A new species of Ithome Chambers (Lepidoptera, Cosmopterigidae, Chrysopeleiinae) from the Atacama Desert revealed by morphology and DNA barcodes

Abstract

Morphology and DNA barcode sequences were used to assess the taxonomic status of a micro-moth of the genus Ithome Chambers, 1875 (Lepidoptera, Cosmopterigidae, Chrysopeleiinae), whose larvae feed on inflorescences of Prosopis tamarugo Phil. (Fabaceae), a tree native to the Pampa del Tamarugal, Atacama Desert, northern Chile. As a result, Ithome tamarugensis Vargas, sp. nov. is described and illustrated. Its genitalia are remarkably similar to those of Ithome tiaynai Vargas, 2004 from coastal valleys of the Atacama Desert. However, the two species can be recognized by the shape of the phallus in males and the shape of the antrum and ductus bursae in females. The genetic distance between DNA barcodes of I. tamarugensis and I. tiaynai was 3.0–3.3% (K2P), and a maximum likelihood analysis indicated that they are in reciprocally monophyletic clusters, providing additional support for the heterospecific status suggested by morphology.

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

“…Despite the absence of obvious morphological differentiation between samples of Angelabella , the deep divergence between haplotypes of different spatial clusters, their reciprocal monophyly indicated by the phylogenetic analysis and the highly consistent results of the four species delimitation analyses suggest heterospecific status for the geographically isolated lineages analyzed. Patterns of allopatric genetic differentiation similar to those found in this study have been recorded for populations of Bucculatricidae [ 19 ] and Tortricidae [ 59 ], and pairs of morphologically cryptic allopatric species are known to occur in Cosmopterigidae [ 60 ] and Tortricidae [ 61 ] near the study area, suggesting the characteristics of these hyperarid landscapes as a causal agent of allopatric diversification processes among populations of micromoths in the Peru-Chile desert.…”

Scrobipalpulopsis aguilaensis sp. nov. (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae), the first representative of the genus discovered in the Atacama Desert, northern Chile

“…Despite the extreme aridity of the Atacama Desert, which is one of the oldest regions in the world under continuously arid conditions (Clarke 2006), its native plants support populations of native species of Lepidoptera that have remained overlooked until recently (Davis et al 2020;Espinoza-Donoso et al 2020;Vargas 2021). It is hoped that the discovery of S. aguilaensis sp.…”