Surprising discovery of an enigmatic geometrid in Croatia: Mirlatiaarcuata, gen. nov., sp. nov. (Lepidoptera, Geometridae)
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Hausmann A
PROVIDER: S-EPMC10632775 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Lepidoptera have little fossilization potential due to the presence of delicate structures and hence are exceptional findings, even in ambers that allow their preservation in sufficient detail for interpretation. From Eocene Baltic amber, the volumetrically largest known deposit of amber, there has been no reliable report of any member of the Macrolepidoptera (informal group of higher moths and all butterflies). Any such lepidopteran fossil would provide insight into evolutionary processes during the Eocene, long after flowering plants had completed their initial radiation. Here, we report on a first geometrid caterpillar from Baltic amber which is described as the oldest evidence for the subfamily Ennominae (tribe Boarmiini) and as one of the oldest records of the currently mega-diverse family. The new finding provides an important calibration point for molecular clock analyses within the family Geometridae and predates the basal divergence of Boarmiini from 32-38 to 44 Mya. It also predates the occurrence of this highly specialized form of caterpillar locomotion that allows for rapid movement.
| S-EPMC6868187 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundIridopsis Warren, 1894 (Lepidoptera: Geometridae: Ennominae: Boarmiini) is a New World moth genus mainly diversified in the Neotropical Region. It is represented in Chile by two described species, both from the Atacama Desert.New informationIridopsis socoromaensis sp. n. (Lepidoptera: Geometridae: Ennominae: Boarmiini) is described and illustrated from the western slopes of the Andes of northern Chile. Its larvae were found feeding on leaves of the Chilean endemic shrub Dalea pennellii (J.F. Macbr.) J.F. Macbr. var. chilensis Barneby (Fabaceae). Morphological differences of I. socoromaensis sp. n. with the two species of the genus previously known from Chile are discussed. A DNA barcode fragment of I. socoromaensis sp. n. showed 93.7-94.3% similarity with the Nearctic I. sanctissima (Barnes & McDunnough, 1917). However, the morphology of the genitalia suggests that these two species are distantly related. The discovery of I. socoromaensis sp. n. highlights the need for additional surveys in underexplored areas to understand better the taxonomic diversity and evolutionary relationships of the mainly Neotropical moth genus Iridopsis.
| S-EPMC7862214 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThis paper focuses on the morphological description and illustration of the wing pattern and genitalia structures of the known species of the genus Pljushtchia. The possibility of co-evolution of Pljushtchia moths and fruit tree forests of Tien Shan is discussed. The maple tree is supposed to have evolved in the Ili River valley in NW China and in Kazakhstan. Malussieversii, the wild apple tree, is distributed in Miocene nemoral forest belt to Europe in the West an to western North America in the East. The last remnants of fruit tree forests are now localised in biodiversity hotspots in China and in Middle Asian mountains.New informationThis paper provides a description of a new species of geometrid moth, Pljushtchiaargoi sp. n. As the ancestral Malussieversii has diverged in Malussilvestris in Europe, Malusturkestanica in Kyrgyzstan and Malushissarica in Tajikistan, a co-divergence of geometrid moths and their food plants is possible. We found Chlorissaarkitensis Viidalepp in the Chatkal area, Tien Shan, its sister species Chlorissatalvei Viidalepp in Hissar and Pamirs and Chlorissapretiosaria Staudinger in Transcaucasus. Pljushtchiaprima is associated with a biodiversity hotspot in Tajikistan and Pljushtchiaargoi with another biodiversity hotspot in southern Tien Shan.
