First record of Alucita danunciae (Lepidoptera: Alucitidae) in Peru

Phyllocnistis furcata sp. nov.: a new species of leaf-miner associated with Baccharis (Asteraceae) from Southern Peru (Lepidoptera, Gracillariidae)

The southwestern Andes of Peru harbors a hidden taxonomic diversity of Lepidoptera. Here a new leaf-mining species of Gracillariidae (Lepidoptera) is described, Phyllocnistisfurcata Vargas & Cerdeña, sp. nov., from a dry Andean valley of southern Peru, at 2400 m above sea level. The morphological aspects of adults (male and female) and the immature stages associated with Baccharisalnifolia Meyen & Walp. (Asteraceae) are given, under optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. DNA barcodes show that its nearest neighbor is the Atlantic Forest species Phyllocnistisourea Brito & Moreira, 2017 that feeds on Baccharisanomala DC. The importance of morphological characters from immature stages for diagnosis among congeneric species is also discussed. Phyllocnistisfurcata represents the fourth species of Phyllocnistis Zeller for Peru, and first record from the south of Peru for the genus.

Cryptic Diversity in the Monotypic Neotropical Micromoth Genus Angelabella (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) in the Peru-Chile Desert

Simple Summary

The Neotropical Region harbors a highly diverse and poorly known fauna of leaf miners of the micromoth family Gracillariidae (Lepidoptera). Angelabella is a genus of Gracillariidae whose geographic range is restricted to a few valleys of the arid environments of the Peru-Chile desert. Only one species is currently included in this genus. The aims of this study were to explore the geographic range, determine the spatial distribution of mitochondrial lineages, and test lineage conspecificity hypotheses in Angelabella. The spatial distribution of genetic diversity indicated four spatial clusters, three of which are north of the previously known geographic range. These groups were defined as different species by four species delimitation methods. These results suggest that Angelabella harbors at least four morphologically cryptic species with restricted, not overlapping geographic ranges. This study shows that adequate single locus sequence analysis can be useful to discover surprising biodiversity patterns in underexplored environments, providing the base to plan further studies involving little-known organisms.

Abstract

Angelabella (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae: Oecophyllembiinae) is considered a monotypic Neotropical genus of leaf miner micromoths known only from a few valleys of the arid environments of the Peru-Chile desert, particularly the southernmost part of Peru and northernmost part of Chile (type locality), where natural populations of its primary host plant occur. The geographic distribution of potential host plants provides a scenario for a wider range for this micromoth genus. The aims of this study were to explore the geographic range of Angelabella, determine the spatial distribution of mitochondrial lineages, and test lineage conspecificity hypotheses. The spatial distribution of genetic diversity indicated the presence of four spatial clusters, three of which are north of the previously known geographic range. Genetic distances were 0.2–0.8% and 3.6–8.3% (K2P) between haplotypes of the same and different spatial clusters, respectively. Phylogenetic relationships indicated reciprocal monophyly among the four spatial clusters, suggesting that allopatric differentiation processes have governed the recent history of Angelabella in these arid environments. These groups were defined as different species by four species delimitation methods, suggesting that Angelabella is not a monotypic genus, but harbors at least four morphologically cryptic allopatric species with restricted geographic ranges, including the type species and three candidate species.