title: Integrative analyses unveil speciation linked to host plant shift in Spialia butterflies.
abstract: Discovering cryptic species in well-studied areas and taxonomic groups can have profound implications in understanding eco-evolutionary processes and in nature conservation because such groups often involve research models and act as flagship taxa for nature management. In this study, we use an array of techniques to study the butterflies in the Spialia sertorius species group (Lepidoptera, Hesperiidae). The integration of genetic, chemical, cytogenetic, morphological, ecological and microbiological data indicates that the sertorius species complex includes at least five species that differentiated during the last three million years. As a result, we propose the restitution of the species status for two taxa often treated as subspecies, Spialia ali (Oberthür, 1881) stat. rest. and Spialia therapne (Rambur, 1832) stat. rest., and describe a new cryptic species Spialia rosae Hernández-Roldán, Dapporto, Dincă, Vicente & Vila sp. nov. Spialia sertorius (Hoffmannsegg, 1804) and S. rosae are sympatric and synmorphic, but show constant differences in mitochondrial DNA, chemical profiles and ecology, suggesting that S. rosae represents a case of ecological speciation involving larval host plant and altitudinal shift, and apparently associated with Wolbachia infection. This study exemplifies how a multidisciplinary approach can reveal elusive cases of hidden diversity.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37, E-08003, Barcelona, Spain.|Departamento de Biología (Zoología), Facultad de Ciencias de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C/ Darwin 2, E-28049, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Hernández-Roldán
authors.affiliation: Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37, E-08003, Barcelona, Spain.|Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via Madonna del Piano 6, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, FI, Italy.
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dapporto
authors.affiliation: Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37, E-08003, Barcelona, Spain.|Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, N1G 2W1.
authors.forename: Vlad
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Dincă
authors.affiliation: C/ Witerico, 9A - Bajo B, E-28025, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Vicente
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK.
authors.forename: Emily A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Hornett
authors.affiliation: Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre ASCR, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Jindra
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Šíchová
authors.affiliation: Department of Karyosystematics, Zoological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya nab. 1, 199034, St. Petersburg, Russia.|Department of Entomology, St. Petersburg State University, Universitetskaya nab. 7/9, 199034, St. Petersburg, Russia.
authors.forename: Vladimir A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Lukhtanov
authors.affiliation: Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37, E-08003, Barcelona, Spain.|Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.
authors.forename: Gerard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Talavera
authors.affiliation: Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37, E-08003, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vila
mesh_terms: D000352:Africa, Northern; D000531:Altitude; D000818:Animals; D002080:Butterflies / Q000145:classification*; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D005061:Europe, Eastern; D049810:Genetic Speciation; D007814:Larva; D010802:Phylogeny; D020577:Wolbachia
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial
keywords: Lepidoptera; biogeography; butterflies; new species; phylogeny; speciation