J. Donald Lafontaine’s research while affiliated with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and other places


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Publications (132)


Fig. 1. Comparison of geographic sampling of noctuid taxa between this study and that of Keegan et al. (2019). We use the biogeographic realms as delineated by Udvardy (1975) and further delineated by Mönkkönen (1994): West Nearctic, East Nearctic, Neotropics, West Palearctic, East Palearctic, Afrotropics, Indomalaya, and Australia and Oceania. Bar charts are placed within each of the biogeographic realms, and their height represents the number of taxa whose range extends into the realm (with many taxa represented in two or more realms).
Fig. 2. Maximum-likelihood tree inferred by RAxML. Lineages that fell within Noctuidae are labeled, and lineages newly added to the dataset of Keegan et al. (2019) are shown in red.
Fig. 3. Maximum-likelihood tree inferred by RAxML analysis. Clade labels reflect our hypotheses about the extent of the various clades, and the taxonomic changes suggested in Results and Discussion. Lineages shown as being members of various clades may not have as yet been transferred into them. Bootstrap values ≥ 70 are shown at nodes. The scale bar shows estimated number of substitutions per site. The tree continues into Figs. 4-6. Clades are shown in three alternating colors to aid visibility.
Fig. 4. Continuation of maximum-likelihood tree inferred by RAxML analysis.
Fig. 5. Continuation of maximum-likelihood tree inferred by RAxML analysis.

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Toward a Stable Global Noctuidae (Lepidoptera) Taxonomy
  • Preprint
  • File available

May 2021

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2,075 Reads

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46 Citations

Insect Systematics and Diversity

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Jadranka Rota

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Noctuidae are one of the world's most diverse, ecologically successful, and economically important animal lineages with over 12,000 species in ~1,150 genera. We inferred a phylogeny using eight protein-coding genes for the global fauna, greatly expanding upon previous attempts to stabilize Noctuidae higher classification by sampling 341 genera (nearly half represented by their type species) representing 70/76 widely recognized family-group taxa: 20/21 subfamilies, 32/35 tribes, and 18/20 subtribes. We evaluated 17 subfamily-level taxa in detail, discussing adult and larval morphology, life histories, and taxonomic implications of our results. We significantly alter concepts of Acontiinae, Condicinae, Eustrotiinae, Metoponiinae, and Stiriinae. Our results supported recognition of two new subfamilies: Cobubathinae Wagner & Keegan, 2021 subf. nov. and Cropiinae Keegan & Wagner, 2021 subf. nov. Other nomenclatural changes we made are as follows. Dyopsinae; Eviridemas and Gloanna to Bryophilinae; Fota and Stilbia to Stiriinae; and Copibryophila, Homolagoa, and Tyta to Noctuidae incertae sedis. We conclude with discussion of instances where current understanding of noctuid biogeography and life histories were changed by our results.

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Towards resolving and redefining Amphipyrinae (Lepidoptera, Noctuoidea, Noctuidae): a massively polyphyletic taxon: Towards resolving and redefining Amphipyrinae

April 2019

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1,052 Reads

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20 Citations

Systematic Entomology

Amphipyrinae have long been a catchall taxon for Noctuidae, with most members lacking discernible morphological synapomorphies that would allow their assignment to one of the many readily diagnosable noctuid subfamilies. Here data from seven gene regions (> 5500 bp) for more than 120 noctuid genera are used to infer a phylogeny for Amphipyrinae and related subfamilies. Sequence data for 57 amphipyrine genera – most represented by the type species of the genus – are examined. We present here the first large‐scale molecular phylogenetic study of Amphipyrinae and the largest molecular phylogeny of Noctuidae to date; several proposed nomenclatural changes for well‐supported results; and the identification of areas of noctuid phylogeny where greater taxon sampling and/or genomic‐scale data are needed. Adult and larval morphology, along with life‐history traits, for taxonomic groupings most relevant to the results are discussed. Amphipyrinae are significantly redefined; many former amphipyrines, excluded as a result of these analyses, are reassigned to other noctuid subfamily‐level taxa. Four genera, Chamaeclea Grote, Heminocloa Barnes & Benjamin, Hemioslaria Barnes & Benjamin and Thurberiphaga Dyar, are transferred to the tribe Chamaecleini Keegan & Wagner tribe n. in Acontiinae. Stiriina is elevated to Stiriinae rev. stat., Grotellina is elevated to Grotellinae rev. stat. and Annaphilina is elevated to Annaphilini rev. stat. Acopa Harvey is transferred to Bryophilinae, Aleptina Dyar is transferred to Condicinae, Leucocnemis Hampson and Oxycnemis gracillinea (Grote) are transferred to Oncocnemidinae, Nacopa Barnes & Benjamin is transferred to Noctuinae and Narthecophora Smith is transferred to Stiriinae. Azenia Grote (and its subtribe Azeniina), Cropia Walker, Metaponpneumata Möschler, Sexserrata Barnes & Benjamin and Tristyla Smith are transferred to Noctuidae incertae sedis. Hemigrotella Barnes & McDunnough (formerly in subtribe Grotellina) is retained in Amphipyrinae. Argentostiria Poole and Bistica Dyar are retained in Stiriini but removed from incertae sedis position. This published work has been registered on ZooBank: http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:4A140782‐31BA‐445A‐B7BA‐6EAB98ED43FA.


