Evolution of obligate pollination mutualism in New Caledonian Phyllanthus (Euphorbiaceae)

About half a dozen obligate pollination mutualisms between plants and their seed‐consuming pollinators are currently recognized, including fig–fig wasp, yucca–yucca moth, and the recently discovered Glochidion tree– Epicephala moth mutualisms. A common principle among these interactions is that the pollinators consume only a limited amount of the seed crop within a developing fruit (or fig in the case of fig–fig wasp mutualism), thereby ensuring a net benefit to plant reproduction. A novel obligate, seed‐parasitic pollination mutualism between two species of New Caledonian Phyllanthus (Euphorbiaceae), a close relative of Glochidion , and Epicephala moths (Gracillariidae) is an exception to this principle. The highly specialized flowers of Phyllanthus are actively and exclusively pollinated by species‐specific Epicephala moths, whose larvae consume all six ovules of the developing fruit. Some flowers pollinated by the moths remain untouched, and thus a fraction of the fruits is left intact. Additional evidence for a similar association of Epicephala moths in other Phyllanthus species suggests that this interaction is a coevolved, species‐specific pollination mutualism. Implications for the evolutionary stability of the system, as well as differences in mode of interaction with respect to the Glochidion – Epicephala mutualism, are discussed.