Abaratha (Odontoptilum)

Zhang, Jing, Cong, Qian, Shen, Jinhui & Grishin, Nick V., 2022, Taxonomic changes suggested by the genomic analysis of Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera), Insecta Mundi 2022 (921), pp. 1-135 : 27

Odontoptilum de Nicéville, 1890 is a subgenus of Abaratha Moore, 1881

Both Odontoptilum de Nicéville, 1890 (type species Achlyodes sura Moore, [1866] , which is a junior subjective synonym of Pterygospidea angulata C. Felder, 1862 ) and Abaratha Moore, 1881 (type species Pterygospidea ransonnetii R. Felder, 1868 ) are sister genera that consist of several species ( Fig. 3 ). Although species within each genus are more closely related to each other than between genera, the two genera are close, for example, COI barcode difference between their type species is only 7.3% (48 bp). Moreover, their male genitalia are similar to each other, characterized by a highly asymmetric uncus and considerably elongated valvae. For these reasons, it would be more informative to emphasize the close relatedness of the two genera and consider all these species congeneric by placing Odontoptilum de Nicéville, 1890 in Abaratha Moore, 1881 as a subgenus.

Figures

Figure 3. Genomic tree of Tagiadinae. See Fig. 1 legend for notations.