Species delimitation in the Grayling genus Pseudochazara (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Satyrinae) supported by DNA barcodes

The Palaearctic Grayling genus Pseudochazara encompasses a number of petrophilous butterfly species,
most of which are local endemics especially in their centre of radiation in SW Asia and the Balkans. Due
to a lack of consistent morphological characters, coupled with habitat induced variability, their taxonomy
is poorly understood and species delimitation is hampered. We employed a DNA barcoding approach to
address the question of separate species status for several European taxa and provide first insight into the
phylogeny of the genus. Unexpectedly we found conflicting patterns with deep divergences between presumably
conspecific taxa and lack of divergence among well-defined species. We propose separate species
status for P. tisiphone, P. amalthea, P. amymone, and P. kermana all of which have separate well supported
clades, with the majority of them becoming local endemics. Lack of resolution in the ‘Mamurra’ species
group with well-defined species (in terms of wing pattern and coloration) such as P. geyeri, P. daghestana
and P. alpina should be further explored using nuclear molecular markers with higher genetic resolution.