A new species of Ithome Chambers (Lepidoptera, Cosmopterigidae, Chrysopeleiinae) from the Atacama Desert revealed by morphology and DNA barcodes

By

Espinoza-Donoso, Sebastián
Bobadilla, Dante E.
Huanca-Mamani, Wilson
Vargas-Ortiz, Marcelo
Vargas, Héctor A.

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2020

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

912

Pages

125--138

Subjects

1875) , 2004 , Florivorous larvae , Ithome concolorella (Chambers , Ithome tiaynai Vargas , Prosopis tamarugo Phil

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.912.47562

 

Abstract

Morphology and DNA barcode sequences were used to assess the taxonomic status of a micro-moth of the genus Ithome Chambers, 1875 (Lepidoptera, Cosmopterigidae, Chrysopeleiinae), whose larvae feed on inflorescences of Prosopis tamarugo Phil. (Fabaceae), a tree native to the Pampa del Tamarugal, Atacama Desert, northern Chile. As a result, Ithome tamarugensis Vargas, sp. nov. is described and illustrated. Its genitalia are remarkably similar to those of Ithome tiaynai Vargas, 2004 from coastal valleys of the Atacama Desert. However, the two species can be recognized by the shape of the phallus in males and the shape of the antrum and ductus bursae in females. The genetic distance between DNA barcodes of I. tamarugensis and I. tiaynai was 3.0–3.3% (K2P), and a maximum likelihood analysis indicated that they are in reciprocally monophyletic clusters, providing additional support for the heterospecific status suggested by morphology.