias proved to be sister to each other and form a monophyletic group. The genus Litinga appears to be more closely related to Neptini than to Limenitini. However, phylogenetic positions of some genera, such as Phaedyma, Pantoporia and Lintinga, are not well-resolved in the present study.
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