Towards Resolving and Redefining Amphipyrinae (Lepidoptera, Noctuoidea, Noctuidae): a Massively Polyphyletic Taxon

October 2018

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142 Reads

Amphipyrinae have long been a catchall taxon for Noctuidae, with most members lacking discernible morphological synapomorphies that would allow their assignment to one of the many readily diagnosable noctuid subfamilies. Here data from seven gene regions (>5,500 base pairs) for more than 120 noctuid genera are used to infer a phylogeny for Amphipyrinae and related subfamilies. Sequence data for 57 amphipyrine genera—most represented by the type species of the genus—are examined. Presented here are: the first large-scale molecular phylogenetic study of Amphipyrinae and largest molecular phylogeny of Noctuidae to date; several proposed nomenclatural changes for well supported results; and the identification of areas of noctuid phylogeny where greater taxon sampling and/or genomic-scale data are needed. Adult and larval morphology, along with life history traits, for taxonomic groupings most relevant to the results are discussed. Amphipyrinae are significantly redefined; many former amphipyrines, excluded as a result of these analyses, are reassigned to other noctuid subfamily-level taxa. Four genera, Chamaeclea Grote, Heminocloa Barnes & Benjamin, Hemioslaria Barnes & Benjamin, and Thurberiphaga Dyar are transferred to the tribe Chamaecleini Keegan & Wagner New Tribe in Acontiinae. Stiriina is elevated to Stiriinae Revised Status , Grotellina is elevated to Grotellinae Revised Status , and Annaphilina is elevated to Annaphilini Revised Status . Acopa Harvey is transferred to Bryophilinae, Aleptina Dyar is transferred to Condicinae, Leucocnemis Hampson and Oxycnemis gracillinea (Grote) are transferred to Oncocnemidinae, Nacopa Barnes & Benjamin is transferred to Noctuinae, and Narthecophora Smith is transferred to Stiriinae. Azenia Grote (and its subtribe Azeniina), Cropia Walker, Metaponpneumata Möschler, Sexserrata Barnes & Benjamin, and Tristyla Smith are transferred to Noctuidae incertae sedis . Hemigrotella Barnes & McDunnough (formerly in subtribe Grotellina) is retained in Amphipyrinae. This published work has been registered in ZooBank, http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:4A140782-31BA-445A-B7BA-6EAB98ED43FA


Additions and corrections to the check list of the Noctuoidea (Insecta, Lepidoptera) of North America north of Mexico IV

October 2018

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108 Reads

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4 Citations

ZooKeys

A summary of all taxonomic and nomenclatural changes to the check list of the Noctuoidea of North America north of Mexico since the last update published in 2015 is provided. A total of 64 changes are listed and discussed, consisting of 26 recently published changes and additions, and an additional 38 presented herein. One stat. n., one stat. rev., six syn. n., and two comb. n. are proposed for the first time. Orthimella Schmidt & Lafontaine nom. n. is proposed here as an objective replacement name for Himella Grote, 1874 [Noctuinae: Orthosiini], a junior homonym of Himella Dallas, 1852 [Hemiptera: Coreidae].


