+1Kontinente:AS
3. Weitere Informationen
3.1. Etymologie (Namenserklärung)
Zhu et al. (2026) erklären: "The specific epithet is derived from the Latin serrulatus, referring to the sacculus serrated on apical margin."
3.2. Taxonomie und Faunistik
Die Gattung Meleonoma wurde als Vertreter der Familie Oecophoridae beschrieben. Sie wanderte dann durch die Familien Cryptolechiidae, Depressariidae, Lypusidae zurück zu den Oecophoridae, weiter zu den Xyloryctidae und neuerdings als Vertreter der Tribus Meleonomini innerhalb der Unterfamilie Periacminae zu den Autostichidae. Innerhalb der artenreichen Gattung Meleonoma wurde die Art von Zhu et al. (2026) in die "malacobyrsa group" gestellt. Unter Hinzuziehung des Mitogenoms wird alles nur schwieriger: "Among them, M. serrulata sp. nov. is assigned to the M. malacobyrsa group [24,26,42] based on its diagnostic traits, including a lanceolate forewing with an orange-yellow ground color and a broad black median fascia. M. latizona sp. nov. is placed in the M. segregnatha group [21,24,27,44] according to its dark brown forewing overlain with yellow maculations. The assignment of the two species to their respective species groups is currently based on their diagnostic morphological traits. However, in the phylogenetic tree (Figure 5), these two species cluster together and M. serrulata sp. nov. is not resolved into the M. malacobyrsa group. The same issue is also observed in the dentivalvata and fasciptera species groups (Figure 5a). We hypothesize that this is because the COI gene contains limited genetic information and is insufficient for resolving species groups within the genus Meleonoma, necessitating the incorporation of additional genetic data. In contrast, the mitochondrial genome (Figure 5b), which harbors substantially more genetic information, successfully delimited the dentivalvata and fasciptera groups. Nevertheless, M. latizona sp. nov. and M. serrulata sp. nov. still formed a well-supported clade, and M. serrulata sp. nov. did not cluster with the malacobyrsa group. This suggests that although the mitochondrial genome carries far more genetic information than the COI gene and can largely resolve species groups within Meleonoma, a robust and stable delimitation of species groups in this genus still requires the inclusion of more species groups and congeneric species."
Zhu et al. (2026: 6) schreiben zum Verbreitungsgebiet der M. serrulata nur kurz: "China (Sichuan)."
3.3. Typenmaterial
Zhu et al. (2026) listen: "Type material. CHINA, Sichuan: Holotype ♂, Songpinggou, Mao County, 4.VII.2021, leg. S Yu et al., slide No. ZXJ20009. Paratypes: 5♂6♀, 4−6. VII.2021, other same data as holotype, slide No. ZXJ20003♂, ZXJ20180♀, ZXJ20181♂, ZXJ20182♀, ZXJ23068♂, ZXJ23071♀."
(Autor: Erwin Rennwald)
3.4. Literatur
- Erstbeschreibung: Zhu, X., Zhu, X. & S. Wang (2026): Two New Species of the Genus Meleonoma (Lepidoptera, Autostichidae) from China, Revealed by Morphological and Phylogenetic Evidence. — Insects, 17 (6: 649): 1-13. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects17060649. [zum open access-Artikel auf mdpi.com]
