Morphology and molecules reveal unexpected cryptic diversity in the enigmatic genus Sinobirma Bryk, 1944 (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae).

ABSTRACT: The wild silkmoth genus Sinobirma Bryk, 1944 is a poorly known monotypic taxon from the eastern end of the Himalaya Range. It was convincingly proposed to be closely related to some members of an exclusively Afro-tropical group of Saturniidae, but its biogeographical and evolutionary history remains enigmatic. After examining recently collected material from Tibet, northern India, and northeastern Myanmar, we realized that this unique species, S. malaisei Bryk, 1944 only known so far from a few specimens and from a very restricted area near the border between north-eastern Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China, may in fact belong to a group of closely related cryptic species. In this work, we combined morphological comparative study, DNA barcoding, and the sequences of a nuclear marker

SUBMITTER: Rougerie R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3446977 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature