Life at high altitudes is particularly challenging for ectothermic animals like reptiles and involves the evolution of specialised adaptations to deal with low temperatures, hypoxia and intense UV radiation. As a result, only very few reptile taxa are able to survive above 5,000 m elevation and herpetological observations from these altitudes are exceedingly rare. We report here an exceptional observation of a lizard population (Liolaemus aff. tacnae; Reptilia, Squamata) from the high Andes of Peru. During an ascent of Chachani mountain (6,054 m, 16°11'S, 71°32'W), we observed and documented photographically this species living between 5,000 and 5,400 m above sea level. Following a review of literature, we show that this is the highest known record of a reptile species.

Angelabella (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae: Oecophyllembiinae) is considered a monotypic Neotropical genus of leaf miner micromoths known only from a few valleys of the arid environments of the Peru-Chile desert, particularly the southernmost part of Peru and northernmost part of Chile (type locality), where natural populations of its primary host plant occur. The geographic distribution of potential host plants provides a scenario for a wider range for this micromoth genus. The aims of this study were to explore the geographic range of Angelabella, determine the spatial distribution of mitochondrial lineages, and test lineage conspecificity hypotheses. The spatial distribution of genetic diversity indicated the presence of four spatial clusters, three of which are north of the previously known geographic range. Genetic distances were 0.2–0.8% and 3.6–8.3% (K2P) between haplotypes of the same and different spatial clusters, respectively. Phylogenetic relationships indicated reciprocal monophyly among the four spatial clusters, suggesting that allopatric differentiation processes have governed the recent history of Angelabella in these arid environments. These groups were defined as different species by four species delimitation methods, suggesting that Angelabella is not a monotypic genus, but harbors at least four morphologically cryptic allopatric species with restricted geographic ranges, including the type species and three candidate species.

Se presenta la primera parte de una serie de contribuciones al conocimiento de las mariposas que habitan la zona altoandina en el sur del Perú. En el presente trabajo se revisan las especies de mariposas de la subfamilia Satyrinae presentes en la puna xerofítica de Perú. Se describen una nueva especie, Pampasatyrus gorkyi sp. nov., y una nueva subespecie, Argyrophorus lamna cuzcoensis ssp. nov., del departamento de Cusco, Perú. Se confirma por primera vez para Perú las especies Argyrophorus gustavi Staudinger, Faunula euripides (Weymer) y Faunula eleates (Weymer), anteriormente reportadas de Chile y Bolivia. Se suministran comentarios ecológicos y biogeográficos.

The little-known Alucita danunciae Vargas, 2011 (Lepidoptera: Alucitidae) is recorded for the first time from Peru, expanding its altitudinal, geographic and host plant ranges. Its larvae were found on fruits of Tecoma fulva arequipensis (Bignoniaceae) at 2900 m elevation in Pocsi, Arequipa, on the western slopes of the Andes of southern Peru. Genetic divergence between the Chilean (type locality) and Peruvian DNA barcode haplotypes was 0.6–0.9% K2P.

The southwestern Andes of Peru harbors a hidden taxonomic diversity of Lepidoptera. Here a new leaf-mining species of Gracillariidae (Lepidoptera) is described,Phyllocnistis furcataVargas & Cerdeña,sp. nov., from a dry Andean valley of southern Peru, at 2400 m above sea level. The morphological aspects of adults (male and female) and the immature stages associated withBaccharis alnifoliaMeyen & Walp. (Asteraceae) are given, under optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. DNA barcodes show that its nearest neighbor is the Atlantic Forest speciesPhyllocnistis oureaBrito & Moreira, 2017 that feeds onBaccharis anomalaDC. The importance of morphological characters from immature stages for diagnosis among congeneric species is also discussed.Phyllocnistis furcatarepresents the fourth species ofPhyllocnistisZeller for Peru, and first record from the south of Peru for the genus.

The Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society