Systematics of the Scythrididae (Lepidoptera) of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador

The Scythrididae moths of the Galápagos Archipelago are taxonomically revised. Ten species are recognised, all of them new: Scythris ancystra J.-F. Landry & Bucheli, sp. nov., S. cristobalensis J.-F. Landry & B. Landry, sp. nov., S. falcata J.-F. Landry & Bucheli, sp. nov., S. forcipata J.-F. Landry & Bucheli, sp. nov., S. furculata J.-F. Landry & Bucheli, sp. nov., S. galapagensis J.-F. Landry & Bucheli, sp. nov., S. isaferna J.-F. Landry & Bucheli, sp. nov., S. lisae J.-F. Landry & Bucheli, sp. nov., S. pistillata J.-F. Landry & Bucheli, sp. nov., and S. roquealbeloi J.-F. Landry & Bucheli, sp. nov. Based on a putatively unique apomorphic character of the male genitalia, they appear to form a monophyletic group restricted to the Galápagos. Their relationships to other known Scythrididae are undetermined, at best they share some generalised features with the type species and other species with similar genitalia configurations which may represent ground plan states or homoplasies. DNA barcodes showed weak differentiation among several of the species. Several species occur on more than one island, even sympatrically, and species distributions seem unrelated to the archipelago geography. Larval host plants are recorded for three species: S. isaferna on Darwiniothamnus lancifolius (Hooker f.) Harling ssp. lancifolius (Asteraceae); S. galapagensis as a leaf miner on Sesuvium portulacastrum (L.) L. (Aizoaceae) and on Portulaca sp. (Portulacaceae); and S. falcata as a leaf miner on Alternanthera halimifolia Standl. ex Pittier (Amaranthaceae).