Analysis of the Holarctic Dictyoptera aurora Complex (Coleoptera, Lycidae) Reveals Hidden Diversity and Geographic Structure in Müllerian Mimicry Ring

Abstract

The elateroid family Lycidae is known for limited dispersal propensity and high species-level endemism. The red net-winged beetle, Dictyoptera aurora (Herbst, 1874), differs from all relatives by the range comprising almost the entire Holarctic region. Based on a five-marker phylogeny and 67 barcode entries (cox1-5′ mtDNA) from the whole range, we recovered two genetically distinct species within traditionally defined D. aurora and resurrected the name D. coccinata (Say, 1835) as the oldest available synonym for Nearctic populations. Yet, no reliable morphological trait distinguishes these species except for minute differences in the male genitalia. D. coccinata is a monophylum resulting from a single Miocene dispersal event, ~15.8 million years ago, and genetic divergence implies long-term isolation by the Bering Strait. Far East Asian and west European populations are also genetically distinct, although to a lower extent. Two independent colonization events established the Fennoscandian populations after the last glacial maximum. Besides intrinsic factors, the high morphological similarity might result from stabilizing selection for shared aposematic signals. The rapidly accumulating barcode data provide valuable information on the evolutionary history and the origins of regional faunas.

European net-winged beetles of the Pyropterus clade, with the description of Gomezzuritus gen. nov. (Coleoptera: Lycidae)

“…Larvae of several more distant Dictyopterini genera have been described. The larva of Gomezzuritus is easily distinguishable from that of Dictyoptera by the divided tergite 9 (Kazantsev & Nikitsky 2011;Motyka et al 2022). The other known larva of Dictyopterini is Punicealis medvedevi Kazantsev, 1990.…”

“…; Motyka et al 2023Motyka et al , 2023. The Western Palaearctic fauna is almost completely isolated from East Asia when only three species occur from East Asia to Northeastern Europe, and one species is widespread in almost the entire Palaearctic region (Kazantsev 2012a;Motyka et al 2022). No lycids occur in the dry area between the eastern Himalayas, Hindukush, and Elburz, and no genus is shared by the Palaearctic and Afrotropical regions (Masek et al 2018).…”