Thaumatographa kentingana Heppner & Bae, 2025

Heppner, J. B., Arita, Yutaka & Bae, Yang-Seop, 2025, Review of Thaumatographa tortricids in Taiwan (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae: Chlidanotinae: Hilarographini), Zootaxa 5583 (2), pp. 271-292 : 287

Thaumatographa kentingana Heppner & Bae , new species

LSID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:98D8289C-061A-4486-9AE4-6AB50D71B85E

( Figs. 6 , 12 )

Type-locality: Taiwan: Kenting Park, Pingtung Co.

Type material. Holotype. [ Taiwan] ♂ Kenting , Pingtung Co., 22–25 Jul. 1980, D. R. Davis (adult photo 5562; gen. JBH-2194) ( USNM-78387 ).

Diagnosis. This minute species is among the smallest Thaumatographa known. Maculation is very dark brown, with white marks on the costa and white striae from the dorsal margin strongly curved to middle of wing directed to apex, and the termen is orange with two widely-spaced black spots; the hindwing is dark brown with only faint tawny orange streaks in cell and on anal sector to wingbase. The male genitalia are distinctive for the very stout and thick uncus and only stubby socius.

Description. Wing expanse: male 7.5 mm (n = 1).

Male ( Fig. 6 ). Head ( Fig 6a ): brown to dark brown, with orange-yellow scales on neck and on frons; antennal scape dull tan-yellow, with antenna brown mixed with tan-yellow scales; eye margins pale yellow; labial palpus short, yellow-white, with more yellow on middle segment and somewhat on apical segment, and distally brown on apical segment; head venter white.

Thorax ( Fig. 6 ): dark brown, with dull yellow lateral line and on tegula; venter white; legs white, with black-brown on dorsum of foretibia and ends of mid- and hindtibia, and tarsi yellow-white with black-brown on first and distal tarsal segments; leg spurs white.

Forewing ( Fig. 6 ): dark brown to black-brown, with hilarographine striae and marks, orange near wingbase and between each of the costal angled white wedges, all directed toward termen, and with orange striae, partially interrupted, near wingbase and past middle of wing from dorsal margin; the prominent white curved striae from the dorsal margin at middle of wing to cell are very approximate to each other, almost merging at their distal ends; the end of the cell has a black-brown spot and also a tiny pale yellow-white dot; the termen and apex are distally orange, with a small white bar on termen below apex, and two black spots in the orange termen patch, with three subterminal curved pale yellow-white striae; fringe dark brown and white distally; venter with dorsal pattern repeated as diffuse alternating dull tan-white and light brown markings, with dull white in cell and yellow near apex, and termen with black spots of dorsum repeated.

Hindwing ( Fig. 6 ): dark brown, with faint diffuse tawny orange scales in cell area and along anal sector; venter gray-brown, with costa dull gray-white between brown marginal marks and along radius.

Abdomen: gray-brown; venter white with gray-brown basally on each sternite and caudally as genital tufts; pregenital sternite unmodified with simple curved caudal margin and lateral corematal sacs.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 12 ): tegumen globular and very sclerotized; uncus very stout, tubular and straight, slightly tapering distally to acute apex; hamus subequal in length to uncus and stout, slightly flattened and slightly curved to acute apex, but abruptly bent dorsally from strongly sclerotized basal arm and basal arm ventrally with an acute thin spine (longer than socius); socius very small and stubby setose process; gnathos undeveloped, membranous; transtilla a thin band, slightly curved; juxta and small oval concave plate, dorsally truncated; aedeagus short and thick, slightly curved and tapering to acute apex, with caudal phallobase small and bulbous, decumbent but ventrally even with distal curving; valva oblong and setose, with truncated termen angled to saccular apex; vinculum triangular; saccus undeveloped, merged as acute end of vinculum.

Female unknown.

Etymology. The species is named for Kenting Park (now Kenting National Park), Pingtung Co., the southernmost area of Taiwan.

Biology. Unknown. Flight period (n = 1 record): late July.

Distribution. Known only from the southernmost area of Taiwan, Kenting Park, Pingtung Co. (Oluanpi Peninsula).

Discussion. This species is among the smallest of known Thaumatographa species. The Kenting area of Taiwan is floristically and faunally very much related to the Philippines ( Li 1963), thus the new species may possibly also occur there.

Figures

FIGURE 12. Thaumatographa kentingana Heppner & Bae, sp. nov., holotype male (Taiwan: Kenting Park, Pingtung Co.), with aedeagus greatly enlarged (a) and with ductus ejaculatorius remnant (right) and part of juxta attached below (left); with enlargement of uncus to juxta (b), and structures of the pregenital abdomen and corematal sockets (c) (corematal setae removed) (gen. slide JBH-2194) (MGCL).

FIGURES 1–6. Adults of Taiwan Thaumatographa species, with lateral views of heads (a) for each moth: 1) T. mesostigmatias Diakonoff & Arita, male (Chiayi Co.: Fennchihwu, photo 5569) (WS = 13.0mm); 2) same data, female (photo14173) (WS = 14.8 mm) (MGCL). 3) T. fennchihwu Heppner & Arita, sp. nov., male holotype (Chiayi Co.: Fennchihwu, photo 5570) (WS = 15.5 mm); 4) same data, female paratype (photo 5571) (WS = 19.0 mm) (MGCL). 5) T. aurosa taiwana Heppner &Arita, subsp. nov., female paratype (Ilan Co.: Nanao, photo 16014) (WS = 13.6 mm) (MGCL). 6) T. kentingana Heppner & Bae, sp. nov., male holotype (Pingtung Co.: Kenting, photo 5562) (WS = 7.5 mm) (USNM). Note: the white mark in middle of wing Fig. 2 is partially descaled, thus otherwise as small as in the male Fig. 1. Also, note the bluish iridescence of the labial palpi in Fig. 1a and 2a.