Phylogeny and taxonomy of a new clade of Australian Heliozelidae in the genus Prophylactis Meyrick, 1897 (Lepidoptera, Adeloidea) pollinating Boronia (Rutaceae: Sapindales)
Heliozelidae are a group of small monotrysian moths with a near world-wide distribution. While the Heliozelidae fauna of the Palaearctic and Nearctic is relatively well known, few studies have examined Heliozelidae in other regions of the world. If known, described species are leaf miners as larvae;...
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Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Arthropod Systematics & Phylogeny |
| Online Access: | https://arthropod-systematics.arphahub.com/article/130334/download/pdf/ |
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| author | Douglas J. Hilton D. Andy Young Liz Milla Mengjie Jin Stephen Wilcox Qike Wang Verena C. Wimmer Jinny Chang Henning Kallies Andie Hall Marina Watowich Carly A. Busch Jordan Wilcox Aileen Swarbrick Marlene Walter Don Sands Davina Paterson David C. Lees Marco F. Duretto Adnan Moussalli Mike Halsey Axel Kallies |
| author_facet | Douglas J. Hilton D. Andy Young Liz Milla Mengjie Jin Stephen Wilcox Qike Wang Verena C. Wimmer Jinny Chang Henning Kallies Andie Hall Marina Watowich Carly A. Busch Jordan Wilcox Aileen Swarbrick Marlene Walter Don Sands Davina Paterson David C. Lees Marco F. Duretto Adnan Moussalli Mike Halsey Axel Kallies |
| author_sort | Douglas J. Hilton |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Heliozelidae are a group of small monotrysian moths with a near world-wide distribution. While the Heliozelidae fauna of the Palaearctic and Nearctic is relatively well known, few studies have examined Heliozelidae in other regions of the world. If known, described species are leaf miners as larvae; however, the early biology of species outside of the Northern Hemisphere is poorly understood. Here, we describe a group of heliozelid moths that are specialised pollinators of the iconic plant genus Boronia Sm. (Rutaceae) from the south of Western Australia. Females of this group are characterised by the presence of a pollen-collecting structure on the dorsal side of the abdomen that is unique among known Lepidoptera. We propose that these moths are involved in a brood pollination mutualism with their species-specific host plant, where females lay eggs into and pollinate Boronia flowers, and larvae consume developing seeds. Molecular phylogenetic analyses using seven mitochondrial protein coding genes recovered a monophyletic group of pollinator species that belong to a larger group of Rutaceae-associated Australian Heliozelidae. The remainder of this group lack this pollen-collecting structure, providing insights into the evolution of pollination relationships. We resurrect the genus name Prophylactis Meyrick, 1897 stat. rev. and describe 15 new species based on a combination of morphological and molecular characters and host plant information: Prophylactis albiflorallax Hilton, Young & Kallies sp. nov., P. binbin Hilton, Young & Kallies sp. nov., P. clavatallax Hilton, Young & Kallies sp. nov., P. crassifoliallax Hilton, Young & Kallies sp. nov., P. crenulatallax Hilton, Young & Kallies sp. nov., P. gracilipax Hilton, Young & Kallies sp. nov., P. heterophyllax Hilton, Young & Kallies sp. nov., P jasperae Hilton, Young, Milla & Kallies sp. nov., P. megastigmallax Hilton, Young, Halsey, Milla & Kallies sp. nov., P. molloyax Hilton, Young & Kallies sp. nov., P. octandrallax Hilton, Young, Milla & Kallies sp. nov., P. pulchellax Hilton, Young & Kallies sp. nov., P. purdieanallax Hilton, Young & Kallies sp. nov., P. strictallax Hilton, Young, Halsey & Kallies sp. nov., and P. tetrandrallax Hilton, Young, Milla & Kallies sp. nov. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-da3008bcae1d43f98f6f5a7fefd17d08 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1864-8312 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Arthropod Systematics & Phylogeny |
