Phylogeny and biogeography of arctic‐alpine butterflies of the genus Oeneis (Nymphalidae: Satyrinae)

Abstract

AbstractArctic‐alpine butterflies of the genus Oeneis are adapted to a cold climate and distributed across arctic areas and high‐altitude alpine habitats in Eurasia and North America. Due to their morphological similarities, species‐level boundaries in some groups have been extremely vague. To clarify the relationships among Oeneis species, the phylogenetic analyses of 28 of the 32 known Oeneis species and closely related genus Davidina were carried out using mitochondrial COI, the nuclear gene EF‐1α and wingless sequences. Furthermore, divergence time estimation and ancestral area reconstruction analysis were applied to clarify the processes of distribution of each species among the genus Oeneis. The present comprehensive molecular phylogeny indicated that the traditionally classified Oeneis group can be divided into two major clades, clade A, the tarpeja group of Oeneis and the genus Davidina; and clade B, the other groups of Oeneis and the genus Neominos, and indicated that the genus Oeneis can be divided into four major clades, tarpeja, bore, buddha and the complex comprising norna, hora and jutta. Based on updated fossil‐based calibrations, the two major clades were divided approximately 10.86 million years ago in the Miocene. Ancestral area reconstruction analysis indicated that the tarpeja group of Oeneis and the genus Davidina originated and diversified mainly within the Eastern Palearctic, whereas it is highly possible that several lineages of the other groups of Oeneis originated in the Nearctic region.