Additions and corrections to the check list of the Noctuoidea (Insecta, Lepidoptera) of North America north of Mexico IV

October 2018

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114 Reads

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3 Citations

A summary of all taxonomic and nomenclatural changes to the check list of the Noctuoidea of North America north of Mexico since the last update published in 2015 is provided. A total of 64 changes are listed and discussed, consisting of 26 recently published changes and additions, and an additional 38 presented herein. One stat. n., one stat. rev., six syn. n., and two comb. n. are proposed for the first time. Orthimella Schmidt & Lafontaine nom. n. is proposed here as an objective replacement name for Himella Grote, 1874 [Noctuinae: Orthosiini], a junior homonym of Himella Dallas, 1852 [Hemiptera: Coreidae].



Annotated checklist of the moths and butterflies (Lepidoptera) of Canada and Alaska

January 2018

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2,688 Reads

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25 Citations

A definitive species list is the foundation of biodiversity and conservation work. As we deal with massive climatic changes in the Anthropocene, knowing which species make up our diverse ecosystems will be critically important if we wish to protect and restore them. The Lepidoptera, moths and butterflies, are the fourth-largest insect order in terms of global diversity, with approximately 158,000 described species. Here we report the distributions of 5431 species that occur in Canada and Alaska, as well as 53 species that have been reported from the region but not yet verified. Additionally, 19 species are listed as interceptions or unsuccessful introductions, and 52 species are listed as probably occurring in the region. The list is based on records from taxonomic papers, historical regional checklists, and specimen data from collections and online databases. All valid species and their synonyms, and all Nearctic subspecies and synonyms are included, except for butterfly subspecies (and their synonyms) that have never been reported from the region. The list is presented in taxonomic order, with the author, date of description, and original genus provided for each name.



S2 Table

June 2017

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34 Reads

Species with extraterritorial barcode records. Forty-eight species barcoded from other nations likely share the same barcode as specimens collected in the USA. For species collected in Texas and Arizona—barcodes from Mexican specimens are the best proxy, followed by Guatemala. For species collected in Florida—barcodes from Cuban specimens are best, followed by those from the Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico. Nine species with barcode records from specimens collected from more distant locations (Costa Rica, Panama, South America) pose a greater risk that their barcode records may not match specimens from the USA. (XLS)


S5 Table

June 2017

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25 Reads

Two-way presence-absence data for 3252 North American noctuoid species in 12 ecoregions of North America. Each region designated by a numeric code: 1 Arctic (Arctic Cordillera + Tundra); 2 Boreal (Taiga + Hudson plain + Northern forests); 3 Northwestern forested mountains; 4 Marine west coast forests; 5 Eastern temperate forests; 6 Great plains; 7 North American deserts; 8 Mediterranean California; 9 Southern semi-arid highlands; 10 Temperate Sierras; 11 Tropical dry forests; 12 Tropical wet forests. (XLS)


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Citations (24)


... The Noctuoidea (over 42,400 species) become the biggest superfamily in order Lepidoptera and the Erebidae (over 24,500 species) is the biggest family in the Noctuoidea [8]. The phylogeny and classification of Noctuoidea are changing many times over past twenty years [9,10]. For example, Eudocima phalonia, and Eutelia adulatricoides are once classified into Noctuidae now are recognized respectively as Erebidae and Euteliidae insects. ...

Reference:

Mitochondrial genome characteristics of Somena scintillans (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) and comparation with other Noctuoidea insects
Additions and corrections to the check list of the Noctuoidea (Insecta, Lepidoptera) of North America north of Mexico III

... This special issue of ZooKeys is the seventh volume in the "Contributions" series, dedicated to disseminating systematics research on the Noctuoidea, Geometroidea, and other macro-moth groups. Previous volumes were published in May 2009 (volume I, ZooKeys # 9), March 2010 (volume II, ZooKeys # 39), November 2011 (volume III, ZooKeys # 149), February 2013 (volume IV, ZooKeys # 264), June 2014 (volume V, ZooKeys # 421) and October 2015 (volume VI, ZooKeys # 527; see Schmidt and Lafontaine 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015. Authors interested in contributing to future "Contributions" volumes are encouraged to contact us. ...

Contributions to the systematics of New World macro-moths VI

... (2) In the Introduction chapter of their paper, Gordeeva et al. (2023) state "the close affinity of Cteipolia with the genera of the Agrochola-Conistra clade of Xyleninae" while in the Results chapter of the same work, the authors indicate "the proper taxonomic position of the genus in the tribe Xylenina Guenée, 1837, subtribe Conistrina Beck, 1996". According to the current Noctuidae systematics, the 'Agrochola-Conistra generic complex' (sensu Ronkay et al. (2001)) belongs to the subtribe Xylenina Guenée of the tribe Xylenini Guenée (Lafontaine & Schmidt 2010;Fibiger et al. 2011;Keegan et al. 2021) , the pre-copulatory isolation mechanisms (species-specific pheromones) in Cteipolia are stronger than the genitalia "lock-and-key" barrier (Mikkola 2008). Diagnosis. ...

