Cranionycta (Nefrendinycta) fuscothoracica, Kiss, 2025

Kiss, Ádám, 2025, Taxonomic study of the genus Cranionycta de Lattin, 1949 (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Acronictinae) with description of a new subgenus and 21 new species, Zootaxa 5640 (1), pp. 1-71 : 39-41

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5640.1.1
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:0A887E65-2B6E-4F61-A0C8-33F019F397E0
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15563243
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03DDA77A-FFF2-FFED-FF0E-3BA4F5F312E5
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Cranionycta (Nefrendinycta) fuscothoracica
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Cranionycta (Nefrendinycta) fuscothoracica sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:B3F2740F-7011-4E19-A3AC-AA4B9E2B51AE

( Figs 43, 44 View FIGURES 41–50 , 73 View FIGURES 73–83 , 110 View FIGURES 107–113 , 124 View FIGURES 122–129 , 143 View FIGURES 140–146 )

Holotype. Female , Thailand, 5 km NW of Pai, vicinity Muang Pai Resort, 700 m, 19°23'N, 98°24'E, 7–23.x.2003, leg. Malicky, slide No.: KA1925f ( GR). GoogleMaps

Paratype. Vietnam. 1 male, Plato Tay , Nguyen, Mt. Ngok Linh, 1400 m, 15°02'N, 107°59'E, 10–25.viii.1996, leg. Siniaev & Afonin GoogleMaps , slide No.: KA 2073m ( MfN) .

Diagnosis. Cranionycta (Nefrendinycta) fuscothoracica ( Figs 43, 44 View FIGURES 41–50 ) shows a high degree of sexual dimorphism. The female ( Fig. 43 View FIGURES 41–50 ) is externally quite similar to the females of C. (N.) nigralbata ( Fig. 46 View FIGURES 41–50 ) and C. (N.) castanea ( Fig. 45 View FIGURES 41–50 ), and the male of C. (N.) boursini ( Fig. 47 View FIGURES 41–50 ). However, it has a greyish thorax with a large, blackish anterior spot; a more complex forewing pattern and colouration; a crenulate postmedial line with a more gently curved teeth; a more reduced, more lightly coloured reniform stigma; and a wider, finely wavy subterminal field. The male of C. (N.) fuscothoracica ( Fig. 44 View FIGURES 41–50 ) externally resembles to C. (N.) jubingica ( Fig. 48 View FIGURES 41–50 ), C. (N.) warreni ( Figs 31, 32 View FIGURES 31–40 ), C. (N.) senjelungma ( Figs 33, 34 View FIGURES 31–40 ), C. (N.) mailungana ( Fig. 26 View FIGURES 21–30 ), C. (N.) punakhae ( Fig. 42 View FIGURES 41–50 ), C. (N.) keeskleini ( Figs 39, 40 View FIGURES 31–40 ) and especially C. (N.) albothoracica ( Figs 49, 50 View FIGURES 41–50 ), the most conspicuous difference between them being the darker greyish thorax of C. (N.) fuscothoracica . The species can be distinguished from C. (N.) jubingica also by the more unicolorous appearance with more brownish forewing without the pinkish shading in the basal region; the more angled medial line; the more reduced reniform stigma; and the darker, wavy subterminal line; from C. (N.) warreni , C. (N.) senjelungma and C. (N.) mailungana by the darker, more contrastingly marked forewing; the more angled medial line; the more reduced reniform stigma; and the less crenulate postmedial line; and from C. (N.) albothoracica by the somewhat darker forewing with more brownish shading; the less crenulate postmedial line; and the darker head.

In the male genitalia ( Fig. 73 View FIGURES 73–83 ), C. (N.) fuscothoracica has, compared to the related species, a wider uncus with a slight distal curve; valvae with a mid-constriction such that they appear wider basally and apically; a rather bulging, wide valval apex with rounded end; and a curved medial sclerite with a sclerotized, more pronounced basal patch.

In the female genitalia ( Fig. 110 View FIGURES 107–113 ), C. (N.) fuscothoracica has a wider ductus bursae than C. (N.) pallidobrunnea ( Fig. 107 View FIGURES 107–113 ); a more curved distal part of the appendix bursae than C. (N.) pallidobrunnea and C. (N.) punakhae ( Fig. 108 View FIGURES 107–113 ); and, compared to C. (N.) pallidobrunnea , C. (N.) punakhae and C. (N.) castanea ( Fig. 109 View FIGURES 107–113 ), proportionally the widest junction of the appendix bursae with the corpus bursae, and a basally wider, apically gently narrowing terminal twist.

