Discordance between biological and genetic traits highlights complex evolutionary history in the False Apollo, Archon apollinus (Herbst, 1798) (Lepidoptera, Papilionidae, Parnassiinae)

By

Von Stetten, Maximilian
Nazari, Vazrick

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2025-7-15

Original Publication

Deutsche entomologische Zeitschrift

Volume

72

Series / Issue

Issue: 1

Pages

119--131

Subjects

Anatolia , Aristolochia , gene tree vs. species tree , swallowtail butterflies , taxonomic ranking

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Berlin Nicolai'sche Verlags-Buchandlung 1881-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/dez.72.152069

 

Abstract

The population structure within Archon apollinus (Herbst, 1798) across its range has been investigated using mtDNA COI sequences alongside five other gene regions for select samples in order to strengthen the phylogenetic backbone. Results strongly indicated the presence of two highly divergent lineages within this species: One confined to Western Turkey, Northeast Greece as well as the East Aegean islands (A. apollinus), and another in central Anatolia and the Levant. Accordingly, we recognize the Levantine lineage as a distinct species, A. bellargus Staudinger, [1892], stat. nov. Phenotypic differences between adults from western Turkey/Greece and the Levant, partly divergent flight times and significant morphological and ethological differences in caterpillars and pupae support these findings. While our central Anatolian samples were unambiguously part of the Levantine clade (A. bellargus), the life history data placed these populations closer to those in western Turkey (A. apollinus). The cause and consequences of this discordance are discussed.