A new species of Micropterix Hübner, 1825 from the Orobian Alps (Italy) (Lepidoptera, Micropterigidae)

2015·10.8 MB·English

by  Hans Christof Zeller

NotaLepi.38(2)2015: 133-146 DOI 10.3897/nl.38.5058
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A new species ofMicropterix Hübner, 1825 from the OrobianAlps (Italy)
(Lepidoptera, Micropterigidae)
Hans Christof Zeller1 Peter Huemer2
,
1 Forsthubfeld14,A-5303 Thalgau,Austria;[email protected]
2 TirolerLandesmuseenBetriebsges. m.b.H.,NaturwissenschaftlicheSammlungen,Feldstraße11a, 6020Innsbruck;
[email protected].
http://zoobank.org/4D0DEFC4-83DC-4309-8D65-1529E71BDEFB
Received8April2015;accepted 18August2015;published:22October2015
SubjectEditor: LauriKaila.
Abstract.MicropterixgaudiellaZeller& Huemer, sp. n. is described from the southernpartofthe Orobian
Alps(Piedmont, Italy)andcomparedwith its likelyclosestrelativesMicropterixisobasellaStaudinger, 1871
and Micropterix stuebneri Zeller, Wemo & Kurz, 2013. The new species is well characterized by its wing
patternandcolourandbystructuresofthemalegenitalia.Thespeciesstatusisfurthermoresupportedbymo-
leculardata ofthe DNAbarcoderegion. The distanceto its nearestneighbourMicropterixschaefferiHeath,
1975 is2.65%. M. gaudiellaisthe seventhspeciesofthegenusMicropterixHübner, 1825 probablyendemic
totheAlps.
Introduction
The European fauna of Micropterigidae has recently gained increasing attention, reflected by
faunistic reviews and several taxonomic papers (Corley 2007; Zeller-Lukashort et al. 2007;
ThierryandNel 2012; Zeller-Lukashortetal. 2013). The actual species inventorynow seems well
advancedas new species arerarelyfound andusuallyoriginate from insufficientlyexplored Medi-
terranean countries, with only two remarkable exceptions from the Central European Alps within
the last four decades (Heath and Kaltenbach 1984; Kurz et al. 2004). Sampling ofan unidentified
Micropterixinthe ItalianAlps (PizzoArero, OrobianAlps, Piedmont, Italy) byPH andcolleagues
inJune andJuly2013 and2014thuscame asasurprise. Althoughonlyfewfemaleswereavailable
DNA
in first hand, phenotypic appearance and the barcode did not match any hitherto described
species from the region. It was therefore decided to search for additional samples and we finally
succeeded in collecting a large series of the species in summer 2014 including the male sex.
Subsequentanalysisofmalegenitaliccharacters supportedtherecognitionofanewspecies,which
is described here.
134 HansChristofZeller&PeterHuemer:AnewspeciesofMicropterixfromItaly
Material and methods
Our study is based on almost277 specimens ofthe new Micropterix species and uncounted material
ofall European congeners. The type material is only partially setwhereas several samples were only
DNA
spread and dried immediately after collecting to ensure sufficient quality of samples. Genitalia
preparationsfollowedstandardtechniquesusedforthefamilyMicropterigidae(Zeller-Lukashortetal.
2007). Photographs ofthe adults were takenwith an Olympus SZX 10 binocularmicroscope and an
OlympusE-3 digitalcameraanddevelopedusingthesoftwareHELICONFOCUS4.3,ADOBEPHO-
TOSHOP CS4 and LIGHTROOM 2.3. DNA barcode sequences are based on a 658 base-pair long
segment ofthe mitochondrial COI gene (cytochrome c oxidase 1). DNA samples (dried legs) were
prepared accordingto the prescribed standards (deWaard et al. 2008). Present authors and associated
DNA
colleaguestriedtoobtain barcodesofthemajorityofEuropeanMicropterigidae. Legsfrom379
specimens belongingto 57 species ofMicropterixhave so farbeenprocessed atthe Canadian Centre
forDNABarcoding (CCDB, Biodiversity Institute ofOntario, University ofGuelph) to obtain DNA
barcodes(BOLD2015)usingthestandardhigh-throughputprotocoldescribedinIvanovaetal. (2006)
anddeWaardetal. (2008). DNAsequencingresultedinabarcodefragmentof658bpforatotalof149
specimens and29 species (BOLD 2015), partiallypublishedearlierbyLees etal. (2010). Ninety-one
sequencesbelongingto25 speciesaretreatedinthis studyandenabledelimitationofthenewspecies.
