Leptocneria vinarskii sp. nov. (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Lymantriinae), an overlooked Wallacean lineage of the Australian genus

Ivan N Bolotov,Vitaly M Spitsyn,Mikhail Yu Gofarov,Alexander V Kondakov,Yulia S Kolosova

doi:10.1038/s41598-017-12797-3

Ivan N Bolotov, Vitaly M Spitsyn + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-12797-3

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Abstract

The tussock moth genus Leptocneria Butler, 1886 (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Lymantriinae) has been considered an entirely Australian taxon that includes two species: L. reducta (Walker, 1855) and L. binotata Butler, 1886. However, we discovered a divergent lineage of Leptocneria inhabiting Flores Island, Lesser Sundas, Indonesia. Here, we describe this lineage as the third species of the genus, L. vinarskii Bolotov, Kondakov et Spitsyn sp. nov. The new species is sister to L. reducta but differs from it by dark gray marking patterns of the forewing that lack orange or dark yellow marks. The mean COI genetic distance between L. vinarskii sp. nov. and L. reducta sensu lato is 2.9%. Our findings confirm that the Wallacean region was a faunal exchange area between Sundaland and Sahul during the Pleistocene but highlight that the vicariance events may have played a crucial role in origin of the endemic faunas on the islands of East Nusa Tenggara. Additionally, we show that both Australian species most likely represent cryptic species complexes, which are in need of further taxonomic revision.

Highlights

The genus Leptocneria Butler, 1886 includes two described species with an exclusively Australian distribution range[1]
The three sequenced specimens from Flores Island share a single haplotype of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene (Supplementary Table 1)
Our results reveal that the number of species in the genus Leptocneria was largely underestimated, because each of the previously described species in the genus most likely represents a species complex (Fig. 1 and Supplementary Fig. 1)

Summary

Introduction

The genus Leptocneria Butler, 1886 includes two described species with an exclusively Australian distribution range[1]. The white cedar moth Leptocneria reducta (Walker, 1855) is famous because it is an abundant pest species, the larvae of which may cause urticarial dermatitis in humans[1,2,3,4] and possibly abortions in mares[5] The larvae of this species frequently defoliate white cedar trees, Melia azedarach[6,7]. Leptocneria taxa were unknown outside Australia, in the collection of the Northern Arctic Federal University (NARFU, Arkhangelsk, Russia) we discovered a sample of moth specimens from Flores Island, Lesser Sundas, Indonesia They are related to L. reducta, but clearly differ from it in their marking patterns. We show that the Australian species most likely represent two complexes of cryptic species-level taxa, but their in-depth revision is beyond the scope of the present study

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