Exploring phylogenetic discordances in selected lineages of Calycopis Scudder (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae: Theclinae: Eumaeini)

• Ano de defesa: 2025
• Autor(a) principal: Bezerra, Lucas Teles
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: eng
• Instituição de defesa: Biblioteca Digitais de Teses e Dissertações da USP
• Palavras-chave em Português: Calycopidina; Fauna Neotropical; Genetic Incongruence; Hairstreaks; Incongruência Genética; Neotropical Fauna; New Species; Nova Espécie
• Link de acesso: https://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/38/38131/tde-25042025-095211/

Through the first chapter, this study investigates the Calycopis bactra complex in Central America, integrating COI barcodes and male genitalia morphology to clarify species boundaries. An analysis of COI sequences from Costa Rican specimens confirmed that Calycopis susanna in Central America is comprised of two distinct species (Calycopis bactra and Calycopis janzeni, new species) identifying 24 fixed COI nucleotide differences separating Calycopis janzeni, new species from C. bactra. Nuclear DNA sequences further confirm the specific distinctness of these taxa, however, detailed nuclear analysis will be presented in chapter III. Calycopis janzeni, new species, ranges across North and Central America from Mexico to Panama, inhabiting wet lowland areas characterized by tropical evergreen rainforests and riparian zones. In South America, it ranges from Colombia to northern Brazil. A distribution map is provided to illustrate the geographic range of Calycopis janzeni, new species and the broader Calycopis bactra complex across North, Central and South America. The results demonstrate that the C. bactra complex in Central America consists of three closely related species with minimal morphological differentiation, likely due to recent evolutionary divergence. The adoption of molecular methods often highlights how traditional reliance on the biological species concept often underestimates biodiversity. In the second chapter, this study focuses on the Calycopis caulonia group, originally defined as the Calycopis janeirica group by Field in his work back in 1967. Using a maximum likelihood phylogenetic framework based on nuclear DNA sequences of all protein-coding genes from 45 specimens, we reevaluated the taxonomy of the group. Our findings reveal that four taxa previously recognized as distinct speciesC. caulonia, C. chacona, C. janeirica, and C. nicolayiare conspecific, representing a single species, C. caulonia. The inclusion of additional taxa, C. thama and C. mirna, further refined the monophyly of the group. This study also identified a misclassified species, previously referred to as C. bactra by Field in 1967, as a new species, Calycopis lanina. These results emphasize the limitations of morphology-based taxonomy and highlight the critical role of molecular data in resolving phylogenetic relationships and taxonomic ambiguities. The integration of molecular and morphological evidence offers a robust framework for reassessing species boundaries and understanding evolutionary processes within Calycopis. Future research on the ecological and life- history traits of these species will enhance our knowledge of their evolutionary adaptations in the Neotropics. At last, we perused a case of mito-nuclear discordance in the Calycopis cecrops lineage in North, Central and South America. The third chapter examines these discrepancies by integrating nuclear DNA data and morphological analyses to clarify the taxonomy within this group. To define the Calycopis cecrops lineage, we sequenced all protein-coding nuclear genes from 74 specimens identified as belonging to the genus Calycopis. These specimens were classified based on the morphological characters established by Field in 196 and refined by Duarte & Robbins back in 2010. We sequenced nuclear genes from specimens within the Calycopis cecrops lineage and conducted maximum likelihood phylogenetic analyses to confirm the monophyly of this lineage. We also performed phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial sequences to detect incongruences with nuclear data, focusing on potential mtDNA introgression. Our findings indicate that each of the seven recognized species in the C. cecrops lineage forms a monophyletic group based on nuclear DNA sequences. However, significant discordance exists between mitochondrial and nuclear datasets, with only a few species consistently identified. This incongruence is likely due to evolutionary processes such as introgressive hybridization and incomplete lineage sorting. Previous research has documented mtDNA introgression in Calycopis species, suggesting that such genetic exchanges may contribute to the observed mito-nuclear discordance. Further investigation is necessary to elucidate the mechanisms driving mtDNA introgression and its implications for species delineation within the C. cecrops lineage.