Detailsofsuccessfullysequencedvoucherspecimensincludingcompletevoucherdataandimagescan
beaccessedintheBarcodeofLifeDataSystems:publicdataset“LepidopteraoftheAlps-Micropterix
[DS-LEALMIC]” (BOLD 2015; Ratnasingham andHebert2007). Degrees ofintra- and interspecific
variation in the DNA barcode fragment were calculated under Kimura 2-parameter (K2P) model of
nucleotidesubstitutionusinganalyticaltoolsin BOLD Systemsv3.0(BOLD2015).Aneighbour-join-
ingtree ofDNAbarcode data ofEuropeantaxawas constructedusingMEGA5 (Tamura et al. 2011)
undertheK2Pmodel fornucleotide substitutions.
The morphology ofthe new species is compared with similar species from the Alps and also
from other regions of Europe (Kurz and Kurz 2015). We consequently build on the important
identification treatments by Heath (1987), Kozlov (1989, 1990a, b) and Zeller-Lukashort et al.
(2007). For more information about collection sites, preparation techniques and data archive of
Micropterix spp. see Zeller-Lukashort et al. (2007).
Abbreviations ofprivate and institutional collections:
MBCG Italy,Bergamo,MuseodiScienzeNaturali“EnricoCaffi”;
RCTM
ResearchCollectionToniMayr,Feldkirch,Austria;
RCCZ ResearchCollectionChristofZeller,Thalgau,Austria;
RCNP ResearchCollectionNorbertPoll,BadIschl,Austria;
RCSO ResearchCollectionSiegfriedOrtner,BadIschl,Austria;
TLMF TirolerLandesmuseumFerdinandeum,Innsbruck,Austria.
Results
ChecklistofEuropeanMicropterix
The species listed below occurwithin Europe (Karsholt 2015, Kurz and Kurz 2015), presented in
an orderconsideredtoreflectmorphologicalrelationships amongthe species as suggestedbyKurz
1 0
NotaLepi.38(2): 133-146 135
et al. (2015). Many ofthe morphological characters ofMicropterix have been found to be more
or less similar in smaller or greater groups ofspecies and it has been assumed that similarities or
synapomorphies ofthe male genitalia indicate a closerrelationship. Based on a specific character
matrix several characters have been selected and attributed as plesiomorphic or apomorphic (but
see Kurz etal. 2015).
MicropterixmansuetellaZeller, 1844
Micropterixamsella Heath, 1975
Micropterixcalthella (Linnaeus, 1761)
Micropterix isobasella Staudinger, 1871
MicropterixstuebneriZeller, Wemo & Kurz, 2013
Micropterixgaudiella sp. n.
