North Andean origin and diversification of the largest ithomiine butterfly genus

Abstract

The Neotropics harbour the most diverse flora and fauna on Earth. The Andes are a major centre of diversification and source of diversity for adjacent areas in plants and vertebrates, but studies on insects remain scarce, even though they constitute the largest fraction of terrestrial biodiversity. Here, we combine molecular and morphological characters to generate a dated phylogeny of the butterfly genus Pteronymia (Nymphalidae: Danainae), which we use to infer spatial, elevational and temporal diversification patterns. We first propose six taxonomic changes that raise the generic species total to 53, making Pteronymia the most diverse genus of the tribe Ithomiini. Our biogeographic reconstruction shows that Pteronymia originated in the Northern Andes, where it diversified extensively. Some lineages colonized lowlands and adjacent montane areas, but diversification in those areas remained scarce. The recent colonization of lowland areas was reflected by an increase in the rate of evolution of species’ elevational ranges towards present. By contrast, speciation rate decelerated with time, with no extinction. The geological history of the Andes and adjacent regions have likely contributed to Pteronymia diversification by providing compartmentalized habitats and an array of biotic and abiotic conditions, and by limiting dispersal between some areas while promoting interchange across others.

Gene flow and Andean uplift shape the diversification of Gasteracantha cancriformis (Araneae: Araneidae) in Northern South America

“…However, our current knowledge on the modes of animal diversification in the northern Andes is mostly based on vertebrates, and despite arthropods being the most diverse group of animals, analyses of their diversification in this region remain scarce (De-silva et al, 2017;Turchetto-Zolet, Pinheiro, Salgueiro, & Palma-Silva, 2013).…”

“…Some studies limited to insects, especially butterflies, show that the Andean mountains played an important role in their diversification, where speciation with and without gene flow across the Andes has occurred (Arias et al, 2014;Chazot et al, 2016Chazot et al, , 2017De-silva et al, 2017;Díaz et al, 2014;Dick, Roubik, Gruber, & Bermingham, 2004;Elias et al, 2009). Despite this, a comprehensive understanding on how the Andean orogeny has promoted Neotropical animal diversification requires the inclusion of additional arthropod taxa, such as arachnids.…”

Contrasting patterns of Andean diversification among three diverse clades of Neotropical clearwing butterflies

“…The Godyridina diversification pattern conforms to the species-attractor scenario, with repeated colonization of the Andes, and the subtribe also underwent local radiations in the Northern Andes, in the Central Andes, and in the Upper Amazon (Chazot et al, 2016). A phylogeny of Oleriina has been published (De-Silva et al, 2010, and the phylogeny of the richest dircennine genus, Pteronymia (53 species, i.e., about half of the subtribe), has just been generated (De-Silva et al, 2017). Here, we compile new and published sequences to confirm and revise, when needed, the taxonomy in the remaining dircennine genera, and to generate the first time-calibrated molecular phylogeny of the entire subtribe Dircennina.…”

“…The subtribe Dircennina comprises 101 species (after our taxonomic revisions) forming seven genera: Callithomia, Ceratinia, Dircenna, Episcada, Haenschia, Hyalenna, and Pteronymia. In this study, we obtained DNA sequences of the mitochondrial fragment spanning the genes COI and COII (2286 bp), and nuclear genes EF1a (1254 bp), tektin (741 bp) from previous studies (Chazot et al, 2016;De-Silva et al, 2016, 2017Elias et al, 2009;Mallarino et al, 2005) and we additionally sequenced COI-COII, EF1a, tektin, CAD (849 bp), GAPDH (690 bp), MDH (732 bp), and RPS2 (408 bp) (Wahlberg & Wheat, 2008) for Dircennina specimens (Appendix S1). Our final dataset comprised 170 individuals representing 86 Dircennina and 45 outgroup species.…”

“…Here, we investigated spatial and temporal patterns of diversification and assessed support for these four biogeographic scenarios in (Chazot et al, 2016). Both clades belong to the nymphalid tribe Ithomiini, one of the best-studied groups of Neotropical butterflies (Mallarino, Bermingham, Willmott, Whinnett, & Jiggins, 2005;Brower et al, 2006;Elias et al, 2009;Brower, Willmott, Silva-Brandão, Garzón-Orduña, & Freitas, 2014;Garzón-Orduña, Silva-Brandão, Willmott, Freitas, & Brower, 2015;Chazot et al, 2014Chazot et al, , 2016De-Silva et al, 2010, 2017. These three clades (the three largest ithomiine subtribes with 101 known species of Dircennina, 77 Godyridina, and 64 Oleriina, representing over 60% of ithomiine diversity) are endemic to the Neotropical region and occupy forest habitats from Central America to the Atlantic Forest, from the lowlands to high altitudes in the Andes.…”