Testing DNA barcodes against morphology for the 'tripectinate Abantiades' (Lepidoptera: Hepialidae) reveals a complex relationship between COI sequence data and morphology

We analyse COI sequence data from 140 specimens of the Australian 'tripectinate-Abantiades' to explore the group's molecular diversity and identify potential taxonomic challenges for future studies. A recent taxonomic revision raised the number of species in the group from three to 10. Our results generally agree with that study, but we identify further potential new species. However, our results also highlight the limitations of single gene taxonomic studies as some otherwise well-defined species are non-monophyletic in our analyses - in particular Abantiades argentata Tindale appears paraphyletic with respect to several other lineages, and may comprise more than one species. Overall, the mitochondrial COI diversity of the 'tripectinate-Abantiades' can be divided into three major groups, with a majority of the species found in the semi-arid regions of South Australia and Western Australia.