Genomics-guided refinement of butterfly taxonomy

Continuing with comparative genomic exploration of worldwide butterfly fauna, we use all protein-coding genes as they are retrieved from the whole genome shotgun sequences for phylogeny construction. Analysis of these genome scale phylogenies projected onto the taxonomic classification and the knowledge about butterfly phenotypes suggests further refinements of butterfly taxonomy that are presented here. As a general guide, we assign most prominent clades of similar genetic differentiation to the same taxonomic rank, and use criteria based on relative population diversification and the extent of gene exchange for species delimitation.