Abstract
Here we elucidate and justify a DNA barcode approach to insect species description that can be applied to name tens of thousands of species of Ichneumonoidea and many other species-rich taxa. Each description consists of a lateral habitus image of the specimen, a COI barcode diagnosis, and the holotype specimen information required by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. We believe this approach, or a slight modification of it, will be useful for many other underdescribed hyperdiverse taxa, especially in the tropics. Due to the extreme species-richness of the Ichneumonoidea, the very low percentage of described species, and the lack of detailed biological information for most described species, the standard taxonomic approach is inefficient and overwhelmingly time consuming. A DNA barcode-based approach to initial description will provide a solid foundation of species hypotheses from which more comprehensive descriptions can be developed as other data, time, and budgets permit. Here we elucidate this view and detailed methodology that can generally be applied to species-rich underdescribed taxa. A real example is given by describing species in two genera,HemichomaandZelomorpha, reared from the Área de Conservación Guanacaste in northwestern Costa Rica. The generic type speciesZelomorphaarizonensisis given a DNA barcode diagnosis and the following new species are described:Zelomorphaangelsolisi,Zelomorphabobandersoni,Zelomorphadanjohnsoni,Zelomorphadonwindsori,Zelomorphaeffugia,Zelomorphajohnchemsaki,Zelomorphakellyanneae,Zelomorphalarrykirkendalli,Zelomorphamariyavladmirovnae,Zelomorphamikeiviei,Zelomorphamyricagaleae,Zelomorphanoahjaneae,Zelomorphapaulgoldsteini,Zelomorphaterryerwini,Zelomorphawillsflowersi,Hemichomadonwhiteheadi,Hemichomafrankhovorei, andHemichomajohnkingsolveri.
Highlights
Systematists have many powerful tools at their disposal for discovering, delimiting and describing new species, and an integrated taxonomic approach, combining morphological characters, identification keys, phylogenetic analyses with multiple molecular markers, and ecological data, is currently the gold standard for quality descriptions of new species (Will et al 2005; Burns et al 2008; Pante et al 2014; Janzen et al 2017)
We propose the description of new species based primarily on the DNA barcode molecular marker as a first step in the systematic study of terminal taxa in the highly diverse superfamily Ichneumonoidea
barcode index numbers (BINs) assignments were the same as final species hypotheses (Appendix 1), except in one case in which two species are included in one BIN, i.e., Z. johnchemsaki and Z. bobandersoni
Summary
Systematists have many powerful tools at their disposal for discovering, delimiting and describing new species, and an integrated taxonomic approach, combining morphological characters, identification keys, phylogenetic analyses with multiple molecular markers, and ecological data, is currently the gold standard for quality descriptions of new species (Will et al 2005; Burns et al 2008; Pante et al 2014; Janzen et al 2017). Such detailed investigation will produce high quality species hypotheses and should be the long-term goal in the taxonomic study of most organisms. As an example of necessity for a dramatic change in our approach to species descriptions, we elucidate the state of affairs in the Ichneumonoidea below
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