Mnasicles, Zhang & Cong & Shen & Grishin, 2022

Zhang, Jing, Cong, Qian, Shen, Jinhui & Grishin, Nick V., 2022, Taxonomic changes suggested by the genomic analysis of Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera), Insecta Mundi 2022 (921), pp. 1-135 : 62

Styriodes Schaus, 1913 , with Brownus Grishin, 2019 as its junior subjective synonym, and Remella Hemming, 1939 are subgenera of Mnasicles Godman, 1901

Genomic tree reveals that four closely related genera form a clade sister to Amblyscirtes Scudder, 1872 (type species Hesperia vialis W. H. Edwards, 1862 ) ( Fig. 13 ). Genetic diversity of this clade is comparable to that of Amblyscirtes although the wing pattern differences (from solid dark-brown to cream-striped a spotted) resulted in their classification into several small genera. We propose to treat all these species currently in four genera as congeneric, within Mnasicles Godman, 1901 (type species Mnasicles geta Godman, 1901 ). Two genus-group names include particularly close relatives and we propose that Brownus Grishin, 2019 (type and the only species Paratrytone browni Bell, 1959 ) is a junior subjective synonym of Styriodes Schaus, 1913 (type species Styriodes lyco Schaus, 1913 ). We treat the two more distant ones: Styriodes and Remella Hemming, 1939 (type species Hesperia remus Fabricius, 1798 ), as subgenera of Mnasicles , new status for both.

Figures

Figure 13. Genomic tree of Moncina, part 1, and relatives. See Fig. 1 legend for notations.