Description of Porphyrosela arachisella sp. nov. (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae), the first report of Lithocolletinae for Brazil

• DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5165.3.4
• Publication Date: 2022-07-15T00:06:39Z
• Authors: JÚLIA FOCHEZATO; ROSÂNGELA BRITO; GISLENE L. GONÇALVES; ALEXANDRE SPECHT; VITOR O. BECKER; GILSON R.P. MOREIRA
• Keywords: 0106 biological sciences; Insecta; Arthropoda; Base Sequence; Biodiversity; Moths; 15. Life on land; Gracillariidae; 01 natural sciences; Lepidoptera; Animalia; Animals; Brazil; Ecosystem; Taxonomy

During a recent survey of leaf-mining microlepidoptera in the Cerrado biome, mines of an undescribed Porphyrosela Braun (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae: Lithocolletinae) were found associated with the forage peanut, Arachis pintoi Krapov. & W.C. Greg. (Fabaceae). Consequently, adults, immature stages and the leaf mine of Porphyrosela arachisella sp. nov. are herein described based on light and scanning electron microscopy. A preliminary analysis of DNA barcode sequences including putative members of other lithocolletine species and all BINs (Barcode Index Numbers) available for Porphyrosela supports P. arachisella as an independent cluster, with 8 to 11% divergence. Its nearest neighbour was the cluster formed by three BINs (BOLD: ADT2137, BOLD: AAG1161 and BOLD: ADU9985) that includes specimens from Australia, Vietnam and Bangladesh. This is the first report of a lithocolletine gracillariid for Brazil, and the third species recognized for the genus in the Neotropical region.