The first cave associated genus of Berothidae (Insecta: Neuroptera), and a new interpretation of the subfamily Cyrenoberothinae

Abstract

Abstract A new genus of Berothidae (Neuroptera), Speleoberotha gen. nov., with two new species from Brazil, Speleoberotha mineira sp. nov. and Speleoberotha palomae sp. nov., are herein presented. These are the first cave-associated species of Berothidae ever recorded. The new genus shares some characters with the two extant genera of the subfamily Cyrenoberothinae, Cyrenoberotha and Manselliberotha, and other characters are shared with three fossil genera, Microberotha, Protoberotha and Sibelliberotha. This intermediate nature of the new genus was reinforced by the phylogenetic analyses presented here, which recovered Speleoberotha gen. nov. as sister to Sibelliberotha but closely associated with the extant Cyrenoberothinae. In this sense, a new concept of the subfamily Cyrenoberothinae is presented here, now including Speleoberotha gen. nov. and the three fossil genera together with Cyrenoberotha and Manselliberotha. We discuss the biogeographical history of the new concept of Cyrenoberothinae, suggesting that the clade originated in Gondwana. We also provide an identification key for the genera of Cyrenoberothinae.