Species delimitation in the A ndean grasshopper genus O rotettix R onderos & C arbonell ( O rthoptera: M elanoplinae): an integrative approach combining morphological, molecular and biogeographical data

The reciprocal illumination nature of integrative taxonomy through hypothesis testing, corroboration and revision is a powerful tool for species delimitation as more than one source has to support the hypothesis of a new species. In this study, we applied an integrative taxonomy approach combining molecular and morphological data sets with distributional patterns to examine the level of differentiation between and within the grasshopper O rotettix species. O rotettix was described based on five valid species distributed in the A ndes of P eru. In our study, initially a molecular‐based hypothesis was postulated and tested against morphological data and geographical patterns of distribution. Results from molecular and morphological analyses showed agreement among the species delimitation in O rotettix , and were also consistent with the geographical distribution. The analyses allowed us to delimit five new species for the genus ( O. lunatussp. nov. , O. astreptos sp. nov. , O. colcaensissp. nov. , O. paucartambensis sp. nov. andO. dichrous sp. nov. ) from the E astern and W estern C ordilleras of P eru. We also provide critical knowledge on the phylogenetic relationships and distribution of the genus and conduct a revision of O rotettix . © 2015 The Linnean Society of London