| spelling | doaj-art-da3008bcae1d43f98f6f5a7fefd17d082025-08-20T02:06:22ZengSenckenberg Gesellschaft für NaturforschungArthropod Systematics & Phylogeny1864-83122025-06-018317521010.3897/asp.83.e130334130334Phylogeny and taxonomy of a new clade of Australian Heliozelidae in the genus Prophylactis Meyrick, 1897 (Lepidoptera, Adeloidea) pollinating Boronia (Rutaceae: Sapindales)Douglas J. Hilton0D. Andy Young1Liz Milla2Mengjie Jin3Stephen Wilcox4Qike Wang5Verena C. Wimmer6Jinny Chang7Henning Kallies8Andie Hall9Marina Watowich10Carly A. Busch11Jordan Wilcox12Aileen Swarbrick13Marlene Walter14Don Sands15Davina Paterson16David C. Lees17Marco F. Duretto18Adnan Moussalli19Mike Halsey20Axel Kallies21CSIROD’Estrees Entomology & Science ServicesCSIROCSIROThe University of MelbourneThe University of MelbourneThe University of MelbourneThe University of MelbourneThe University of MelbourneNatural History MuseumVanderbilt UniversityArizona State UniversityThe University of MelbourneD’Estrees Entomology & Science ServicesThe University of MelbourneCSIROThe University of QueenslandNatural History MuseumBotanic Gardens of SydneyThe University of MelbourneUnaffiliatedThe University of MelbourneHeliozelidae are a group of small monotrysian moths with a near world-wide distribution. While the Heliozelidae fauna of the Palaearctic and Nearctic is relatively well known, few studies have examined Heliozelidae in other regions of the world. If known, described species are leaf miners as larvae; however, the early biology of species outside of the Northern Hemisphere is poorly understood. Here, we describe a group of heliozelid moths that are specialised pollinators of the iconic plant genus Boronia Sm. (Rutaceae) from the south of Western Australia. Females of this group are characterised by the presence of a pollen-collecting structure on the dorsal side of the abdomen that is unique among known Lepidoptera. We propose that these moths are involved in a brood pollination mutualism with their species-specific host plant, where females lay eggs into and pollinate Boronia flowers, and larvae consume developing seeds. Molecular phylogenetic analyses using seven mitochondrial protein coding genes recovered a monophyletic group of pollinator species that belong to a larger group of Rutaceae-associated Australian Heliozelidae. The remainder of this group lack this pollen-collecting structure, providing insights into the evolution of pollination relationships. We resurrect the genus name Prophylactis Meyrick, 1897 stat. rev. and describe 15 new species based on a combination of morphological and molecular characters and host plant information: Prophylactis albiflorallax Hilton, Young & Kallies sp. nov., P. binbin Hilton, Young & Kallies sp. nov., P. clavatallax Hilton, Young & Kallies sp. nov., P. crassifoliallax Hilton, Young & Kallies sp. nov., P. crenulatallax Hilton, Young & Kallies sp. nov., P. gracilipax Hilton, Young & Kallies sp. nov., P. heterophyllax Hilton, Young & Kallies sp. nov., P jasperae Hilton, Young, Milla & Kallies sp. nov., P. megastigmallax Hilton, Young, Halsey, Milla & Kallies sp. nov., P. molloyax Hilton, Young & Kallies sp. nov., P. octandrallax Hilton, Young, Milla & Kallies sp. nov., P. pulchellax Hilton, Young & Kallies sp. nov., P. purdieanallax Hilton, Young & Kallies sp. nov., P. strictallax Hilton, Young, Halsey & Kallies sp. nov., and P. tetrandrallax Hilton, Young, Milla & Kallies sp. nov.https://arthropod-systematics.arphahub.com/article/130334/download/pdf/ |
| spellingShingle | Douglas J. Hilton D. Andy Young Liz Milla Mengjie Jin Stephen Wilcox Qike Wang Verena C. Wimmer Jinny Chang Henning Kallies Andie Hall Marina Watowich Carly A. Busch Jordan Wilcox Aileen Swarbrick Marlene Walter Don Sands Davina Paterson David C. Lees Marco F. Duretto Adnan Moussalli Mike Halsey Axel Kallies Phylogeny and taxonomy of a new clade of Australian Heliozelidae in the genus Prophylactis Meyrick, 1897 (Lepidoptera, Adeloidea) pollinating Boronia (Rutaceae: Sapindales) Arthropod Systematics & Phylogeny |
| title | Phylogeny and taxonomy of a new clade of Australian Heliozelidae in the genus Prophylactis Meyrick, 1897 (Lepidoptera, Adeloidea) pollinating Boronia (Rutaceae: Sapindales) |
| title_full | Phylogeny and taxonomy of a new clade of Australian Heliozelidae in the genus Prophylactis Meyrick, 1897 (Lepidoptera, Adeloidea) pollinating Boronia (Rutaceae: Sapindales) |
| title_fullStr | Phylogeny and taxonomy of a new clade of Australian Heliozelidae in the genus Prophylactis Meyrick, 1897 (Lepidoptera, Adeloidea) pollinating Boronia (Rutaceae: Sapindales) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Phylogeny and taxonomy of a new clade of Australian Heliozelidae in the genus Prophylactis Meyrick, 1897 (Lepidoptera, Adeloidea) pollinating Boronia (Rutaceae: Sapindales) |
| title_short | Phylogeny and taxonomy of a new clade of Australian Heliozelidae in the genus Prophylactis Meyrick, 1897 (Lepidoptera, Adeloidea) pollinating Boronia (Rutaceae: Sapindales) |
| title_sort | phylogeny and taxonomy of a new clade of australian heliozelidae in the genus prophylactis meyrick 1897 lepidoptera adeloidea pollinating boronia rutaceae sapindales |
| url | https://arthropod-systematics.arphahub.com/article/130334/download/pdf/ |
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