Mitochondrial chromosome as a marker of animal migratory routes: DNA barcoding revealed Asian (non-African) origin of a tropical migrant butterfly Junonia orithya in south Israel

Vladimir A Lukhtanov; Elena A Pazhenkova; Asya V Novikova

doi:10.3897/CompCytogen.v10i4.11085

Mitochondrial chromosome as a marker of animal migratory routes: DNA barcoding revealed Asian (non-African) origin of a tropical migrant butterfly Junonia orithya in south Israel

Comp Cytogenet. 2016 Dec 1;10(4):671-677. doi: 10.3897/CompCytogen.v10i4.11085. eCollection 2016.

Authors

Vladimir A Lukhtanov¹, Elena A Pazhenkova¹, Asya V Novikova²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Karyosystematics, Zoological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya nab. 1, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia; Department of Entomology, St. Petersburg State University, Universitetskaya nab. 7/9, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia.
² Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Givat Ram, Berman bldg, 91904 Jerusalem, Israel.

Abstract

The blue pansy Junonia orithya Linnaeus, 1758 (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae) is widely distributed along the tropical areas of Africa, Asia and Australia. It is also known as a migrant species in the Levant. Here we record Junonia orithya in south Israel and provide a DNA-barcode-based evidence for its Asian (non-African) origin.

Keywords: COI; Iran; Jordan; Nymphalidae; barcode libraries; migration.