Giraldo C E, Uribe S I
Grupo de Investigación en Sistemática Molecular, Lab de Biología y Sistemática de Insectos, Univ Nacional de Colombia, Sede Medellín, Medellín, Colombia.
Neotrop Entomol. 2012 Dec;41(6):472-84. doi: 10.1007/s13744-012-0071-7. Epub 2012 Aug 24.
Species identification in the butterfly genus Mechanitis (F.) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) becomes difficult when it is based only on wing color patterns, a common practice in butterfly taxonomy. Difficulties in Mechanitis taxonomy are related to the widespread mimicry and polymorphism among species belonging to this genus. Species recognition and inventories of Mechanitis genus in geographic areas as the Andean region of Colombia are of particular interest and the use of more than one character for taxonomic identification is desirable. In this study, we included morphological, ecological, and mitochondrial DNA data to identify the occurring species in this region. Species of Mechanitis were studied from ecological, morphological, and molecular perspectives considering host plant identification, oviposition behavior, and life cycles under laboratory conditions. Immature morphology, patterns of wing color, and genital structures of adults were also studied. The genetic barcoding region of the cytochrome oxidase I mitochondrial gene was sequenced and used to verify the limits between species previously defined by the other characters and to validate its usefulness for species delimitation in this particular genus. The integrative approach combining independent datasets successfully allowed species identification as compared to the approach based on a single dataset. Three well-differentiated species were found in the studied region, Mechanitis menapis (Hewitson), Mechanitis polymnia (Linnaeus), and Mechanitis lysimnia (Fabricius). New valuable characters that could improve taxonomic identification in this genus are considered.
在蝴蝶分类学中，仅依据翅色模式对 Mechanitis（F.）属（鳞翅目：蛱蝶科）进行物种鉴定往往存在困难，这是蝴蝶分类中的常见做法。Mechanitis 属的分类困难与该属物种广泛存在的拟态和多态现象有关。对哥伦比亚安第斯地区等地理区域内 Mechanitis 属的物种识别和清查尤为重要，并且使用多个特征进行分类鉴定是可取的。在本研究中，我们纳入了形态学、生态学和线粒体 DNA 数据，以识别该地区现存的物种。从生态学、形态学和分子学角度对 Mechanitis 属的物种进行了研究，包括寄主植物识别、产卵行为以及实验室条件下的生命周期。还研究了幼虫形态、翅色模式和成虫的生殖器结构。对细胞色素氧化酶 I 线粒体基因的遗传条形码区域进行了测序，并用于验证先前由其他特征定义的物种之间的界限，以及验证其在该特定属中进行物种界定的有效性。与基于单一数据集的方法相比，结合独立数据集的综合方法成功实现了物种鉴定。在研究区域发现了三个分化明显的物种，即 Menapis 美眼蛱蝶（Hewitson）、多明美眼蛱蝶（Linnaeus）和白带美眼蛱蝶（Fabricius）。文中还考虑了可能有助于改进该属分类鉴定的新的有价值特征。