Micropterixgranatensis Heath, 1981
Micropterixaglaella (Duponchel, 1838)
Micropterixwockei Staudinger, 1870
Micropterixaureatella (Scopoli, 1763)
Micropterixherminiella Corley, 2007
Micropterixaruncella (Scopoli, 1763)
MicropterixcorcyrellaWalsingham, 1919
Micropterix lakoniensis Heath, 1985
Micropterixkardamylensis Rebel, 1903
Micropterix igaloensis Amsel, 195
MicropterixcassinellaKurz, Kurz & Zeller, 201
MicropterixklimeschiHeath, 1973
Micropterixcompletella Staudinger, 1871
Micropterix tunbergella (Fabricius, 1787)
MicropterixsicanellaZeller, 1847
Micropterixcypriensis Heath, 1985
Micropterixaureoviridella (Höfner, 1898)
MicropterixmaschukellaAlphéraky, 1876
MicropterixfacetellaZeller, 1850
MicropterixjeanneliViette, 1949
MicropterixrenataeKurz, Kurz & Zeller-Lukashort, 1997
MicropterixminimellaHeath, 1973
Micropterix italicaHeath, 1981
Micropterixerctella Walsingham, 1919
Micropterix uxoria Walsingham, 1919
Micropterixpaykullella (Fabricius, 1794)
Micropterixgarganoensis Heath, 1960
Micropterix imperfectella Staudinger, 1859
Micropterix tuscaniensis Heath, 1960
Micropterixhartigi Heath, 1981
Micropterixallionella (Fabricius, 1794)
Micropterix trifasciellaHeath, 1965
136 HansChristofZeller&PeterHuemer:Anewspecieso/MicropterixfromItaly
MicropterixrothenbachiiFrey, 1856
MicropterixhuemeriKurz, Kurz & Zeller-Lukashort, 2004
Micropterix ibericella Caradja, 1920
Micropterixzangheriella Heath, 1963
MicropterixschaefferiHeath, 1975
Micropterix emiliensis Viette, 1950
MicropterixosthelderiHeath, 1975
&
Micropterix trinakriellaKurz, Zeller-Lukashort Kurz, 1997
Micropterixvulturensis Heath, 1981
Micropterixrablensis Zeller, 1868
MicropterixmyrtetellaZeller, 1850
&
MicropterixcroaticaHeath Kaltenbach, 1984
&
Micropterixfenestrellensis Heath Kaltenbach, 1984
Taxonomic part
Micropterixgaudiella Zeller & Huemer, sp. n.
http://zoobank.org/4AA658ED-DED7-46A7-908E-231CBC52A8A7
Material.Holotype f: Italiasept.,Bergamo,AlpiOrobieRifugioCad'Arera 1600m9°47,8’E,45°55,07’N25.vi.2014,
leg. HuemerTLMF 2014-006 (TLMF), label with identification numbers CZ-Z30577, label “DNABARCODE TLMF
Lep14851” andred label “HOLOTYPE ofMicropterixgaudiellaZeller& Huemer”. -Paratypes: 4 Ç, same localityas
holotype, but 16.vii.2013, leg. Massaro M. (MBCG), labels with identification numbers CZ-Z30771, CZ-Z30774-CZ-
Z30776;3S,2$,samelocalityasholotype,but 17.vii.2014,leg.SiegfriedOrtner(RCSO),labelswithidentificationnum-
bersCZ-Z29417,CZ-Z29459-CZ-Z29462;40S,22 $,samedataasholotype,butleg.NorbertPoll(RCNP),labelswith
identificationnumbersCZ-Z29463-CZ-Z29524; 69 <$,26 Ç, samedataasholotype,butleg. MayrToni (RCTM), labels
withidentificationnumbersCZ-Z29360-CZ-Z29369,CZ-Z29371-CZ-Z29416,CZ-Z29418-CZ-Z29445,CZ-Z29446and
AP: MK-1072, CZ-Z29448-CZ-Z29457; 76 15 Ç, samedataasholotype(TLMF), labelswithidentificationnumbers
CZ-Z29330-CZ-Z29347,CZ-Z30561-CZ-Z30576,CZ-Z30578-CZ-Z30580,CZ-Z30582-CZ-Z30623,CZ-Z30625-CZ-
Z30631,CZ-Z30633-CZ-Z30634,CZ-Z30636-CZ-Z30638; 16è, samelocalityasholotype,but23.vi.2014, labelswith
identificationnumbersCZ-Z29314-CZ-Z29327,CZ-Z29328andAP-Nr 1/2014,CZ-Z29329; 1 S,samedataasholotype
(TMLF), labelwithidentificationnumberCZ-Z30581, label“DNABARCODINGTMLFLep14853”; 1 »samedataas
holotype(TMLF),labelwithidentificationnumberCZ-Z30624,label“DNABARCODINGTMLFLepl4852”; 1 Ç,same
localityasholotype,but25.vi.2013,leg.Huemer(TLMF),labelwithidentificationnumberCZ-Z29359,label“DNABAR-
CODINGTMLFLep09987”.All276paratypesbearredlabel“PARATYPEofMicropterixgaudiellaZeller&Huemer”.
