Phylogeography of Two Enigmatic Sulphur Butterflies, Colias mongola Alphéraky, 1897 and Colias tamerlana Staudinger, 1897 (Lepidoptera, Pieridae), with Relations to Wolbachia Infection

The genus Colias Fabricius, 1807 includes numerous taxa and forms with uncertain status and taxonomic position. Among such taxa are Colias mongola Alphéraky, 1897 and Colias tamerlana Staudinger, 1897, interpreted in the literature either as conspecific forms, as subspecies of different but morphologically somewhat similar Colias species or as distinct species-level taxa. Based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA markers, we reconstructed a phylogeographic pattern of the taxa in question. We recover and include in our analysis DNA barcodes of the century-old type specimens, the lectotype of C. tamerlana deposited in the Natural History Museum (Museum für Naturkunde), Berlin, Germany (ZMHU) and the paralectotype of C. tamerlana and the lectotype of C. mongola deposited in the Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia (ZISP). Our analysis grouped all specimens within four (HP_I-HP_IV) deeply divergent but geographically poorly structured clades which did not support nonconspecifity of C. mongola-C. tamerlana. We also show that all studied females of the widely distributed haplogroup HP_II were infected with a single Wolbachia strain belonging to the supergroup B, while the males of this haplogroup, as well as all other investigated specimens of both sexes, were not infected. Our data highlight the relevance of large-scale sampling dataset analysis and the need for testing for Wolbachia infection to avoid erroneous phylogenetic reconstructions and species misidentification.

New data on geometroid moths (Lepidoptera: Geometroidea: Uraniidae and Geometridae) from Sakhalin and Moneron islands with notes on their taxonomy, distribution and ecology

The paper treats 51 species of geometroid moths (Lepidoptera: Uraniidae and Geometridae) from Sakhalin and Moneron islands, Russian Far East. Among them, one species (Trichopteryx fastuosa Inoue) is first reported from Russia; ten speciesfirst recorded for Sakhalin (Uranidae Epipleminae: Eversmannia exornata (Eversmann), Dysaethria illotata (Christoph), and D. moza (Butler); Geometridae: Idiotephria evanescens (Staudinger), Lampropteryx minna (Butler), Lomographa simplicior (Butler), Pachyerannis obliquaria (Motschulsky), Venusia phasma (Butler), V. semistrigata (Christoph), and Zanclidia testacea (Butler), and two geometrid speciesfirst recorded for Moneron (Acasis exviretata Inoue, and Abraxas niphonibia Wehrli). For 26 species, which Beljaev and Mironov (2019) first noted for Sakhalin without label data on the specimens, relevant materials are published. For nine species previously recorded from Sakhalin by single or few specimens or whose habitation on the island was in doubt, new confirming data are provided. For eight species erroneously reported from Sakhalin, their identifications are corrected and they are excluded from the fauna of the island (Acasis appensata, Comibaena tancrei, Dysstroma korbi, Eilicrinia nuptaria, Eupithecia neosatyrata, Myrioblephara nanaria, Photoscotosia lucicolens, and Trichopteryx incerta). The nominal taxon Eupithecia consueta Butler is restored from a synonymy with Pasiphila chloerata (Mabille) as a subspecies Pasiphila chloerata consueta (Butler), stat. n. In Trichopteryx Hbner and Pasiphila Meyrick, the presence of two cryptic species in East Asia is suggested. Extended notes on the general distribution, misidentifications and / or identification characters are provided for Eversmannia exornata, Dysaethria illotata, D. moza, Abraxas niphonibia, Acasis exviretata, Dysstroma citrata (Linnaeus), Eulithis achatinellaria (Oberthr), Ecliptopera pryeri (Butler), Idaea foedata (Butler), Laciniodes denigrata Warren, Lampropteryx minna (Butler), Larerannis orthogrammaria (Wehrli), Lomographa simplicior, Pasiphila chloerata (Mabille), Perizoma alchemillata (Linnaeus), Photoscotosia atrostrigata (Bremer), Platycerota incertaria (Leech), Timandra rectistrigaria (Eversmann), Trichopteryx hemana (Butler), Venusia phasma, V. semistrigata, and Xanthorhoe hortensiaria (Graeser). The keys to Trichopteryx carpinata (Borkhausen) and T. ignorata Inoue; to Eulithis achatinellaria and E. testata (Linnaeus); to Ecliptopera pryeri, E. silaceata leuca (Djakonov), and E. capitata capitulata (Staudinger), are given. In addition to data on Sakhalin, Dysaethria illotata is reported for the first time from the Kuril Islands, Dysaethria cretacea (Butler) is excluded from the fauna of Russia, Acasis exviretata is excluded from the continental Asian fauna, Xanthorhoe evae Viidalepp & Remm, is reported for the first time from China, and Lampropteryx minna and L. denigrata are excluded from the fauna of Mongolia. A series of reidentifications of the specimens from the BOLD and GBIF databases is suggested. Observations in nature, local and general distribution, biogeography and ecology of the considered Sakhalin geometrid moths, as well as their possible invasions of the island, are also briefly discussed.

