Phylogeny of Parnassiinae: Comparative analysis of DNA and morphology, with implications for the classification of the subfamily (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae)

The Parnassiinae (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) are a group of primitive swallowtail butterflies comprising 8 genera and about 70 species that are primarily distributed in the Palaearctic region. Numerous attempts have been made during the past century to infer the phylogeny of the group based on morphological characters of adults and immature stages, but the results have been conflicting and confusing. This is a comprehensive effort to resolve the phylogeny of the group, using 7 mitochondrial or nuclear genes in conjunction with 236 morphological characters. Morphological characters were mostly introduced and discussed by previous workers, and are re-examined here. The systematic conclusions of this study differ from previous work by recognizing a third tribe, Luehdorfiini, within the subfamily Parnassiinae. The phylogeography of species in several western palaearctic genera in the subfamily is examined and cases of high nucleotide divergence are interpreted as possible speciation events.