Yao Yuan, Chen Jia-Yu, Gong Xiao-Ling, Li Chen-Hong, Liu Zheng, Lin Xiao-Long
Engineering Research Center of Environmental DNA and Ecological Water Health Assessment, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China.
Shanghai Universities Key Laboratory of Marine Animal Taxonomy and Evolution, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China.
Insects. 2025 Apr 1;16(4):370. doi: 10.3390/insects16040370.
The genus Thienemann & Bause, 1913 (Diptera: Chironomidae) currently includes more than 120 recognized species worldwide, but precise species-level identification based solely on morphology remains challenging. Pronounced morphological differences among life stages and the time-consuming inefficiency of rearing larvae further complicate life-stage matching in this genus. In this study, we assessed species diversity by integrating morphological examination and DNA barcoding, analyzing 911 DNA barcodes from newly collected samples and a public database. Based on these results, we further constructed a relatively complete life-history framework. Our results show that 911 DNA barcodes belong to 69 putative species. The maximum intraspecific divergence reached 7.35% in , and the average minimal interspecific distance was 11.44%. Substantial intraspecific divergence in certain species complexes suggests the presence of cryptic species. Therefore, to resolve these potential cryptic species issues, more extensive sampling and morphological examination of specimens from geographically distant regions-supplemented by nuclear and ecological data-are required.
蒂内曼摇蚊属（Thienemann & Bause，1913年）（双翅目：摇蚊科）目前在全球范围内包含120多个已确认的物种，但仅基于形态学进行精确的物种水平鉴定仍然具有挑战性。该属不同生活阶段之间存在明显的形态差异，并且饲养幼虫耗时低效，这进一步使该属的生活阶段匹配变得复杂。在本研究中，我们通过整合形态学检查和DNA条形码技术评估物种多样性，分析了新采集样本和一个公共数据库中的911个DNA条形码。基于这些结果，我们进一步构建了一个相对完整的生活史框架。我们的结果表明，911个DNA条形码属于69个假定物种。在某些物种复合体中，种内最大分歧达到7.35%，平均最小种间距离为11.44%。某些物种复合体中存在显著的种内分歧，这表明存在隐存种。因此，为了解决这些潜在的隐存种问题，需要进行更广泛的采样，并对来自地理上遥远地区的标本进行形态学检查，并辅以核数据和生态数据。
