Spilogona churchillensis Huchett 1965

Spilogona churchillensis Huchett, 1965 Figs 4 A–C Spilogona churchillensis Huckett, 1965: 213. Type-locality: “Churchill, Manitoba, 7.22.47 [i.e. 22.vii.1947], T. N. Freeman ” [CANADA, Manitoba] [seen]. Spilogona quinquesetosa (Schnabl, 1915); Sorokina, 2012b: 212 (Altai Mts); Sorokina, 2018: 244 (Altai Mts). Misidentification. Notes. Spilogona churchillensis was synonymized with Spilogona quinquesetosa in 2018 (Sorokina, 2018). However, the re-examination of the types of both species and DNA analyses shows that Spilogona churchillensis differs from Spilogona quinquesetosa. The holotype of Spilogona quinquesetosa is in bad condition: without abdomen and mid and hind legs. According to the original descriptions and examination of the types some morphological differences between these two species have been found: 1 Scutellum without downwardly-directed preapical setulae on upper border of declivities; posthumeral and notopleural regions pale grey, in contract to darker adjoining surface; mid tibia usually with one v seta; hind femur with short pv setae in basal 1/3, sometimes these setae elongated; sternite 5 with a wide rectangular median notch (Fig. 4C); male cerci narrower (Fig. 4A, B)....................................................................................... S. churchillensis - Scutellum with downwardly-directed preapical setulae on upper border of declivities; posthumeral and notopleural regions dark brown; mid tibia usually with two or more v setae; hind femur without pv setae; sternite 5 with a deep triangular median notch (Fig. 4D); male cerci broader................................................................ S. quinquesetosa The DNA barcoding confirmed the differences between Spilogona churchillensis and Spilogona quinquesetosa. The DNA barcodes for specimens under the name “ quinquesetosa ” from the Chukotka population and the Altai population were very different, with an intraspecific p-distance of from 4.26% to 4.59%. Altai specimens of “ quinquesetosa ” (Sorokina, 2018) proved to be genetically closest to Spilogona churchillensis from Manitoba, Canada (BOLD). Thus, Spilogona churchillensis Huckett, 1965 is valid species and is not a junior synonym of Spilogona quinquesetosa (Schnabl, 1915). Spilogona churchillensis has an arcto-alpine distribution, whereas Spilogona quinquesetosa has an arctic distribution. Distribution. PALAEARCTIC: Siberia (Altai Mts). NEARCTIC: Manitoba. DNA barcode. BOLD BIN: BOLD:AAB7605. See Table 1 for GenBank accession numbers.