OPEN ACCESS The Journal of Threatened Taxa fs dedfcated to bufldfng evfdence for conservafon globally by publfshfng peer-revfewed arfcles onlfne every month at a reasonably rapfd rate at www.threatenedtaxa.org . All arfcles publfshed fn JoTT are regfstered under Creafve Commons Atrfbufon 4.0 Internafonal Lfcense unless otherwfse menfoned. JoTT allows unrestrfcted use of arfcles fn any medfum, reproducfon, and dfstrfbufon by provfdfng adequate credft to the authors and the source of publfcafon. Journal of Threatened Taxa Bufldfng evfdence for conservafon globally www.threatenedtaxa.org ISSN 0974-7907 (Onlfne) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Prfnt) Communfcatfon Forest ghost moth fauna of northeastern Indfa (Lepfdoptera: Hepfalfdae: Endoclfta , Palpffer , and Hepfalfscus ) John R. Grehan & Vfjay Anand Ismavel 26 March 2017 | Vol. 9| No. 3 | Pp. 9940–9955 10.11609/jot. 3030 .9. 3.9940-9955 For Focus, Scope, Afms, Polfcfes and Gufdelfnes vfsft htp://threatenedtaxa.org/About_JoTT.asp For Arfcle Submfssfon Gufdelfnes vfsft htp://threatenedtaxa.org/Submfssfon_Gufdelfnes.asp For Polfcfes agafnst Scfenffc Mfsconduct vfsft htp://threatenedtaxa.org/JoTT_Polfcy_agafnst_Scfenffc_Mfsconduct.asp For reprfnts contact <[email protected]> Publfsher/Host Partner Threatened Taxa Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 March 2017 | 9(3): 9940–9955 Forest ghost moth fauna of northeastern India Communication (Lepidoptera: Hepialidae: Endoclita, Palpifer, and Hepialiscus) 1 2 ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) John R. Grehan & Vijay Anand Ismavel ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) 1 Research Associate, Section of Invertebrate Zoology, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, OPEN ACCESS 4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA 2 Makunda Christian Hospital, Bazaricherra, Karimganj District, Assam 788727, India 1 [email protected] (corresponding author), 2 [email protected] Abstract: Taxonomic and biological information is reviewed for the forest Hepialidae of northeastern India, a poorly known group of moths in a region known for the global significance of its biodiversity. The taxonomic and biological characteristics are described for genera known from the northeast - Endoclita, Palpifer, and Hepialiscus. A key is provided for distinguishing these genera and the genusThitarodes known from nearby Bhutan, China, and Nepal, which is almost certainly present within the borders of India. Taxonomic characteristics are described for 12 species from the northeast along with illustrations of the species and maps of their known distributions. Information on species distributions is extremely fragmentary and it is considered very likely that most species have more extensive distributions than currently documented. The northeastern Indian region represents a center of hepialid diversity comprising three principal distribution patterns: (i) local endemics, (ii) Himalayan, and (iii) northeastern. Comparison of distribution records and major vegetation types indicate the absence of information on the hepialid fauna for much of the northeast region. The principal challenge for future documentation and assessment of the hepialid fauna for this region, as with any other part of India, is the lack of modern descriptions of type specimens. The inclusion of voucher collections of Hepialidae in future biodiversity surveys of northeastern India is to be strongly encouraged, particularly in the context of current and future environmental impacts affecting the sustainability of forest environments in the region. Keywords: Biodiversity, Hepialidae, Lepidoptera, northeastern India. DOI: http://doi.org/10.11609/jott.3030.9.3.9940-9955 | ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:78E18828-D0B0-46F1-AE31-3C2C1C571914 Editor: Anonymity requested. Date of publication: 26 March 2017 (online & print) Manuscript details: Ms # 3030 | Received 03 September 2016 | Final received 30 January 2017 | Finally accepted 23 February 2017 Citation: Grehan, J.R. & V.A. Ismavel (2017). Forest ghost moth fauna of northeastern India (Lepidoptera: Hepialidae: Endoclita, Palpifer, and Hepialiscus). Journal of Threatened Taxa 9(3): 9940–9955; http://doi.org/10.11609/jott.3030.9.3.9940-9955 Copyright: © Grehan & Ismavel 2017. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium, repro- duction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication. Funding: None. