Integrative Taxonomic Analysis Doubles Number of Species in the Central Asian Butterfly Genus Lyela (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Satyrinae)
2025
Vladimir A. Lukhtanov
Lyela Swinhoe, 1908 is a small Central Asian butterfly genus, in which three species were previously recognized based on comparison of wing patterns. The present study, based on an extensive population sample across the entire range of Lyela and using integrative taxonomy methods, confirmed the monophyly of the genus and revealed the paraphyly of the most widespread species, Lyela myops sensu auct. The genus is shown to include six species, L. myops (Staudinger, 1881) (Kazakhstan, northern Kyrgyzstan, northwestern China, and southwestern Mongolia), L. tashkumirica Lukhtanov, 2024, stat. nov. (Fergana Valley in Kyrgyzstan), L. babatagi Tshikolovets, 1998, stat. nov. (southern Uzbekistan and eastern Turkmenistan), L. tekkensis (Staudinger, 1886), stat. nov. (southwestern Turkmenistan and northeastern Iran), L. macmahoni Swinhoe, 1908 (Pakistan and Afghanistan), and L. amirica Wyatt, 1961 (Afghanistan). Each of these species represents a monophyletic unity with respect to the COI gene and is separated from the other species by a distinct barcoding gap and structural differences in the male genitalia.
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