Male terminal abdominal segments ( Fig. 124 View FIGURES 122–129 ). The 8 th sternite is quadrangular, distally slightly narrowing; the lateral sides are distally slightly widening; the window is roughly trapezoidal, distally narrowing with a concave distal edge and a relatively narrow, lens-shaped sclerotized stripe proximally. The 8 th tergite is triangular with a relatively wide proximal edge; the lateral sides are narrowing; the window is relatively wide, spade-shaped with a short and narrow peak proximally.

In the female 7 th abdominal segments ( Fig. 143 View FIGURES 140–146 ), compared to its relatives, the sternite has somewhat straighter lateral sides with slightly more pointed distal corner and a narrower, slightly more sclerotized and less regularly shaped semi-circular distal band.

Description. Imago ( Figs 43, 44 View FIGURES 41–50 ). Wingspan 29–32 mm. Head. Relatively large; 2 nd segment of the palpus longer than the 3 rd in both sexes; antennae of both sexes filiform. Thorax. Moderately wide, dark greyish with more or less oval, relatively large black anterior spot; patagia entirely dark greyish; tegulae dark greyish with thin blackish outline. Abdomen. Greyish-brown with some darker middorsal scale tufts. Wing. Forewing wide, apically obtuse, light greyish-ochre in male, darker greyish-brown in female; basal spot blackish, moderately large, more or less semi-circular; basal streak blackish, short, more or less wedge-shaped; tornal streak blackish, moderately long, wide between postmedial and terminal lines in male, somewhat triangular in female; apical dash reduced, consisting only of some blackish scales; basal line blackish, double, very narrow, outer line conspicuously wider than inner line, inner line very short, dot-like, filled with whitish-ochre (in male) or just whitish (in female); antemedial line double, reduced, thin with three blackish, larger spots at costal area, and with tiny blackish spot outwardly, female with tiny, bluish-tinged whitish spot at inner margin; medial line black, wide, zigzag; medial fascia wide, dark greyish, slightly fading outwardly; postmedial line double, crenulate, inner line greyish-black, thin and reduced, outer line blackish and more prominent with narrow (in male) or wide (in female) black stripe between veins R3 and M2, filled with whitish; subterminal line narrow, wavy, indistinct, whitish-grey; terminal line whitish (in male) or bluish-tinged white (in female), interrupted by black on veins; basal field ochreous (in male) or whitish-grey-ochre (in female), relatively wide, joined to subbasal and suprabasal patches with indistinct whitish-ochre line (in male) or continuous whitish line (in female) fused with interior of basal line; subbasal patch whitish-ochre, wide and long; suprabasal patch indistinct, brownish (in male) or whitish-grey (in female); antemedial field greyish-ochre (in male) or greyish (in female) with three conspicuous blackish patches at costa, with blackish patch in costal half and, in female, greenish shading at inner margin; medial field inwardly off-white suffused with ochre in costal area, outwardly ochreous suffused with grey, both inner and outer parts narrow; subterminal field ochreous in male and blackish-grey-brown in female with large, blackish-grey, squarish patches in costal area, obscure between veins M1 and M2 and around tornal streak; terminal field reduced, consisting of some greyish scales apically; orbicular stigma reduced, light off-white spot with blackish scales inwardly; reniform stigma moderately large, reduced, ochreous, inwardly suffused with blackish-grey, outlined with series of tiny blackish spots; four spots at costa between medial fascia and terminal line, first of these more or less rectangular, whitish, much larger than second, the rest ochreous, decreasing in size, narrow; tornal patch blackish, small; fringe whitish with greyish patches. Hindwing rounded, slightly pointed apically, greyish-brown; marginal band, postdiscal line, discal spot and tornal patch slightly darker greyish-brown; fringe whitish with greyish patches.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 73 View FIGURES 73–83 ). Uncus moderately short, sclerotized, medially somewhat widened with slight distal curve, hairy; apex hooked. Scaphium moderately sclerotized, pliers-like; subscaphium weakly sclerotized. Tegumen long with lobe-like peniculus covered with dense long hairs. Saccus sclerotized, V-shaped. Juxta simple, moderately sclerotized, widest at base, shield-shaped. Manica double, moderately sclerotized lobe-like extension with spinulose structure supporting numerous small spinules. Transtilla short, rod-like, uniformly wide, sclerotized. Valvae elongate, wider at base and apex, moderately sclerotized; sacculus narrow, sclerotized; clavus slightly curved; valval androconial apparatus absent; medial sclerite long, curved and sclerotized with sclerotized basal patch; apex bulging, wide and rounded with wide dense corona. Phallus simple, tubular, moderately sclerotized; carina slightly more sclerotized, wide, short, wedge-shaped. Vesica as long as phallus, moderately wide, essentially tubular with three basal diverticula one of them bearing spinulose patch, distal diverticulum larger, elongate; tooth-like cornuti absent from mid-lateral surface.

