Phylogenetic revision of the Charis gynaea group (Lepidoptera : Riodinidae) with comments on historical relationships among neotropical areas of endemism

A revision of the Charis gynaea group of Neotropical riodinid butterflies i s presented. We recognize eight species, including five that are described here: C. barnesi, C. callaghani, C, gallardi, C. nicolayi, and C. smalli, T he taxa zama and candiope, previously treated as subspecies of Charis gynae a, are both returned to species status (stat. revs.), and the latter is exc luded from the gynaea group. The taxon pyritis is synonymized with C. candi ope (n. syn.). A cladistic analysis using seventeen characters of male and female genitalia and external facies generated a single most parsimonious c ladogram indicating the existence of two clades, one containing smalli + ni colayi and the other containing the remaining species. In the latter gynaea clade. all species except C, hermodora are distributed parapatrically thro ughout the Neotropics. An area cladogram indicates the historical relations hips among endemic centers for this last group to be southeast Brazil + (Gu ianas + (Central America + Amazon)). This hypothesis is compared with those generated for birds.