| S-EPMC8983639 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThe moth family Geometridae (inchworms or loopers), with approximately 23,000 described species, is the second most diverse family of the Lepidoptera. Apart from a few recent attempts based on morphology and molecular studies, the phylogeny of these moths has remained largely uninvestigated.Methodology/principal findingsWe performed a rigorous and extensive molecular analysis of eight genes to examine the geometrid affinities in a global context, including a search for its potential sister-taxa. Our maximum likelihood analyses included 164 taxa distributed worldwide, of which 150 belong to the Geometridae. The selected taxa represent all previously recognized subfamilies and nearly 90% of recognized tribes, and originate from all over world. We found the Geometridae to be monophyletic with the Sematuridae+Epicopeiidae clade potentially being its sister-taxon. We found all previously recognized subfamilies to be monophyletic, with a few taxa misplaced, except the Oenochrominae+Desmobathrinae complex that is a polyphyletic assemblage of taxa and the Orthostixinae, which was positioned within the Ennominae. The Sterrhinae and Larentiinae were found to be sister to the remaining taxa, followed by Archiearinae, the polyphyletic assemblage of Oenochrominae+Desmobathrinae moths, Geometrinae and Ennominae.Conclusions/significanceOur study provides the first comprehensive phylogeny of the Geometridae in a global context. Our results generally agree with the other, more restricted studies, suggesting that the general phylogenetic patterns of the Geometridae are now well-established. Generally the subfamilies, many tribes, and assemblages of tribes were well supported but their interrelationships were often weakly supported by our data. The Eumeleini were particularly difficult to place in the current system, and several tribes were found to be para- or polyphyletic.
| S-EPMC3106010 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Four novel strains were isolated: PWU4T and PWU20T were both from soil in Germany, PWU5T was isolated from soil in India and PWU37T was obtained from sheep faeces collected on the Island of Crete. Cells of each were observed to be Gram-negative, strictly aerobic, rod shaped, and to grow optimally between 28 and 34 °C, between pH 7.0 and 8.0 and without the addition of NaCl. The strains were found to be catalase and oxidase-negative and able to grow on most mono- and disaccharides, a few polysaccharides and organic acids. Their predominant menaquinone was identified as MK-7. Their major fatty acids were identified as C16:1 ω7c (PWU4T and PWU20T) and C16:1 ω5c (PWU5T and PWU37T). The DNA G + C contents of strains PWU4T, PWU20T, PWU5T and PWU37T were determined to be 50.2 mol%, 51.6 mol %, 39.8 mol% and 53.8 mol%, respectively. The 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that the close relatives Ohtaekwangia koreensis 3B-2T and Ohtaekwangia kribbensis 10AOT share less than 93.8% sequence similarity. The strains were classified in two groups, where PWU4T and PWU20T share 93.0% sequence similarity, and PWU5T and PWU37T share 97.5% sequence similarity. However, the members of each group were concluded to represent different species based on the low average nucleotide identity (ANI) of their genomes, 69.7% and 83.8%, respectively. We propose that the four strains represent four novel species of two new genera in the family Cytophagaceae. The type species of the novel genus Chryseosolibacter is Chryseosolibacter histidini gen. nov., sp. nov. with the type strain PWU4T (= DSM 111594T = NCCB 100798T), whilst strain PWU20T (= DSM 111597T = NCCB 100800T) is the type strain of a second species, Chryseosolibacter indicus sp. nov. The type species of the novel genus Dawidia is Dawidia cretensis gen. nov., sp. nov. with the type strain PWU5T (= DSM 111596T = NCCB 100799T), whilst strain PWU37T (= DSM 111595T = NCCB 100801T) is the type stain of a second species, Dawidia soli sp. nov.
| S-EPMC9296434 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The tea geometrid, Ectropis obliqua Prout (Lepidoptera: Geometridae), is a major pest of tea plantation and poses a considerable economic threat to tea industry. We have sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome of E. obliqua. The entire genome is 16,535 bp in length with an A + T content of 81.32% (GenBank accession No. KX827002). The tea geometrid mt genome encodes all 37 genes that are typically found in animal mt genomes, consists of 13 protein-coding genes (PCG), two ribosomal RNA genes, and 22 transfer RNA genes. The gene order is consistent with other sequenced mt genome of moths and butterflies in Ditrysia. The A + T-rich region is 1523 bp long and consisting of the motif 'ATAGA', a 19 bp poly-T stretch, and a tandem repeat sequence with seven 194 bp repeat units. Phylogenetic analysis was performed using 13 PCG with 16 moths showed that E. obliqua clusters with other Geometridae species.