Female genitalia ( Fig. 110 View FIGURES 107–113 ). Ovipositor rounded, slightly longer than wide, tapering posteriorly. Papillae anales weakly sclerotized, oval, densely hairy. Anterior and posterior apophysis weakly sclerotized, rod-like; posterior apophysis with slightly extended distal end, 1.5× as long as anterior apophysis. Ostium longitudinally ribbed, moderately sclerotized. Antrum short, moderately sclerotized, more or less funnel-shaped. Ductus bursae short, moderately sclerotized, ribbed. Corpus bursae large, bulbous, weakly sclerotized, with two opposing distal signa. Appendix bursae shorter than corpus bursae, coiled, moderately sclerotized, ribbed except in distal third, terminal twist short, distally wide then narrowing and outwardly turned; junction with corpus bursae long and relatively narrow.

Male7 th and 8 th abdominal segments ( Fig.124 View FIGURES 122–129 ).7 th sternite roughly trapezoidal, wider than long, evenly sclerotized with slightly more sclerotized, narrow semi-circular distal band; proximal edges slightly wavy, laterally extended; lateral sides convex with less contrasting margin; distal edge slightly concave. 7 th tergite roughly trapezoidal, wider than long; proximal half slightly sclerotized, distal half slightly more sclerotized semi-circular band with indistinct window in middle; proximal edge more or less straight with two long, curved, slightly stronger sclerotized rods; lateral sides proximally concave then distally convex with less contrasting margin; distal edge slightly concave. 8 th sternite roughly quadrangular with rounded corner, slightly longer than wide; window relatively large, roughly trapezoidal with rounded proximal margin and concave distal margin, with narrow, laterally pointed, lens-shaped sclerotized stripe; proximal edge arched with more sclerotized, oval patch in middle; lateral sides widening and fused distally, with more or less semi-circular sclerotized patch; distal edge concave. 8 th tergite triangular, about 1.5× as long as wide; window wide, irregular, spade-shaped, with more or less contrast margin and short, narrow peak proximally; proximal edge relatively wide and straight; lateral sides uniformly narrowing toward distal edge, narrowest in middle with wide, rounded spur-like distal end; distal edge slightly concave. Anterolateral sclerites of 8 th segment relatively long, sclerotized, slightly curved rods.

Female 7 th abdominal segments ( Fig. 143 View FIGURES 140–146 ). 7 th sternite quadrangular, slightly longer than wide, weakly sclerotized with narrow, elongate, slightly more sclerotized semi-circular distal band; proximal edge straight; lateral sides proximally concave, distally convex and slightly wavy with slightly pointed distal corner and somewhat contrasting margin; distal edge concave. 7 th tergite roughly trapezoidal, as long as wide, weakly sclerotized with slightly more sclerotized semi-circular distal band, and with narrow, indistinct window in middle; proximal edge more or less straight with two curved, somewhat sclerotized rods; lateral sides somewhat straight and wavy with slightly contrasting margin; distal edge straight.

Distribution. Indo-Chinese. The species supposedly inhabits the mountainous regions of the Indo-Chinese Peninsula between 700–1400 m elevations, and occurs sympatrically with C. (N.) albothoracica .

Etymology. The name “ fuscothoracica ” refers to the more darkly coloured thorax as a distinctive character from the externally very similar C. (N.) albothoracica .