So far, six species of Oxeoschistus Butler, including its junior synonym Dioriste Thieme, were listed from Central America, with five of them from Costa Rica alone, which appears to represent the highest regional diversity of this Neotropical montane butterfly genus. Our research based on field work, morphological studies and barcode analysis proved that one record is a misunderstanding perpetuated in scientific literature for over a century: Oxeoschistus cothonides Grose-Smith is identified here as an individual form of the female of O. cothon Salvin. The presence of Oxeoschistus tauropolis (Westwood) in Costa Rica, subject to some controversy, is confirmed, and a new local subspecies is described from Costa Rica, O. tauropolis mitsuko Pyrcz & Nakamura n. ssp. Specific status of O. euriphyle Butler is reinstated based on morphological and molecular data. A new subspecies O. hilara lempira Pyrcz n. ssp. is described from Honduras. O. puerta submaculatus Butler is reported for the first time from the Darién region on the Panama-Colombia border. Species relationships are preliminarily evaluated based on COI data concluding, among others, that O. hilara and O. euriphyle are less closely related than previously assumed. Altitudinal and distributional data are revised, and ecological and behavioural information of all the species of Central American Oxeoschistus is provided.

Arhuaco Adams & Bernard ( 1977 ) is one of the least known genera of Neotropical Satyrinae. It comprises two species and presents an unusual disjunct distribution, with A. ica Adams & Bernard ( 1977 ), endemic to the isolated Colombian Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and A. dryadina (Schaus 1913 ) found in the mountains of Costa Rica and Panama. Here, the female of A. dryadina is described, and a new generic diagnosis is presented. Affinities with other genera of the subtribe Pronophilina, in particular the potential closest relatives, such as Pronophila Doubleday ( 1849 ), are investigated based on morphological, molecular, ecological, and behavioral data. Results from molecular and morphological sources are incongruent. Molecular data indicate that Arhuaco is paraphyletic, with A. dryadina segregating within the Pronophila clade. Morphological data, by contrast, indicate a closer affinity between the two species currently placed in Arhuaco , favoring the monophyly of the genus, and show no consistent synapomorphies for Arhuaco + Pronophila . A vicariance biogeographical scenario is evaluated.

Establishing reliable taxonomy and phylogeny of similar, evolutionarily young species is among the greatest challenges in biology. Clearly the best approach is to use a combination of informative traits, including molecular markers and morphometric measurements. The objective of this study was to verify the taxonomy and phylogeny of four morphologically similar Carpathian species of Bryodaemon Podlussany, 1998 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae).Species relationships were studied using three molecular markers: two nuclear (ITS-2 and EF1-á) and one mitochondrial (COI, barcoding marker). We also took morphometric measurements of 35 taxonomically derived characteristics of body parts and genital apparatus. The potential presence of apomorphic features also was determined. We then compared our results with data concerning the ecology and geography of previously studied species. Our analyses confirmed the monophyly of this group and established a phylogeny for the genus. We propose that B. hanakii is the earliest derived species, based on morphometric measurements, apomorphies and the EF-1á phylogeny. The pattern of nucleotide variation in this marker also indicates that B. rozneri and B. boroveci are the youngest species. This hypothesis is consistent with geographical ranges and ecological preferences of Carpathian Bryodaemon species. We also considered an alternative hypothesis based on the COI gene tree which indicated that B. rozneri was the oldest species. However, this arrangement is inconsistent with our morphological data.

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