mm mm
Description.Adult(Figs 1,2). Forewinglength3.5-3.9 (c?,n=206),4.0-4.4 (Ç,n=71).
Head black-brown; vestiture ofhair-like scales on the head, yellow to dirtyyellow; antennae dark
brown, respectively 3/4 (c?) and 1/2 (Ç) offorewing length; thorax and tegulae violetwith golden
reflection; forewing dull bluish with conspicuously broad and mostly bronzy golden markings: a
trapeziform fascia at 1/4, at 1/2 a moderately broad straight fascia across the whole wing width,
inwardly oblique, at 3/4 a broad, variably shaped, inwardly convex fascia; fringe bronzy golden,
basallybluishviolet; hindwingbronzygolden, apicallytingedpurplish; fringebronzygolden; legs
and abdomen brown, golden shining.
NotaLepi.38(2): 133-146 137
Figures 1-2: AdultsofM. gaudiellasp. n. 1: 2:?.
There is some variation in the ground coloration from dull bluish to purple-violet. Sometimes
thereisalsoasmall spotonthecostaat3/5. Thewingpatterndiffersbetweenthesexesonlyalittle
in the broadness ofthe fasciae, as istypical forthe genus.
$ Genitalia(Fig. 3). Uncus long, slender,with abroadroundedtip; apairedassociationofhair-
like setae ventrally beyond the uncus; accessory claspers moderately long, nearly keel-shaped;
along distal margin, a row ofabout 10-12 moderately long distally hook-like modified thickened
setaeorientedinslightlyventraldirection; atinnersurfaceproximallyanotherirregularrowoffive
or six shorter, finer setae; valvae moderately long, stout, distal third enlarged and strongly bent
dorsally, constricted atthe point ofinflection; on the inner surface ofthe valvae agroup ofshorter
138 HansChristofZeller&PeterHuemer:AnewspeciesofMicropterixfromItaly
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Figures3-4: GenitaliaofM. gaudiellasp. n.. 3: <$. 4. $.
setae postbasally; on the inner surface ofthe lower margin two to three irregular rows ofshorter
spinous setae and some longersetae onthe distal fourth part.
Ç Genitalia(Fig.4). TergiteIXmissing; stemiteIXreduced,constrictedmedially,withstrongly
fringed lateral margins, without diagnostic features. Terminal papillae withtwo sclerotizedplates
forminganundiagnosticband;receptaculumseminis longandslender,constrictedinthefirstthird,
withtransverse striationtypical forthe genus.
Diagnosis. M. trifasciella from Piedmont (Italy) shows somewhat similar but conspicuously
narrowerfasciae and differs in the ground colour. M. rablensis fromFriuli (Italy), Carinthia (Aus-
tria) and western Slovenia shows a somewhat similar wing pattern but is predominantly smaller
and differs in the reddish bronzy goldento purple ground coloration ofthe forewings. M. comple-
tella endemic to Sardinia and Corsica (Thierry and Nel 2012), has usually lighter purple-violet
,
forewings with comparably broad fasciae and differs in the shape ofthe outer fascia. From all
these mentioned species, the new species is furthermore clearly separated by its male genitalia,
e.g. by the distinct shape ofuncus and accessory claspers as well as by the orientation and form
ofthe 10-12 long setae on the accessory claspers (Kurz and Kurz 2015). In the male genitalia, the
new species closely resembles M. isobasella from Valais (Switzerland) (Fig. 5) and the recently
describedM. stuebnerifromSierraNevada(Spain),beingdistinguishedfromM. isobasellamainly
NotaLepi.38(2): 133-146 139
Figure5.MalegenitaliaofM. isobasella.
