A combined genetic-morphometric analysis unravels the complex biogeographical history of Polyommatus icarus and Polyommatus celina Common Blue butterflies

Widespread species have the potential to reveal large-scale biogeographical patterns, as
well as responses to environmental changes possibly unique to habitat generalists. This
study presents a continental-scale phylogeographical analysis of Polyommatus icarus,
one of the most common Palaearctic butterflies, and the morphologically and ecologically
similar Polyommatus celina, a recently discovered cryptic species. By combining data
from mitochondrial [cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI)] and nuclear [internal
transcribed spacer (ITS2)] molecular markers with geometric morphometrics, we
document a complex phylogeographical history for the two species. Despite morphological
similarities, the genetic divergence between these two species is high (more than
5% at COI) and they are not sister species. For the first time, we show that P. celina
occurs not only in North Africa but also in Europe, where it inhabits several west
Mediterranean islands, as well as large parts of Iberia, where it occurs in parapatry with
P. icarus. The two species appear to completely exclude each other on islands, but we
provide morphological and molecular evidence that introgression occurred in the Iberian
Peninsula. We discovered strongly diverged lineages that seem to represent relict
populations produced by past range expansions and contractions: Crete and Iberian
isolates for P. icarus, Balearics–Sardinia and Sicily–Lipari for P. celina. This study
shows that a combined genetic-morphometric approach can shed light on cryptic
diversity while providing the necessary resolution to reconstruct a fine-scale phylogeographical
history of species at both spatial and temporal levels.