RESUMEN
The butterfly assemblage of Ladakh Trans-Himalaya demands a thorough analysis of their population genetic structure owing to their typical biogeographic affinity and their adaptability to extreme cold-desert climates. No such effort has been taken till date, and in this backdrop, we created a barcode reference library of 60 specimens representing 23 species. Barcodes were generated from freshly collected leg samples using the Sanger sequencing method, followed by phylogenetic clade analyses and divergence calculation. Our data represents 22% of Ladakh's Rhopaloceran fauna with the novel barcode submission for six species, including one Schedule II species, Paralasa mani . Contrary to the 3% threshold rule, the interspecific divergence between two species pairs of typical mountain genus Hyponephele and Karanasa was found to be 2.3% and 2.2%, respectively. The addition of conspecific global barcodes revealed that most species showed little increase in divergence value, while a two-fold increase was noted in a few species. Bayesian clade clustering outcomes largely aligned with current morphological classifications, forming monophyletic clades of conspecific barcodes, with only minor exceptions observed for the taxonomically complicated genus Polyommatus and misidentified records of Aulocera in the database. We also observed variations within the same phylogenetic clades forming nested lineages, which may be attributed to the taxonomic intricacies present at the subspecies level globally, mostly among Eurasian species. Overall, our effort not only substantiated the effectiveness of DNA Barcoding for the identification and conservation of this climatically vulnerable assemblage but also highlighted the significance of deciphering the unique genetic composition among this geographically isolated population of Ladakh butterflies.
RESUMEN
The Psyra Walker, 1860, is a typical Sino-Himalayan genus of the subfamily Ennominae, currently known by 18 species/4 subspecies globally and 9 species from India. This study aims to revise the taxonomy and ecology of Indian Psyra by providing a morphology-based diagnostic key, highlighting their altitudinal, habitat and seasonal preferences, and modelling their distribution based on current and future climatic scenarios. Here, we describe a new species, P. variabilis sp. nov. and document 4 species and 1 subspecies as new to India, viz. P. gracilis, P. szetschwana, P. dsagara, P. falcipennis and P. debilis debilis, thus updating the global species count to 19 with 14 species/1 subspecies from India. We also submitted partial mitochondrial COI sequences of P. crypta, P. similaria, P. spurcataria and P. gracilis as novel to the global genetic database and calculated the overall genetic divergence was 5.17% within the genus, suggesting strong monophyly. Being a typical montane genus, most of the species of Psyra were active within 2000-2280 m altitude, 10.55-15.7°C annual mean temperature, 1200-2300 mm annual precipitation and 168-179 NDVI. Psyra species were predominant in wet temperate, mixed coniferous and moist temperate deciduous forests, their abundance and richness being at peak during post-monsoon months of October-November. The major bioclimatic variables influencing the overall distribution of the genus were mean temperature of warmest quarter, temperature seasonality and precipitation of coldest/driest quarter. While two of the modelled species were predicted to lose area occupancy under future climatic scenarios, the narrow-specialist, Trans-Himalayan species P. debilis debilis was projected to gain up to 75% additional area in the years 2041-60. The results of this study will be helpful to identify sites with maximum area loss projection in ecologically fragile Indian Himalaya and initiating conservation management for such climatically vulnerable insect species groups.
Asunto(s)
Ecosistema , Mariposas Nocturnas , Animales , Ecología , Bosques , TemperaturaRESUMEN
The Genus Phlogophora Treitschke, 1825 (Noctuidae: Xyleninae), widely distributed in Palaearctic and Oriental realms, is especially diverse within Indian Himalaya with 12 known species till now. Current communication reports three species new to India viz. P. meticulodina (Draudt, 1950), P. nobilis Hreblay Ronkay, 1998 and P. szecsenyii Hreblay Ronkay, 1998 and a new species P. similis Bandyopadhyay, Mallick, Sanyal Chandra sp. nov., thus bringing the species number to 16 for the country, along with taxonomic key with morphology and genitalia-based diagnosis for all the Indian/Himalayan species. Out of those species, partial mitochondrial Cytochrome C Oxidase I (COI) sequences were generated for 6 species, of which 5 were novel to the NCBI GenBank. The genus had maximum species richness and abundance in Eastern Himalayan Temperate Forest spanning 18002500 m in Central Himalayan landscape of Darjeeling-Sikkim and Nepal. Current Habitat suitability model of six Phlogophora species indicated that temperature dependent variables like Temperature Annual Range, Temperature Seasonality and Elevation are the most contributing factors for their predicted distribution range. The genus comprising of both Polycyclic and Monocyclic species became most abundant during Post-monsoon, in cold (911 C) and humid (8791%) nights, in areas with Annual Mean Temperature ranging within 4.619.9 C and Annual Precipitation of 10002800 mm.
Asunto(s)
Lepidópteros , Mariposas Nocturnas , Distribución Animal , Animales , Ecosistema , Bosques , Genitales , TemperaturaRESUMEN
A new species of the family Endromidae, Mustilizans zolotuhini sp. nov. is described from Dihang-Dibang Biosphere Reserve, Arunachal Pradesh, India. The subspecies, Mustilizans dierli refugialis Zolotuhin, 2007 is recorded for the first time from Sikkim, India. The distribution of the species known from India is mapped. The holotype of the new species is deposited in the Lepidoptera Section, National Zoological Collections, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata.