| Abstract: | A molecular phylogenetic analysis of
the genus Polyommatus (s.str.) was carried out using
two independent genetic markers, the mitochondrial
cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) and the nuclear internal
transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2). A 710bp section of COI (5’)
and most of ITS2 (an aligned 638bp) was sequenced for 27
Polyommatus specimens belonging to 17 different taxa. The
Bayesian method was applied to infer phylogenetic trees in
the single gene and combined analyses.
The resulting trees from the single gene analyses
are congruent with each other although their resolution
differs in parts of the tree. The combined analysis produced
separate clusters for most species.
Individuals belonging to Polyommatus icarus
represent one such cluster in the tree. COI- and ITS2
sequences from different subspecies (P. icarus icarus,
P. icarus fuchsia, P. icarus juno) turned out to be similar
throughout its range, from the Iberian Peninsula to
Transbaikalia. We can confirm that the sequences of
P. andronicus are identical to P. icarus. Because both
taxa occur in sympatry, we conclude that the former is a
synonym to the latter: Polyommatus icarus (Rottemburg,
1775) = P. andronicus Coutsis et Ghavalas, 1995 syn. nov.
P. ciloicus and P. icadius form separate clusters in the
tree which confirms that both are separate species from P.
icarus. P. icadius is recorded from Iran for the first time.
The combined molecular phylogenetic analysis of
mitochondrial and nuclear markers helped to clarify the
taxonomy of the P. eros group. It confirmed earlier results
obtained from COI sequences which showed that P. eroides
and P. kamtshadalis are only subspecies of P. eros. ITS2
sequences of P. boisduvalii, P. erotides, P. menelaos and
P. eroides orientalis are identical to P. eros. Therefore we
suggest to rank these taxa as subspecies of P. eros:
– Polyommatus eros boisduvalii (Herrich-Schäffer, 1844):
«Lycaena Boisduvalii» [Herrich-Schäffer, 1844: 121];
«Lycaena ErosVar…Boisduvalii, HS.» [Krulikovsky, 1891:
223 (in Russian)];
«Polyommatus boisduvali (Herrich-Schäffer, 1844)»
[Korshunov, 2002: 161, 385 (in Russian)].
– Polyommatus eros erotides (Staudinger, 1892) stat. rev.:
«Lyc.[aena] Eros O. var. Erotides Stgr.» [Staudinger, 1892:
319];
«Polyommatus … eros… sbsp. erotides Stgr.» [Korshunov,
1972: 363 (in Russian)].
«Polyommatus erotides (Staudinger, 1892)» [Korshunov,
2002: 161, 385 (in Russian)].
– Polyommatus eros menelaos Brown, 1976 stat. nov.:
«Polyommatus menelaos sp. nov.» [Brown, 1976: 82].
Because P. eros eroides is a subspecies of P. eros, the
taxon «orientalis» also becomes a subspecies of P. eros:
– Polyommatus eros orientalis comb. nov.:
«Polyommatus eroides ssp. n. orientalis» [Krzywicki,
1983: 401].
P. forsteri from Iran is very similar to P. eros in
morphology, but these taxa are markedly different in COIand
ITS2 sequences. Therefore we suggest that P. forsteri is
a distinct species.
The taxa P. eros sichuanicus, P. erotides tartarus and
P. tsvetajevi are very similar genetically but form a separate
cluster from P. eros in the single gene and combined analyses.
Therefore we suggest to combine P. eros sichuanicus, P.
erotides tartarus and P. tsvetajevi into a distinct species.
According to our research the valid species name for this
taxon is Polyommatus amorata (Alpheraky, 1897) comb.
nov., stat. nov., a taxon which was originally described as
Lycaena Eros var. Amorata Alph. nova. Its type series is in
the museum of the Zoological Institute in St. Petersburg.
We designate the specimen with the following label as
lectotype: “Sytschuan Mao-Djoov. 26 VIII” is written on
the upperside and “Potanin 1893” on the underside of the
label.
The lectotypes of P. amorata and “P. eros sichuanicus”
are very similar morphologically and these taxa appear to
have identical areas of distribution. Therefore we propose
the following synonymy:
- Polyommatus amorata (Alpheraky, 1897) = P. eros
sichuanicus Murayama, 1983 syn. nov.
P. amorata contains two subspecies which appear to
have some differences in sequences and wing patterns and
are distributed in different areas:
– Polyommatus amorata tartarus (Fruhstorfer, 1916)
comb. nov.:
«Lycaena tithonus tartarus subsp. nov.» [Fruhstorfer,
1916: 19];
«Polyommatus erotides tartarus (Fruhstorfer, 1916)»
[Huang, 1999: 659].
– Polyommatus amorata tsvetajevi (Kurentzov, 1970) stat.
nov.:
«Lycaena tsvetajevi sp. n.» [Kurentzov 1970: 137 (in
Russian)];
«Polyommatus tsvetaevi (Kurentzov, 1970)» [Korshunov,
2002: 161, 385 (in Russian)].
We conclude that the combined analysis of two
independent mitochondrial and nuclear genetic markers
enabled to resolve the taxonomy of a group of closely
related species whose classification had been confused due
to the shortage of available morphological characters.
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