Chromosomal and DNA barcode analysis of the Staudinger, 1881 species complex (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae).

The species of the Staudinger, 1881 complex are distributed in Central Asia. Here we show that this complex is a monophyletic group including the species, , Sheljuzhko, 1929 and Fruhstorfer, 1917. The haploid chromosome number n=29 is found in and and is, most likely, a symplesiomorphy of the complex. We show that consists of four subspecies: Lukhtanov, 1999 (= Lukhtanov, 1999, ) (South Altai, Zaisan Lake valley), (Dzhungarian Alatau), Seitz, 1908 (North, East, Central and West Tian-Shan) and Bryk, 1940 (described from "Fu-Shu-Shi", China). We demonstrate that (Peter the Great Mts in Tajikistan) and Kolesnichenko, 1999 (Alai Mts in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan) are distinct taxa despite their geographic proximity in East Tajikistan. is widely distributed in the southern part of Central Asia and is sympatric with .