A taxonomic study of the caddisfly <i>Oxyethira falcata</i> Morton, 1893 (Trichoptera: Hydroptilidae) using genital morphology and DNA barcoding

Authors

• Juha Salokannel
• Niklas Wahlberg
• Eero Vesterinen
• Jesus Martinez
• Marcos González

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33338/ef.7386

Abstract

Taxonomists have had problems with the hydroptilid caddisfly, Oxyethira falcate Morton, in the past. Four described taxa have been synonymized with O. falcate due to considerable intra-specific morphological variation of the male genitalia, and due to misinterpretation of some of the structures of these. In the present study specimens resembling morphologically O. boreella Svensson & Tjeder, one of the synonymized taxa, were compared with the true O. falcata using DNA barcoding and studying the male genitalia. Further, a molecular examination of all the Fennoscandian Oxyethira species were carried out, including the rare O. klingstedti Nybom, O. tamperensis Malicky, and O. ecornuta Morton. The results support keeping O. boreella as a synonym of O. falcata. In addition, the DNA analyses showed the presence of monophyletic groups for all of the studied Oxyethira species.