DNA barcodes from over-a-century-old type specimens shed light on the taxonomy of a group of rare butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Calinaginae)

We analyzed COI barcode sequences from 138 over-a-century old specimens of Calinaga including 36 name-bearing type specimens stored at the Natural History Museum London. These new data, combined with previously available RPS5 sequences, divide the Calinaga samples into four well-supported mitochondrial lineages that together with a novel wing-pattern analysis, support the recognition of six species ( lhatso , buddha , brahma , aborica , formosana and davidis ), with all other names subsumed either as subspecies or synonyms. One new taxon is described, Calinaga aborica naima Vane-Wright, ssp. n .