by its longeruncus andthe partlyhook-like modified thickened setae atthe rounded distal margin
ofthe accessory claspers and fromM. stuebnerimainlyby its distinctly shorterand smalleracces-
sory claspers (Zeller-Lukashort et al. 2013). M. isobasella can also easily be distinguished by its
unicolorous golden forewings without any significant markings. In the female genitalia the new
species differs from M. rablensis bythe shape ofstemite IX, from M. trifasciella and M. comple-
tella by its strongly fringed lateral margins ofstemite IX. There are no differences in the female
genitalia between M. isobasella andthe new species.
Basedonmorphologicalcharacters (Kurzetal. 2015),thenew species isconsideredtobelongto
aspecies-complextogetherwithM. calthella,M. isobasellaandtherecentlydescribedM. stuebneri.
Molecular data. The intraspecific divergence ofthe barcode region ofM. gaudiella sp. n. is
moderate with a mean distance of0.46% and a maximum distance of0.77% (n=4) (Tab. 1). The
minimum distance to the nearest neighbour M. schaefferi on the contrary is much higher with
2.65% (mean dist. 3.18%, max. dist. 3.76%; n=9). The minimum distance to the morphologically
closest M. isobasella is 3.67% (mean dist. 3.85%, max. dist. 4.18%; n=l) and to M. stuebneri
4.73% (mean dist. 4.99%, max. dist. 5.22%; n=l).
Distribution. The new species is only known from the mountain Pizzo Arero (Alpi Orobie,
Piedmont, Italy) from an elevation ofabout 1600 m.
140 HansChristofZeller&PeterHuemer:Anewspecieso/MicropterixfromItaly
Table 1. Intraspecific distance and interspecific divergence to the nearest neighbour in the genus
Micropterix based on 25 European species. Source: DNABarcode data from BOLD (Barcode of
,
Life Database, cf. Ratnasingham and Hebert 2007).
Mean
Species Maxintra Nearestneighbour Nearestspecies DistanceNN
Intra
Micropterixallionella 0.18 0.46 LEATE038-13 Micropterixrothenbachii 1.86
Micropterixamsella N/A N/A LEFIG229-10 Micropterixmansuetella 5.35
Micropterixaruncella 1.7 2.99 PHLAG682-12 Micropterixschaefferi 2.97
Micropterixaureatella 0.39 0.77 PHLAG682-12 Micropterixschaefferi 2.74
Micropterixaureoviridella 0.21 0.46 PHLAG682-12 Micropterixschaefferi 2.74
Micropterixcalthella 0.18 0.46 PHLAG682-12 Micropterixschaefferi 2.74
Micropterixerctella N/A N/A PHLAG682-12 Micropterixschaefferi 2.05
Micropterixfacetella 1.84 1.84 PHLAG682-12 Micropterixschaefferi 2.51
Micropterixgaudiella 0.46 0.77 PHLAD506-11 Micropterixschaefferi 2.65
Micropterixhartigi N/A N/A PHLAG682-12 Micropterixschaefferi 2.74
Micropterixigaloensis N/A N/A LEATE039-13 Micropterixschaefferi 2.9
Micropterixisobasella N/A N/A PHLAG682-12 Micropterixschaefferi 3.01
Micropterixjeanneli N/A N/A PHLAG682-12 Micropterixschaefferi 4.15
Micropterixklimeschi N/A N/A PHLAE527-11 Micropterixaruncella 3.79
Micropterixmansuetella N/A N/A LTOLB478-09 Micropterixcalthella 4.35
Micropterixmyrtetella N/A N/A PHLAG682-12 Micropterixschaefferi 1.82
Micropterixosthelderi 0 0 PHLAG682-12 Micropterixschaefferi 3.21
Micropterixrablensis N/A N/A PHLAG682-12 Micropterixschaefferi 2.62
Micropterixrothenbachii 0.21 0.32 PHLAG787-12 Micropterixallionella 1.86
Micropterixschaefferi 0.41 1.12 MICOW166-09 Micropterixvulturensis 0.9
Micropterixsicanella N/A N/A PHLAG682-12 Micropterixschaefferi 3.44
