Seven new species in the Chaetopteryx rugulosa species group: applying the phylogenetic species concept and the sexual selection theory (Trichoptera: Limnephilidae)
Emerging perspectives of the phylogenetic species concepts and of the sexual selection theory were reviewed in order to apply these new findings to separate species in the obscured Chaetoptery rugulosa species group. Species is no longer considered as a stage in the lineage divergence. All the separately evolving metapopulation lineages represent species, from initial separation to extinction. Species is not a taxonomic rank, but a level of biological organisation. There are newly born and there are dying species. There are no subspecies as there are no “subindividuals“ in the hierarchy of the biological organisation. Stable initial split criterion became a dominating practical guide to separate and describe species. That means that finding reliable separating morphological characters remains the central target in taxonomy and faces a challenge to taxonomist. Intense recent sexual selection processes both in the sexually antagonistic coevolution and in the cryptic female choice have produced stable diversity on the intromitten region of the edaeagus and on the female anal tube in the C. rugulosa species group. The male lateral subapical processes on the aedeagus and the female anal tube were applied to describe new species in this group: C. giuliensis Oláh & Kovács sp. n., C. idriensis Oláh & Urbani` sp. n., C. kamnikensis Oláh & Urbani` sp. n., C. papukensis Oláh & Szivák sp. n., C. pohorjensis Oláh & Urbani` sp. n., C. prealpensis Oláh sp. n., C. zalaensis Oláh sp. n. Based on male and female genital characters and applying the phylogenetic species concept we have raised subspecies rank to species rank with three new combinations: Chaetopteryx mecsekensis Nogradi, 1986 comb. nov., Chaetopteryx schmidi Botosaneanu, 1957 comb. nov., Chaetopteryx noricum Malicky, 1976 comb. nov., and have established three new species subgroups in the C. rugulosa species group: C. schmidi, C. rugulosa, C. irenae. In the C. rugulosa new species subgroup we have erected two new species clusters: C. noricum, C. rugulosa
