@article {22762, title = {Moths of Tale Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh, India with seventeen additions to the moth fauna of India (Lepidoptera: Heterocera)}, journal = {Tropical Lepidoptera Research}, volume = {31 (Suppl. 2)}, year = {2021}, pages = {1-53}, chapter = {1}, abstract = {

\"Moth biodiversity assessments at Tale Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh, India, which consisted of over 29 days of survey during the months of April, May, August and September in 2011 and 2019, resulted in a checklist of 497 moth species of which 460 species are identified to species level, while 37 are identified to genus level. There are 17 species for which no published records exist from India and are additions to the known moth fauna of India, and more than a hundred species for which no published records exist from Arunachal Pradesh. Over 200 species still remain to be identified. We also include two additional plates with species identified after the submission of the manuscript and some prominent unidentified species.\"

}, keywords = {INDIA, LEPIDOPTERA, SPHINGIDAE, WORLDMAP1}, doi = {10.5281/zenodo.5062572}, author = {Sondhi, S. and Karmakar, T. and Sondhi, Y. and Kunte, K.} } @article {22714, title = {Duplication and sub-functionalisation characterise diversification of opsin genes in the Lepidoptera}, year = {2022}, pages = {1-35}, type = {bioRxiv preprint}, abstract = {

\"Gene duplication is a vital process for evolutionary innovation. Functional diversification of duplicated genes is best explored in multicopy gene families such as histones, hemoglobin, and opsins. Rhodopsins are photo-sensitive proteins that respond to different wavelengths of light and contribute to diverse visual adaptations across insects. While there are several instances of gene duplications in opsin lineages, the functional diversification of duplicated copies and their ecological significance is properly characterised only in a few insect groups. We examined molecular and structural evolution that underlies diversification and sub-functionalisation of four opsin genes and their duplicated copies across 132 species of the diverse insect order\—Lepidoptera. Opsins have largely evolved under purifying selection with few residues showing signs of episodic and pervasive diversifying selection. Although these do not affect overall protein structures of opsins, substitutions in key amino acids in the chromophore-binding pocket of duplicated copies might cause spectral sensitivity shifts leading to sub-functionalisation or neofunctionalisation. Duplicated copies of opsins also exhibit developmental stage-specific expression in Papilio polytes, suggesting functional partitioning during development. Together, altered spectral sensitivities owing to key substitutions and differential expression of duplicated copies across developmental stages might enable enhanced colour perception and improved discrimination across wavelengths in this highly visual insect group.\"

}, keywords = {ANTHERAEA, BOMBYCIDAE, BOMBYX, EVOLUTION, GENE DUPLICATION, LEPIDOPTERA, MACROGLOSSUM, OPODIPHTHERA, OPSIN, PHYLOGENY, RHODOPSIN, SATURNIIDAE, SPHINGIDAE, VISION}, doi = {10.1101/2022.10.31.514481}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.10.31.514481}, author = {Kuwalekar, M. and Deshmukh, R. and Baral, S. and Padvi, A. and Kunte, K.} } @article {21898, title = {Moth diversity (Lepidoptera: Heterocera) of Shendurney and Ponmudi in Agastyamalai Biosphere Reserve, Kerala, India, with notes on new records}, journal = {Tropical Lepidoptera Research}, volume = {28}, year = {2018}, month = {12/2018}, pages = {66-89}, chapter = {66}, abstract = {

\"We present a list of 282 species of moths recorded during surveys conducted over 31 survey nights during a 3-year period in Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS) and Ponmudi, Kerala, India. Shendurney WLS and Ponmudi are part of the Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve in the southern Western Ghats, which is one of India\’s three biodiversity hotspots. Shendurney is a diversity hotspot within the Western Ghats. It has a high degree of endemism and several new species have recently been described from the sanctuary. The moth diversity in Shendurney is poorly studied and only 128 moth species have been previously reported. This illustrated checklist of 282 species expands on previous reports and includes notes on flight periods and distribution. Fifteen range extensions were recorded, of which 14 were new records for Kerala, one a new record for India, and one a new species.\"

}, keywords = {ACOSMERYX, CHECKLIST, INDIA, LEPIDOPTERA, RHAGASTIS, SPHINGIDAE, THERETRA, WORLDMAP1}, issn = {575-9256}, doi = {10.5281/zenodo.2027709}, url = {https://zenodo.org/record/2027709$\#$.Y9qJH63P02w}, author = {Sondhi, Y. and Sondhi, S. and Pathour, S.R. and Kunte, K.} } @article {21597, title = {A new species of Theretra H{\"u}bner (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) from the southern Western Ghats, India}, journal = {Zootaxa}, volume = {4323}, year = {2017}, month = {09/2017}, pages = {185-196}, chapter = {185}, abstract = {

\"A new species of the genus Theretra H\übner [1819], Theretra shendurneensis sp. nov., is described from Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary, southern Western Ghats, India, based on external and internal morphology, and genetic markers. The new species is compared in external and male genital morphology, genetic divergence and geographic range with three similar and closely related species: T. boisduvalii (Bugnion, 1839), T. sumatrensis (Joicey and Kaye, 1917) and T. rhesus (Boisduval, [1875]). Recent changes to the classification of Theretra are discussed and rejected.\"

}, keywords = {CATALOGUE, CHECKLIST, COI, DNA, INDIA, MALE GENITALIA, MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD, PHYLOGENY, THERETRA, WORLDMAP1}, doi = {10.11646/zootaxa.4323.2.2}, url = {https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4323.2.2}, author = {Sondhi, Y. and Kitching, I.J. and Basu, D.N. and Kunte, K.} }