Biodiv Sci ›› 2024, Vol. 32 ›› Issue (11): 24428.  DOI: 10.17520/biods.2024428

• Special Feature: Biological Invasion • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Annual report of new taxa for Chinese Lepidoptera in 2023

Muhetaier1, Xiuying Zhang1, Subinuer Aili1, Houhun Li1,2*   

  1. 1 College of Life and Geographic Sciences, Kashi University/Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Ecology of Pamirs Plateau, Kashi, Xinjiang 844000, China
    2 College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China

  • Received:2024-09-28 Revised:2024-11-08 Online:2024-11-20 Published:2024-12-31
  • Contact: Houhun Li

Abstract:

Aim: Lepidoptera exhibits high diversity and has significant economic importance. Many species are pests, while others are beneficial or have high ornamental value. China has a vast territory, spanning both the Palearctic and the Oriental regions. The biota is complex and diverse, with many new species being described every year. The aim of this study is to summarize the new taxa of Lepidoptera recorded in China in 2023.
Methods: Information regarding new species, new synonyms, new combinations, and new record species for China was referred to from related taxonomic journals. The scientific names and type localities of the new species as well as other relevant information, were sorted out based on a total of 87 articles. The new taxa of Chinese Lepidoptera published by domestic and foreign researchers in 2023 were summarized.
Results: A total of 224 new taxa were recorded, including 10 new genera, 195 new species, and 19 new subspecies. Three genera and 96 species (including 19 subspecies) were newly recorded in China, and 40 new combinations and 52 synonyms were proposed. One species and one subspecies were each replaced with a new name, respectively. 13 species were downgraded to subspecies, and 18 subspecies were upgraded to species. A total of 214 new species and subspecies belong to 85 genera across 26 families in Lepidoptera, of which 120 new species belong to Microlepidoptera, 57 new species belong to Macrolepidoptera, and 18 new species and 19 new subspecies are butterflies.
Conclusions: The number of new species and new record species of Lepidoptera distributed in Yunnan Province in 2023 was still significantly higher than that in any other regions of China, accounting for 31.78% and 42.71% of the total published species in China, respectively. All the data show that the number of new species and new record species collected from southern China in 2023 are still significantly higher than that collected from northern China.

Key words: Lepidoptera, new taxa, new combination, new synonyms, new record, China