Neotropical Eois (Lepidoptera: Geometridae): Checklist, Biogeography, Diversity, and Description Patterns

Abstract

Abstract The moth genus Eois Hübner (Lepidoptera: Geometridae: Larentiinae) comprises 254 validly described species, 211 of them (83%) occurring in the Neotropical region, 12% in the Asian-Australian region, and 5% in Africa. A checklist of Neotropical Eois is provided and some taxonomic changes are made. Aplogompha noctilaria (Schaus) is excluded from the genus, and Eois bermellada (Dognin) and Eois fragilis (Warren) are transferred to the genus. Further changes include Eois cellulata (Prout) stat. rev., Eois ambarilla (Dognin) stat. rev., and Eois telegraphica Prout stat. rev. By far, the majority of Eois species (82%) were described between 1891 and 1920; approximately half of all species by just two authors. Within the Neotropical region, the majority of species (55%) were described from the tropical Andes (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia), followed by Central America and the Caribbean (28%), and the rest of South America (17%). Large regions such as the Amazon basin, eastern South America, but also northern Peru are heavily underrepresented. Regional diversity studies provide evidence that the wet tropical Andes are the diversity hotspot of Eois. From a forested elevational gradient (1,020–2,670 m above sea level) in southeastern Ecuador, 154 morphospecies are currently known, with only ≈12% of them described. Regional species richness in Central America is lower (Costa Rica, 66 observed morphospecies along a gradient from 40 to 2,730 m; ≈29% described). Total richness of the genus is estimated to be >1,000 species in the Neotropical region. R the low proportions of described species only partly recur in other groups of Neotropical geometrid moths, their number may exceed 19,000 species. A taxonomic revision of Eois will be a prerequisite for comparison of ecological data from different regions.