Zoogeography of the Holarctic species of the Noctuidae (Lepidoptera): impoftance of the Beringian refuge

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Abstract

As a result of published and unpublished revisionary work, literature compilation and expeditions to the Beringian area, 98 species of the Noctuidae are listed as Holarctic and grouped according to their taxonomic and distributional history. Of the 44 species considered to be "naturally" Holarctic before this sttdy, 27 (61%) are confirmed as Holarctic; 16 species are added on account of range extensions and 29 because of changes in their taxonomic status; 17 taxa are deleted from the Holarctic list. This brings the total of the group to 72 species. Thirteen species are considered to be introduced by man from Europe, a further eight to have been transported by man in the subtropical areas, and five migrant species, three of them of Neotropical origin, may have been assisted by man. The majority of the "naturally" Holarctic species are associated with tundra habitats. The species of dry tundra are frequently endemic to Beringia. In the taiga zone, most Holarctic connections consist of Palaearctic/Nearctic species pairs. The proportion of Holarctic species decreases from 100% in the High Arctic to between 40 and 75% in Beringia and the northern taigazone, and from between 10 and 20% in Newfoundland and Finland to between 2 and 4% in southern Ontario, Central Europe, Spain and Primorye. Excluding the species supposedly introduced or assisted by man, all Holarctic species occur in the wider Beringian area (Pyrrhia exprimens (Wlk.) has been observed only in Kamchatka and Anaplectoides prasina (D. &. S.) near the southern border of the Yukon); 36/72 (50%) of the Holarctic species are circumpolar in distribution. The earlier view about Amphiatlantic distributions in the Lepidoptera is refuted. The origin of the Beringian fauna and the mammoth-steppe idea are discussed.

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