| S-EPMC7800479 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Jimtrappea guyanensis gen. sp. nov., Castellanea pakaraimophila gen. sp. nov., and Costatisporus cyanescens gen. sp. nov. are described as new to science. These sequestrate, hypogeous fungi were collected in Guyana under closed canopy tropical forests in association with ectomycorrhizal (ECM) host tree genera Dicymbe (Fabaceae subfam. Caesalpinioideae), Aldina (Fabaceae subfam. Papilionoideae), and Pakaraimaea (Dipterocarpaceae). Molecular data place these fungi in Boletaceae (Boletales, Agaricomycetes, Basidiomycota) and inform their relationships to other known epigeous and sequestrate taxa within that family. Macro- and micromorphological characters, habitat, and multi-locus DNA sequence data are provided for each new taxon. Unique morphological features and a molecular phylogenetic analysis of 185 taxa across the order Boletales justify the recognition of the three new genera.
| S-EPMC4681255 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThe generic assignment of the geometrid moth Xanthorhoeedmondsii (Butler, 1882) (Lepidoptera, Geometridae, Larentiinae), originally described under Hypochroma Guenée, [1858], a junior homonym of Hypochroma Herrich-Schäffer, [1855] (Geometridae, Ennominae), is assessed using genitalia morphology and analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequences.New informationMorphological characters revealed closeness to the type species of Disclisioprocta Wallengren, 1861 (Larentiinae). In agreement with morphology, the molecular analysis clustered X.edmondsii with species of Disclisioprocta in a well-supported monophyletic group distantly related to members of Xanthorhoe Hübner, [1825]. Accordingly, Disclisioproctaedmondsii (Butler, 1882) comb. nov. is proposed.
| S-EPMC9850251 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Kinetoplastids are a large and diverse protist group, spanning ecologically important free-living forms to medically important parasites. The taxon Allobodonidae holds an unresolved position within kinetoplastids, and the sole described species, Allobodo chlorophagus, is uncultivated, being a necrotroph/parasite of macroalgae. Here we describe Allobodo yubaba sp. nov. and Novijibodo darinka gen. nov. et sp. nov., both free-living bacterivores isolated into monoeukaryotic cultures. Electron microscopy shows that both A. yubaba and N. darinka have a microtubular prism in the feeding apparatus (absent in A. chlorophagus), and an ovoid eukinetoplast, rather than pan-kDNA as in A. chlorophagus. Phylogenetic analyses of SSU rDNA sequences robustly place A. yubaba as the sister to A. chlorophagus, while N. darinka branches separately within Allobodonidae, as a sister group of undescribed freshwater isolates. We view Allobodonidae as containing at least four genus-level clades: Allobodo (A. chlorophagus and A. yubaba n. sp.), an undescribed fresh-water clade, an undescribed marine clade, and now Novijibodo-with N. darinka as its sole known member. Electron microscopy also revealed a rod-shaped gram-negative bacterial cytoplasmic endosymbiont in our N. darinka isolate. The availability of these species in monoeukaryotic culture should facilitate future research, including resolving the position of Allobodonidae using phylogenomic approaches.
| S-EPMC11771631 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Two new species of the lophochoristine genus Telotheta Warren found in Ecuador and Bolivia are described. The paper focuses on the morphological description and illustration of the wing pattern and genitalia structures of the typus generis Telothetamuscipunctata Dognin and the newly identified species Telothetaunoi and Telothetafresei. The distinguishing characters of the genera Telotheta and Paromphacodes are also briefly discussed.
| S-EPMC4206780 | biostudies-literature