Phylogeny and evolution of butterflies of the genus Parnassius: inferences from mitochondrial 16S and ND1 sequences.

Phylogenetic relationships among species of the genus Parnassius and its related taxa were analyzed by comparing nucleotide sequences of mitochondrial 16S ribosomal RNA (504 sites) and NADH-dehydrogenase subunit 1 (469 sites). In the phylogenetic trees, Parnassius was found to be most closely related to Hypermnestra helios, whereas Archon apollinus, which has been classified in the tribe Parnassiini together with Parnassius and Hypermnestra, was more closely related to members of the tribe Zerynthiini. Within the Parnassius clade, six major clades corresponding to species groups were well supported, although the phylogenetic relationships among them were not clear. Although the results of the present study were in agreement with those of a previous phylogenetic study based on mitochondrial NADH-dehydrogenase subunit 5 sequences, our study strongly supported a close relationship between Parnassius and Hypermnestra, which was not well supported in the previous study.