The phylogenetic position of Aphrissa (Lepidoptera: Pieridae: Coliadinae) within its relatives the ancient American Catopsilias.

Abstract

The American Catopsilias are pierids, commonly known as sulphurs. These butterflies were grouped based on morphology and secondary sexual characters of the male, but this grouping was not taxonomically established. In Catopsilia were included genera such as Anteos, Aphrissa, Rhabdodryas, and Phoebis. Aphrissa is a genus taxonomically stable, but its phylogenetic position within Coliadinae is not clear. In this research, we used morphological data to establish the phylogenetic position of the genus Aphrissa and its phylogenetic relationships within the ancient American Catopsilias. We included four outgroups: Colias, Zerene, Eurema and Kricogonia. A maximum parsimony analysis was employed under equal and implied weights. We used 32 morphological characters, 18 were coded as binary and 14 as multistate. A well-resolved cladogram was obtained. The American Catopsilias are not a monophyletic group. The analyses support the following relationships, clade A: Eurema + (Anteos + (Colias + Zerene) and clade B: Prestonia + (Aphrissa + (Rhabdodryas + Phoebis)). Kricogonia remained as the sister taxon of the whole group. Characters that support clade A include the morphology of male genitalia, while the clade B is supported by female genitalia and morphology of the chorion.