The Palaearctic butterfly genus Pseudophilotes Beuret, 1958 (Lycaenidae: Polyommatinae), that today occurs in North Africa and in Eurasia, includes ten described species with various distribution ranges, including endemics such as the Sardinian P. barbagiae. Phylogenetic relationships among these species are largely unresolved. In the present study, we analysed 158 specimens, representing seven species out of ten described in the genus, from widely distributed sites throughout the western Palaearctic region, using nuclear markers (28S rRNA, wingless, Internal Transcribed Spacer 2 and Elongation Factor 1α) and the barcoding region of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene to investigate if the current taxonomic entities match the phylogenetic pattern. Further, we attempt to infer the geographic origin of the genus Pseudophilotes and estimate the timing of its radiations, including the split of the Sardinian endemic P. barbagiae. Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian inference analyses confirmed the monophyly of the genus Pseudophilotes and clearly supported the closer affinity of P. barbagiae to the species assemblage of P. baton, P. vicrama and P. panoptes as opposed to P. abencerragus. The currently accepted species P. baton, P. vicrama and P. panoptes turned out to be weakly differentiated from each other, while P. bavius and P. fatma emerged as highly distinct and formed a well supported clade. The split between the lineage comprising bavius and fatma (sometimes treated as a distinct genus, Rubrapterus) with Salvia species as larval host plants, and the remaining Pseudophilotes that utilize Thymus and other Lamiaceae (but not Salvia), dates back to about 4.9 million years ago (Mya). Our results show that the last common ancestor of the genus probably lived in the Messinian period (5.33–7.25 Mya). At species level, they support the current taxonomy of the genus, although P. panoptes, P. baton and P. vicrama display complex patterns based on phylogeographic relationships inferred from mtDNA. The Sardinian endemic P. barbagiae turned out to be a young endemic, but clearly with European instead of North African origin and evolved through allopatric isolation on the island of Sardinia only about 0.74 Mya.

中文翻译：

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古生物学蝴蝶假单胞菌属（鳞翅目：Lycaenidae）的分子系统发育，重点是撒丁岛特有的P. barbagiae

古北蝶类假单胞菌Beuret，1958年（Lycaenidae：Polyommatinae），今天在北非和欧亚大陆出现，包括十个描述的物种，分布范围各异，其中包括撒丁岛P. barbagiae等特有种。这些物种之间的亲缘关系在很大程度上尚未解决。在本研究中，我们使用核标记（28S rRNA，无翼，内部转录间隔区2和延伸因子1α）分析了158个标本，代表该属描述的10个物种中的7个物种，分布在整个古古北地区。线粒体细胞色素C氧化酶亚基1基因的条形码区域，以调查当前的分类实体是否与系统发育模式匹配。进一步，我们试图推断假单胞菌属的地理起源，并估计其辐射的时间，包括撒丁岛特有的巴氏疟原虫的分裂。最大似然和贝叶斯推断分析证实了假单胞菌属的单亲性，并清楚地支持了巴氏疟原虫与棒状疟原虫，粘液性疟原虫和全聚假单胞菌相比，对本生疟原虫具有更强的亲和力。事实证明，目前公认的巴吞噬菌，粘液对虾和全聚对虾之间的分化程度较弱，而紫菜和法蒂玛则表现为高度不同，并形成了良好的支撑进化枝。包含鼠尾草属和幼虫寄主植物的包括b虫和脂肪的谱系（有时被视为独特的属Rubrapterus）的分裂，其余利用胸腺和其他唇形科（但不包括丹参）的假单胞菌，则可以追溯到大约490万年前（Mya）。我们的结果表明，该属的最后一个共同祖先可能生活在墨西尼时期（5.33-7.25 Mya）。在物种一级，它们支持当前属的分类，尽管P. panoptes，P。baton和P. vicrama根据基于mtDNA的系统地理关系显示出复杂的模式。撒丁岛特有的巴氏疟原虫是一种年轻的特有种，但显然是欧洲而不是北非起源的，并且在撒丁岛上仅通过异种隔离就进化出大约0.74 Mya。25 Mya）。在物种一级，它们支持当前属的分类，尽管P. panoptes，P。baton和P. vicrama根据基于mtDNA的系统地理关系显示出复杂的模式。撒丁岛特有的巴氏疟原虫是一种年轻的特有种，但显然是欧洲而不是北非起源的，并且在撒丁岛上仅通过异种隔离就进化出大约0.74 Mya。25 Mya）。在物种一级，它们支持当前属的分类，尽管P. panoptes，P。baton和P. vicrama根据基于mtDNA的系统地理关系显示出复杂的模式。撒丁岛特有的巴氏疟原虫是一种年轻的特有种，但显然是欧洲而不是北非起源的，并且在撒丁岛上仅通过异种隔离就进化出大约0.74 Mya。