Micropterixstuebneri N/A N/A PHLAG682-12 Micropterixschaefferi 2.28
Micropterixtunbergella 0.05 0.16 PHLAG682-12 Micropterixschaefferi 3.45
Micropterixvulturensis N/A N/A PHLAG682-12 Micropterixschaefferi 0.9
Micropterixwockei N/A N/A LEATE039-13 Micropterixschaefferi 3.89
Lifehistory.Theearlystagesareunknown. ThenewspecieswasobservedfromtheendofJune
to mid-July near the border ofa montane-subalpine beech forest with tall herbaceous vegetation
andbushes (Ligs 6, 7), congregating onRosa sp. feeding onits pollen. Togetherwiththe new spe-
cies,M. aruncella (Scopoli, 1763)was recognizedonflowers ofRosa sp. too (Fig. 8). Atthe same
locality M. rothenbachii Frey, 1856 was also found. Several specimens ofthe new species were
swept fromflowers ofHelianthemum spp. in adjacent subalpine grassland. The habitat is southern
exposed slopes on limestone.
Etymology. It was a great pleasure to find this unexpected new species from the Italian Alps.
Therefore the new species is called “gaudiella”, derived from the Latin word “gaudium”, which
means “fun, pleasure, happiness”.
Remark. The labels used by PH, Melania Massaro, Toni Mayr, Norbert Poll and Siegfried
Ortner differ in the usage oflocal names ofthe type locality but all referto the same spot centred
on 9°47,8’E; 45°55,07’N (DDM). According to Melania Massaro there are additional specimens
collected at the type locality and deposited in MBCG, which are not examined and therefore not
included inthe type series.
NotaLepi.38(2): 133-146 141
Figure6. BiotopeofM. gaudiellaandtheluckycollectorsMarliesMayr, ToniMayrandNorbertPöll.
Figure7.M. gaudiellasp. n.,restingonaflowerofRosasp..
142 HansChristofZeller&PeterHuemer:AnewspeciesofMicropterixfromItaly
Figure8.M. aruncellaandM. gaudiella sp. n. feedingonRosasp.
Molecular analysis
Sequencing ofEuropean species ofMicropterix resulted in barcode fragments for 61 specimens,
plus 30 unpublished or public records from external projects (e.g. Barcoding Fauna Bavarica and
Finnish Barcode ofLife), covering altogether 25 species, supplementing data ofextra-European
species that have been published by Lees et al. (2010). 74 full barcode sequences of658 bp, 13
sequences longerthan 600 bp and four sequences ofca. 400 bp were included inthe analysis. The
smallerfragments were single sequence only (M. amsella, M. mansuetella andM. rablensis).
,
Barcode variation is insufficiently known for a considerable portion ofspecies due to lack of
successfully sequenced samples (Table 1). Intraspecific distance is low and ranges from 0% to
2.99% (mean 0.92%) but may include cases ofoverlooked cryptic diversity in species with high
divergence (i.e. M. aruncella, M.facetella). Interspecific divergence forthe whole sample is mod-
erately high with mean divergence of4.77% and maximum of8.91%, and a mean and maximum
distancetothenearestneighbourof2.84% and5.35%respectively. The divergence is<1% onlyin
one species pair(M. schaefferi andM. vulturensis) (Table 1, Fig. 9).
Discussion
Alpha-taxonomyofEuropeanMicropterixseems quitewellestablishedwithrelativelyfewtaxade-
scribedduringthelastdecades, so itis strikingtofindanewspecies inCentralEurope. Bycontrast,
thedistributionofthemajorityofMicropterixspeciesisonlymoderatelywelldocumentedwithfew