Geometridae (Lepidoptera) of the Baikal region: identification keys and annotated catalogue with notes to DNA barcoding. Part 2. Archiearinae, Geometrinae, Sterrhinae

Dichotomous keys to 19 genera and 67 species of Archiearinae (2 genera, 3 species), Geometrinae (9 genera, 14 species) and Sterrhinae (8 genera, 50 species) of the Baikal region (Irkutskaya Oblast and Buryatia, Siberia) are given. The annotated catalogue including synonyms, the details of examined specimens, data on distribution and foodplants with references is provided. Distribution of Comibaena amoenaria (Oberthür, 1883) and Idaea falckii (Hedemann, 1879) in China is established. Lectotypes are designated for Hemistola zimmermanni and Hemistola intermedia Djakonov, 1926. Hemistola intermedia is synonymized with H. zimmermanni (syn. n.). Some taxonomic aspects of Hemistola zimmermanni (Hedemann, 1879), Idaea dohlmanni (Hedemann, 1881), Rhodostrophia jacularia (Hübner, [1813]) and Timandra griseata W. Petersen, 1902 are discussed. Results of DNA barcoding of ten species (Comibaena amoenaria (Oberthür, 1880), Hemistola zimmermanni, Thalera chlorosaria (Graeser, 1890), Chlorissa obliterata (Walker, 1863), Cleta jacutica Viidalepp, 1976, Idaea dohlmanni (Hedemann, 1881), Scopula agutsaensis Vasilenko, 1997, S. impersonata Walker, 1861, S. immutata (Linnaeus, 1758) and Scopula ornata (Scopoli, 1763)) are considered. Three cases of misidentifications and an erroneous association of species and its genitalia illustration in the public sources are recognized and corrected.

Multiple introgressions shape mitochondrial evolutionary history in Drosophila paulistorum and the Drosophila willistoni group

Hybridization and the consequent introgression of genomic elements is an important source of genetic diversity for biological lineages. This is particularly evident in young clades in which hybrid incompatibilities are still incomplete and mixing between species is more likely to occur. Drosophila paulistorum, a representative of the Neotropical Drosophila willistoni subgroup, is a classic model of incipient speciation. The species is divided into six semispecies that show varying degrees of pre- and post-mating incompatibility with each other. In the present study, we investigate the mitochondrial evolutionary history of D. paulistorum and the willistoni subgroup. For that, we perform phylogenetic and comparative analyses of the complete mitochondrial genomes and draft nuclear assemblies of 25 Drosophila lines of the willistoni and saltans species groups. Our results show that the mitochondria of D. paulistorum are polyphyletic and form two non-sister clades that we name α and β. Identification and analyses of nuclear mitochondrial insertions further reveal that the willistoni subgroup has an α-like mitochondrial ancestor and strongly suggest that both the α and β mitochondria of D. paulistorum were acquired through introgression from unknown fly lineages of the willistoni subgroup. We also uncover multiple mitochondrial introgressions across D. paulistorum semispecies and generate novel insight into the evolution of the species.

Integrative species delimitation reveals fine-scale allopatric speciation in a good-flying insect: a case study on

Alpha taxonomy is fundamental for many biological fields. Delineation of the species boundary, however, can be challenging in a species complex, where different species share a similar morphology and diagnostic characters may not be available. In this context, integrative approaches that incorporate molecular and morphological data sets, and account for speciation history can be helpful to alpha taxonomy. Different approaches to species delimitation based on different assumptions are complementary and by integrating the results from multiple approaches we can generate a more reliable and objective taxonomic decision. In this study, we applied three molecular approaches to species delimitation and inferred the demographic history based on an isolation with migration model to test a morphologically based taxonomic hypothesis for the Cylindera pseudocylindriformis complex. We discuss the association between genetic divergence and microhabitat specialisation, and further corroborate that C. subtilis sp. nov. is a valid new species by integrating the results from model-based species delimitation and the genealogical divergence index. We argue that genetic endemism can occur at a small geographic scale, even in a winged insect like tiger beetles. Our results also indicated that there may still be undocumented species diversity of Taiwanese Cylindera remaining to be discovered. ZooBank LSID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:9DEC1432-365C-4872-8D06-73B95F30624F

205 newly assembled mitogenomes provide mixed evidence for rivers as drivers of speciation for Amazonian primates

Mitochondrial DNA remains a cornerstone for molecular ecology, especially for study species from which high‐quality tissue samples cannot be easily obtained. Methods using mitochondrial markers are usually reliant on reference databases, but these are often incomplete. Furthermore, available mitochondrial genomes often lack crucial metadata, such as sampling location, limiting their utility for many analyses. Here, we assembled 205 new mitochondrial genomes for platyrrhine primates, most from the Amazon and with known sampling locations. We present a dated mitogenomic phylogeny based on these samples along with additional published platyrrhine mitogenomes, and use this to assess support for the long‐standing riverine barrier hypothesis (RBH), which proposes that river formation was a major driver of speciation in Amazonian primates. Along the Amazon, Negro, and Madeira rivers, we found mixed support for the RBH. While we identified divergences that coincide with a river barrier, only some occur synchronously and also overlap with the proposed dates of river formation. The most compelling evidence is for the Amazon river potentially driving speciation within bearded saki monkeys (Chiropotes spp.) and within the smallest extant platyrrhines, the marmosets and tamarins. However, we also found that even large rivers do not appear to be barriers for some primates, including howler monkeys (Alouatta spp.), uakaris (Cacajao spp.), sakis (Pithecia spp.), and robust capuchins (Sapajus spp.). Our results support a more nuanced, clade‐specific effect of riverine barriers and suggest that other evolutionary mechanisms, besides the RBH and allopatric speciation, may have played an important role in the diversification of platyrrhines.