New insights into diversity and evolution of the Oriental antlion genus Layahima Navás, 1912 (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae), with description of new species and new larvae from China

Layahima Navás, 1912 is the most diverse antlion genus of the tribe Acanthoplectrini (Myrmeleontidae: Dendroleontinae) endemic to the Oriental region, currently comprising 12 species. However, the species diversity of this genus is still far from completely explored, and its larval stage is poorly known. Here, we describe four new species of Layahima, i. e., L. haohani sp. nov., L. qilin sp. nov., L. pixiu sp. nov., and L. zhitengi sp. nov., from Southwest China.

Moreover, we describe the larval stages of three Layahima species, i. e., L. chiangi Banks, 1941, L. lhoba Zheng, Badano, Liu, 2023, and L. yangi Wan & Wang, 2006. The precise distribution of L. chiangi, whose type locality was previously unclear, has now been clarified to be exclusively restricted to the Nujiang dry hot river valley around Cawarong, Xizang. The phylogeny of Layahima by adding new species herein reported was inferred based on molecular data.

The L. zonata group, once considered monophyletic, was recovered as paraphyletic within Layahima.