Toward a Stable Global Noctuidae (Lepidoptera) Taxonomy

Insect Systematics and Diversity

... Each of these genera contains only one or two species. Several changes to the subtribe have occurred since it was first proposed: Triocnemidini was removed briefly from Psaphidinae based on pupa morphology and larva biology (Kitching and Rawlins 1999), but reassigned to it by Fibiger and Lafontaine (2005); Psaphidinae was subsumed as a tribe of Amphipyrinae based on larva morphology (Wagner et al. 2008); Unciella was described; and Oxycnemis was found to be a paraphyletic assemblage of genera belonging in two subfamilies (Keegan et al. 2019). In the latest checklist of Pohl and Nanz (2023) "Oxycnemis" gracillinea Grote is moved provisionally to Sympistis Hübner (Oncocnemidinae) along with "Oxycnemis" acuna (Barnes), and Hemigrotella argenteostriata Barnes & McDunnough is included in Triocnemidina for the first time. ...

Towards resolving and redefining Amphipyrinae (Lepidoptera, Noctuoidea, Noctuidae): a massively polyphyletic taxon: Towards resolving and redefining Amphipyrinae

Systematic Entomology

... Geographical distribution and phenology. This is a widespread species, occurring from the Florida Keys, Florida, USA to the Antilles and in Central America (Schaus 1921(Schaus , 1940Draudt 1924;Adams 2001;Schmidt et al. 2018). The data compiled here extend the species distribution to South America, as far south as the Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil (Fig. 42). ...

Additions and corrections to the check list of the Noctuoidea (Insecta, Lepidoptera) of North America north of Mexico IV

... Thus, the problem of species delimitation under allopatry is widespread but addressed mostly in connection with smaller geographic scales (Lukhtanov et al. 2015, Wagner et al. 2017, Georges et al. 2018, Dincă et al. 2019. For example, the number of Holarctic terrestrial insect species is counted in thousands (Langor and Sheffield 2019), as in Lepidoptera alone, there are several hundred (Pohl et al. 2018, own data). The taxonomy of many Holarctic species has been unstable because the degree of differentiation observed between the allopatric populations is highly variable, rendering their delimitation often challenging (Kerr et al. 2009, Landry et al. 2013. ...

Annotated checklist of the moths and butterflies (Lepidoptera) of Canada and Alaska

... Distribution. A Holarctic boreal species found in the mountains of the northern part of the Russian Far East (East Yakutia, Magadan Oblast', Southern Chukotka), Northern Transbaikalye (Barguzin and Udokan Ranges) and Canada (Yukon Territory) (Tshistjakov & Lafontaine 1984;Rekelj & Česanek 2009;Dubatolov 2010;Zahiri et al. 2017;Dubatolov 2023; our study). The indication for the Polar Urals and Norilsk (Murzin 2003) is probably wrong. ...

Probing planetary biodiversity with DNA barcodes: The Noctuoidea of North America

... The main organization features (lack of a basal lamina of the coating epithelium, the positions of the mouth and genital atrium, lack of an excretory system, lack of structured gonads, the oogonia occurring at the boundary the subepidermal layer and the central parenchyma, and a statocyst with two lithocytes) allow us to assign the symbionts to the group Nemertodermatida, which belongs to Xenacoelomorpha together with Acoela and Xenoturbellida. Acoela and Nemertodermatida are considered to be sister groups that form the clade Acoelomorpha [9][10][11][12]. ...

Animal biodiversity: An outline of higher-level classification and taxonomic richness

Zootaxa

... Doryodes acta Troubridge, new species (Fig. 28,79) BIN: BOLD:AAC9851 Diagnosis. Lafontaine and Sullivan (2015) published an excellent revision of the genus and images of adults and genitalia of extant species are available for comparison in that work. In general, all species in the genus have a blackish brown stripe extending through the middle of the forewing from the wing base to a point about ¾ of the way to the outer margin before turning to the apex and fading out before reaching it. ...

A revision of the genus Doryodes Guenée, 1857, with descriptions of six new species (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Catocalinae, Euclidiini)