Taxonomic Revision of the Relationship Between Coproptilia and Nosphistica (Lepidoptera: Lecithoceridae) with Descriptions of Two New Species and a New Record from China.

Abstract

The family Lecithoceridae represents one of the most diverse yet understudied groups within Lepidoptera, with numerous unresolved taxonomic issues requiring urgent attention. Among these, the genus Coproptilia Snellen, a small genus within Lecithoceridae, has traditionally been distinguished from its closely related genus, Nosphistica Meyrick, primarily by the presence of vein R₁ in the forewing. However, Nosphistica exhibits considerable interspecific variation in wing venation, complicating clear differentiation between these genera. In this study, we conducted a molecular phylogenetic analysis of Lecithoceridae based on a concatenated dataset of 5350 bp, comprising one mitochondrial marker and six nuclear markers from 28 Lecithoceridae individuals. The result shows that (1) the topological results of both Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Bayesian Inference (BI) trees show the Coproptilia branch embedded within the Nosphistica branch, so Nosphistica Meyrick should be synonymized with Coproptilia Snellen. (2) Two new species are described from China: Coproptilia uniformis Yu, sp. nov. and C. funiuensis Yu, sp. nov. (3) Coproptilia tawiensis Park, 2009, is newly recorded from China, with the first description of its female. Finally, we integrated molecular and morphological evidence to examine the taxonomic relationship between Coproptilia and Nosphistica. Additional molecular data will be needed to further clarify the subfamily affiliation of Coproptilia sensu nov.