Molecular Evaluations and Genetic Divergence of Erynnis tages and Erynnis marloyi (Lepidoptera, Hesperiidae) Based on mtCOI Gene with Turkey Populations

Erynnis tages and Erynnis marloyi were known as European species until recent years. Due to their narrow distribution areas, the morphological similarities of the two species were very high, and their status was controversial. However, as the records of these species came from the new regions, their distribution areas turned out to be wide, contrary to what is known. With the mtCOI gene barcode, there was a chance to identify genetic variations hidden between inter-species and intra-species. The present study was the first time the barcode characterization of populations in Turkey and other registered population of barcodes with the genetic variation were assessed. Phylogenetic trees based on mt COI gene sequences were created using Neighbor-joining, Bayesian inference, and maximum-likelihood algorithms. Genetic divergence was confirmed by Automatic Barcode Gap Analysis using the Kimura 2 parameter. It is genetically confirmed that E.tages and E.marloyi are two distinct species independent from each other. E.tages population of Turkey was found genetically similar to that of the population belonging to southern Italy. Southern Russia was also genetically similar. However, E. marloyi Turkey's population was genetically similar to the population of Iran.