Publicado

2026-08-26

Species delimitation in Neotropical Hypochroma moths (Geometridae: Ennominae): what to do when data are notcongruent?

Delimitación de especies del género Neotropical de polillas Hypochroma (Geometridae: Ennominae): ¿Qué hacer cuando los datos no son congruentes?

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15446/caldasia.v48.121794

Palabras clave:

Colombia, Tropical dry forest, Ennominae, Insects (en)
Bosque seco tropical, Colombia, Ennominae, Insectos (es)

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The current classification of the Neotropical moth genus Hypochroma (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) is problematic because it is based solely on wing patterns and colours, which do not allow unambiguous grouping of taxa. We sequenced historical DNA from type specimens of the three recognised species and examined both external and internal morphological traits to clarify species boundaries. Our species delimitation analysis results indicate that Hypochroma comprises two putative species, H. marginata and H. brepharia, which shows genetic overlap with H. flavinigra showing genetic overlap. Although mitochondrial genetic data support the existence of two species, the structures of the male and female genitalia showed no noticeable differences. We discuss the morphological traits that define species of Hypochroma. Based on our analyses, emphasizing molecular data, we synonymize Hypochroma flavinigra syn. nov. with H. brepharia. We highlight that additional natural history data and further analyses are necessary to confidently determine the sister group of Hypochroma.

Secuenciamos ADN antiguo de ejemplares tipo del género Neotropical Hypochroma (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) y examinamos rasgos morfológicos para clarificar los límites entre especies. Analizamos códigos de barras de ADN junto con un amplio conjunto de datos publicados sobre polillas geometridas y realizamos análisis de delimitación de especies. Nuestros resultados indican que Hypochroma comprende dos especies putativas, con H. brepharia y H. flavinigra mostrando solapamiento genético. Aunque los datos genéticos mitocondriales respaldan la existencia de dos especies, la disección de las estructuras genitales no reveló diferencias notables. Discutimos los caracteres morfológicos que definen las especies de Hypochroma. Con base en nuestra clasificación, sinonimizamos Hypochroma flavinigra syn. nov. con H. brepharia, reconociendo que se necesitan más datos de historia natural y análisis adicionales para determinar con certeza el grupo hermano de Hypochroma.

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Delimitación de especies del género Neotropical de polillas Hypochroma (Geometridae: Ennominae): ¿Qué hacer cuando los datos no son congruentes?. (2026). Caldasia, 48, e121794. https://doi.org/10.15446/caldasia.v48.121794