Genomic species delimitation of Phyciodes butterflies
The four traditionally-recognized species in the Phyciodes tharos group of butterflies (P. tharos, P. cocyta, P. batesii, P. pulchella) have caused taxonomic difficulty due to similar morphological phenotypes and wide areas of sympatry. We assessed species boundaries for this group, with a focus on western Canada, using genome-wide SNPs from ddRAD sequences. Phylogenetic and cluster-based analyses revealed genomic evidence for all four species, supported by the genomic integrity species concept (Sperling 2003). Mitochondrial COI haplotypes were also examined and were shared extensively between species.