Culicoides dokdoensis,sp. nov. (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae): A new biting midge species from Dokdo Island,Republic of Korea |
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| Authors: | Wongyu Lee Sun Yi Kim Junmi Hur Taeseo Park Min Seock Do Hyun Ki Choi Jisoo Kim Changseob Lim Taekjun Lee Yeon Jae Bae |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Graduate School, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea;2. National Institute of Biological Resource, Incheon, Republic of Korea;3. Department of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Graduate School, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea OJeong Resilience Institute, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea;4. Department of Animal Resources Science, Sahmyook University, Seoul, Republic of Korea |
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| Abstract: | Recent molecular approaches toward insect taxonomy are revealing cryptic diversity within biting midge genus Culicoides Latreille, 1809. A new biting midge species was collected from highly restricted area of Dokdo Island, East Sea of the Republic of Korea, and was identified as Culicoides dokdoensis, sp. nov., based on morphological characters and DNA barcoding. The specimens collected from the island were previously known as Culicoides circumscriptus Kieffer, 1918, a cosmopolitan blood-feeder, due to its morphological similarity. However, the specimens from Dokdo Island can be distinguished from other congeners by the following characters: more curved arms in male aedeagus, wing spot pattern, sensory pit depth, and absence of a spermatheca neck in female. In addition, mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I sequence exhibited substantial genetic difference compared to C. circumscriptus populations from the Korean Peninsula, sufficiently supporting the genetic differentiation between the two species. The discovery of this cryptic species highlights the necessity of integrated taxonomy for Culicoides. |
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| Keywords: | COI cryptic species Culicoides cricumscriptus DNA barcode taxonomy |
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