DNA barcodes from over-a-century-old type specimens shed light on the taxonomy of a group of rare butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Calinaginae)

Abstract

We analyzed COI barcode sequences from 138 over-a-century old specimens of <jats:italic>Calinaga</jats:italic> including 36 name-bearing type specimens stored at the Natural History Museum London. These new data, combined with previously available RPS5 sequences, divide the <jats:italic>Calinaga</jats:italic> samples into four well-supported mitochondrial lineages that together with a novel wing-pattern analysis, support the recognition of six species (<jats:italic>lhatso</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>buddha</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>brahma</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>aborica</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>formosana</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>davidis</jats:italic>), with all other names subsumed either as subspecies or synonyms. One new taxon is described, <jats:italic>Calinaga aborica naima</jats:italic> Vane-Wright, <jats:bold>ssp. n</jats:bold>.