Unified phylogenetic species concept: taking subspecies and race out of science: postmodern theory applied to the Potamophylax cingulatus group (Trichoptera, Limnephilidae)

The subspecies of the biological species concept with incomplete reproductive isolation versus the incipient sibling species of the phylogenetic species concept with permeable reproductive barrier are still applied side by side in the everyday practice of taxonomy. Both terms refer to the same organisms diverged mostly in allopatry with various stages of repro-ductive isolation. Question remained: how human ranks these entities organised by nature? The reliable ranking of living hierarchies is retarded and even obscured by the suppressed state of taxonomy. Disappointing scenario: the science of biodiversity is stuck in century old macromorphologies without innovation of fine phenomics and without exploring its high-tech and high-throughput potential. The empirical science of taxonomy is “modernised” by the neutral DNA marker industry diverting the epistemological focus from empirical to virtual. Virtuality of noumenon is used to camouflage the phenomenon of the adverse environmental processes, the wasteful byproducts of the profit oriented liberalized economy. The sensual reality of species and the accelerated species extinction is effectively masked by the virtual sciences of the abstract: numbers, data, statistics, algorithms, equations, models and ideas. To understand the birth of a young incipient species we have briefly reviewed the postmodern development of the unified phylogenetic species concept. (1) The reality of species and higher phylogenetic taxa. (2) The biological and phylogenetic species. (3) How to delineate phylogenetic species? (4) The infinite versus finite division of phylogenetic species. (5) The construct of the unified species concept. (6) Taking subspecies and race out of science. Without recognition of incipient siblings of the phylogenetic species the biodiversity remains under-estimated and the pharisaic anti-science ranking of humans remains with us. The discovery of speciation trait that is the sexual adaptive structures in reproductive barrier building, which are detectable by fine phenomics, gives perspective to find the finite division, the dynamic initial split in the continuous process of diversification. The speciation traits produced by integrative organisation, as opposed to competitive selection, help to unify the operational criteria of the biological species concept that is the speciation by reproductive isolation with the general concept of phylogenetic species that is the causal process of the separately evolving metapopulation lineages. The subspecies and racial ranking is untenable anymore, we suggest taking subspecies and race out of science: the finite division of the initial split detected by speciation traits is the birth of the phylogenetic incipient sibling species. There is no “subspecies”and “races”, as there is no “subindividual” in the biological organisation. In the present caddisfly taxonomy the subspecies remained as a valid status in the Potamophylax cingulatus caddisfly species group. With a clear distinction between the neutral and adaptive traits in the P. cingulatus species group and applying the subtle and stable shape divergences in phallic fine structures we have proposed to change the taxonomic status of subspecies to incipient sibling phylogenetic species rank: Potamophylax alpinus stat. nov., P. depilis stat nov., P. ibericus stat. nov., P. inermis stat. nov., reinstated the species status of P. cingulatus stat. restit. and we have described three new species: P. fesus Oláh, P. portugalicus Oláh et Szczesny, and P. transalpinus Oláh & Coppa, spp. nov.