Metaeuchromius Błeszyński, 1960

Léger, Théo, 2024, Half of the Diversity Undescribed: Integrative Taxonomy Reveals 32 New Species and a High Cryptic Diversity in the Scopariinae and Crambinae of the Philippines (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), Bulletin of the Society of Systematic Biologists 3 (2), pp. 1-93 : 69

Metaeuchromius Błeszyński, 1960

Metaeuchromius Błeszyński, 1960 d: 217 .

Type species: Eromene yuennanensis Caradja, 1884

= Pseudeuchromius BłeszyńskiBłeszyński, 1965: 90 . Type species: Eromene lata Staudinger, 1870

DIAGNOSIS

A redescription of the genus is provided by Schouten (1997). Forewing ground color white to cream, speckled with brown; antemedian area white to amber yellow, median straight or oblique ochreous band; subterminal line present; termen with characteristic row of terminal dots (W. C. Li et al., 2009; pers.obs.). Several species have abdominal scent organs on male sternite III ( Schouten, 1997). Male genitalia with the following characteristics: uncus with pointed tip; gnathos projection usually short, hook-shaped, in some species with small dorsal teeth; valva narrow, with pointed apex, costal process usually developed into a spine, sacculus without process; saccus conspicuously protruding anterad; vesica with or without cornuti (W. C. Li et al., 2009; Schouten, 1997; pers. obs.). Female genitalia with the following characteristics: papillae anales coalesced or free dorsally and ventrally; anterior and posterior apophyses 1-2 X length of tergite VIII; antrum membranous or sclerotized, without projections; ductus bursae of variable length, with or without sclerotization, in some species with pouch-shaped enlargement; corpus bursae globular or pear-shaped, with or without signum (W. C. Li et al., 2009; Schouten, 1997; pers. obs.).

DISTRIBUTION

Known so far from the Palearctic (from Turkey to China), extending its distribution into the Oriental region in India ( Metaeuchromius euzonella from Assam, India). Two species are newly described from the Philippines, and one is moved to the genus Metaeuchromius : Metaeuchromius micralis (Hampson, 1919) , Metaeuchromius rizali sp. n., and Metaeuchromius makintabus sp. n. Further presumably undescribed species are known from Java.

PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIPS

Phylogenetic placement of Metaeuchromius is currently unclear. This genus was not included in the molecular phylogeny of the Crambinae ( Léger et al., 2019) . The closed hindwing cell suggests that the genus is not part of the open-cell clade comprising the Argyriini, the Haimbachiini, the Calamotrophini, the Euchromiusini, and the Crambini and is possibly closely related to the genus Miyakea Marumo, 1933 as suggested by Schouten ( Landry et al., 2020; Léger et al., 2019; Schouten, 1997).