<strong>New Caledonia's Trichoptera—present status of knowledge</strong>

Abstract

The first Trichoptera recorded from New Caledonia were four species described by Kimmins in 1953, each in a new endemic genus. The diversity was increased to eight species with the publication by Sykora in 1967 of three new species in two new genera and a fourth species in a previously established genus. Today, 239 valid species are known from the country, representing 20 genera in 10 families. Analysis of published records for some 32,000 Trichoptera specimens collected from 291 localities shows that the highest species diversity is in the SE part of the Grande Terre, and that species diversity is greatest at lower altitudes, i.e. 0-200 meters above sea level. We also see that the three most frequently collected families (85% of the individuals) in the sampled material are Hydroptilidae (35%), followed by Hydropsychidae (27%), and Leptoceridae (22%). Phylogenetic analyses have demonstrated that the first species to occupy the island and the earliest radiations took place on areas covered by ultrabasic substrate, which is poor in nutrients and rich in certain toxic heavy metals.

Big diversity in a small hotspot: two new species of Leptophlebiidae (Insecta, Ephemeroptera) from New Caledonia

“…1 ), is characterised by a highly diverse landscape due to varied geological, topographic and climatic conditions, which is crucial for terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity ( Murienne 2009 ). Freshwater habitats of Grande Terre mostly consist of small fast-flowing streams and brooks hosting several species-rich groups of aquatic insects, mainly aquatic Coleoptera , Trichoptera , Odonata , and Ephemeroptera ( Peters 2001 ; Jäch and Balke 2010 ; Grand et al 2014 ; Johanson and Wells 2019 ). Of these, Ephemeroptera exhibit an exceptional level of endemism, with 19 genera endemic to New Caledonia, compared to, for example, only five endemic genera known in species-rich Trichoptera ( Johanson and Wells 2019 ) or no endemic genus in aquatic Heteroptera and Odonata ( Damgaard and Zettel 2014 ; Grand et al 2014 ).…”

“…Freshwater habitats of Grande Terre mostly consist of small fast-flowing streams and brooks hosting several species-rich groups of aquatic insects, mainly aquatic Coleoptera , Trichoptera , Odonata , and Ephemeroptera ( Peters 2001 ; Jäch and Balke 2010 ; Grand et al 2014 ; Johanson and Wells 2019 ). Of these, Ephemeroptera exhibit an exceptional level of endemism, with 19 genera endemic to New Caledonia, compared to, for example, only five endemic genera known in species-rich Trichoptera ( Johanson and Wells 2019 ) or no endemic genus in aquatic Heteroptera and Odonata ( Damgaard and Zettel 2014 ; Grand et al 2014 ). Most aquatic insects endemic to New Caledonia belong to genera distributed throughout Australasia.…”

Three new species of Oxyethira Eaton, 1873 (Trichoptera: Hydroptilidae) from New Caledonia

“…A total of 26 species of Oxyethira are registered from New Caledonia belonging to 3 subgenera: Dampfitrichia Mosely, 1937 (one species), Pacificotrichia Kelley, 1989 (13 species) andTrichoglene Neboiss, 1977 (11 species). Another species, O. macropennis Wells & Johanson, 2015, remains unplaced to subgenus (Wells & Johanson 2015;Johanson & Wells 2019).…”

Description of 47 new species of the New Caledonian endemic caddisfly genus Agmina Ward &amp; Schefter (Trichoptera, Ecnomidae)

“…New Caledonia in the southwest Pacific is the smallest of the original biodiversity hotspots (Myers et al 2000) and has a rich both terrestrial and freshwater insect fauna (e.g., Balke et al 2007;Espeland and Johanson 2010a, b;Papadopoulou et al 2013;Gibbs and Lees 2014). The islands have been shown to be especially rich in caddisflies (Trichoptera) with almost 250 described species and an estimated total of 300 to 600 species (Espeland and Johanson 2010a;Johanson and Wells 2019). The caddisfly genus Agmina Ward & Schefter, 2000 (Ecnomidae) currently contains 28 species all endemic to New Caledonia.…”

“…The caddisfly genus Agmina Ward & Schefter, 2000 (Ecnomidae) currently contains 28 species all endemic to New Caledonia. Approximately 40% of these species were described based on single specimens and it has been predicted that the total number of species is probably much higher (Ward and Schefter 2000;Ward 2003;Johanson and Wells 2019;Wells et al 2019). Support for this comes from a phylogenetic study showing that there are at least 47 undescribed species in the genus, making it one of the largest known animal radiations on New Caledonia (Espeland and Johanson 2010), now possibly surpassed only by eumolpine leaf beetles (Papadopoulou et al 2013).…”