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Author Details: Dr. John R. Grehan is a research Associate at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, USA, with a specialist interest in the biology and taxonomy of Hepialidae (see http://www.johngrehan.net/index.php/hepialidae/). Dr. Vijay Anand Ismavel is a pediatric surgeon working at the Makunda Christian Hospital in Assam. He is active in biodiversity documentation with over 5000 observations and 10,000 photographs of nearly 2000 species uploaded to iNaturalist. He is the founder of the Makunda Nature Club which documents biodiversity, promotes conservation of wildlife. Observations recorded at http:// www.inaturalist.org/observations/ivijayanand Author Contribution: JRG - provided information content. VAI - provided information details regarding localities, habitats, specimen data and expertise on northeast region. Acknowledgements: We are very grateful to Alessandro Giusti and David Lees (Natural History Museum, London), Norbert Maczey (Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International), John Rawlins and Jayne Hyland (Carnegie Museum of Natural History), Peter Hudson (South Australia Museum), Nickolay Ignatyev, and Thomas Witt (Witt Museum München) for specimen photos, and to the staff of the Canadian National Collection for long-term specimen loans. We thank Dayong Xue (Chinese Academy of Sciences) for information on Hepialiscus, and to George Matthews for helpful advice, and Chandra Negi (L S M Government Postgraduate College) for information on fungal infected Hepialidae. And we are also grateful to Carlos Mielke (Curitiba, Brazil) and an anonymous reviewer for constructive comments on the manuscript. LOGOs 9940 Ghost moths of northeastern India Grehan & Ismavel INTRODUCTION described by Indian researchers (Smetacek 2011). Ghost moths, a common name for Hepialidae (larger Northeastern India is a geographically and tectonically species in eastern Asia are often referred to as ‘bat complex region, a triangular corner of the Indian plate moths’), represent an example of a poorly understood that is topographically edged by the eastern Himalaya lepidopteran group in northeastern India that is to the north, the India-Burma mountains to the east, threatened by loss or degradation of forest habitat. In the Shillong plateau at the center and extending to the this region the Hepialidae are low in species diversity south between Bangladesh and Myanmar. Identified by and probably also relatively low in population density as Reddy et al. (2015) as the Northeast Biogeographic Zone, may be indicated by their relative scarcity in collections. the region is administratively defined by the Ministry Some species are moderately large as adults, but these of Development of the northeastern Region (DoNER nocturnal moths do not appear to be often attracted - http://mdoner.gov.in/) as the states of Arunachal to light, and the immature stages often escape notice Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, due to their secluded feeding habits (Grehan 1989). The Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura. It is both one of the Hepialidae occupy a significant phylogenetic position world’s globally significant centers of biodiversity and in the evolutionary history of moths and butterflies a region that is facing a broad range of environmental as a whole, being the largest of the primitive moth threats to its future sustainability (Chatterjee et al. families (Reiger et al. 2015). The biology and ecology 2006; Chatterjee 2008). This is especially true for the of this group is also distinct with respect to host plant forest ecosystem that is experiencing widespread relationships that often encompass sequential feeding deforestation or severe ecological degradation. While stages on detritus or fungi before feeding on live plants constituting only 8% of India’s geographical area, the (Grehan 1989). northeastern region contributes 25% of the country’s We review here the current knowledge on the total forest cover (Forest Survey of India 2015). As taxonomy and biology of ghost moths inhabiting the much as 60% of the region still retains some type of lower elevation tropical moist forests and the higher forest cover, but the proportion of ecologically intact elevation subtropical and temperature forests of the forest ecosystems is far less. Damage to this ecosystem northeast (as characterized by Reddy et al. 2015: Fig. is seen to represent a loss of future human resources 6) (Appendix 1). We begin with a brief outline of the as well as resulting in the extinction or extirpation of principal characteristics of global ghost moth biodiversity the biodiversity necessary for the future stability and followed by descriptions of the taxonomic, biological sustainability of forest ecosystems (Chatterjee et al. and distributional characteristics of the forest genera 2006; Chatterjee 2008). and species. We highlight the taxonomic importance Butterfly surveys have highlighted the importance of type specimens and their description as a primary of the northeast for species biodiversity of this group biodiversity resource for accurate