Euryobeidia tigratoides leopardiformis Liu, Stüning & Han, 2025

Liu, Bo, Stüning, Dieter & Han, Hongxiang, 2025, Further taxonomic studies of the mimetic genus Euryobeidia Fletcher, 1979 (Lepidoptera, Geometridae, Ennominae, Baptini), with descriptions of four new taxa and two status changes, ZooKeys 1260, pp. 313-343 : 313-343

Euryobeidia tigratoides leopardiformis Liu, Stüning & Han subsp. nov.

Figs 27–31 , 48 , 49 , 55

Euryobeidia largeteaui : Xiang et al. 2017, Zootaxa 4317 (2): 374 (part).

Type material.

Holotype. China – Sichuan Province • ♂; Baoxing County, Dashuigou ; 1591 m; 1–5 Aug. 2016; Le Cui leg.; gen. prep. no. Geom- 04555; IZCAS, IOZ LEP M 22920 . Paratypes. China – Hubei Province • 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀; W. Hubei Province, Wufeng, Yizhuxiang Mt. ; 1560 m; Jun. 1998, Wang & Li leg.; gen. prep. nos. 2449 - DS, 2450 - DS; ZFMK .

Diagnosis.

This new subspecies is significantly smaller than the nominate subspecies and exhibits a strikingly distinct appearance, characterized by the basal ⅔ of the hindwing being white. However, the highly similar male and female genitalia and a minimal genetic divergence of 0.94 % (see Table 2 ) strongly indicate a close taxonomic relationship, thereby supporting the treatment of leopardiformis as a new subspecies of E. tigratoides . In addition to the markedly different wing patterns, the former can also be clearly distinguished from the latter by the following characters of male and female genitalia: the uncus is clearly longer with its stem straight or only slightly curved when observed from a lateral aspect, the spines on the posterior part of bursa are more concentrated compared to the nominate subspecies, and the lateral process of lamella postvaginalis is less sclerotized than in the nominate subspecies.

Furthermore, Euryobeidia tigratoides leopardiformis closely resembles the sympatric E. largeteaui (Oberthür) in size, habitus, coloration, and wing pattern, rendering them nearly indistinguishable by appearance alone. Another sympatric species, E. quadrata Xiang & Han , also similar in appearance to the two species mentioned above, can be distinguished by a combination of characters: a white patch or area on the forewing (this single feature is also present in some individuals of E. largeteaui ) and the nearly fused second pair of dots of the postmedial line on the hindwing. The new subspecies can be readily differentiated from E. largeteaui and E. quadrata by the following genitalic characters: 1. Uncus is small, bird-headed, while in E. largeteaui it is large, semicircular; in E. quadrata , it is also larger, with an elongated apex and an extremely dilated, somewhat square, flake-like protrusion on the dorsal side. 2. Basal process of sacculus is quite broad with minute denticles along the dorsal edge, whereas in both E. largeteaui and E. quadrata , it is narrow and lacks denticles. 3. The valval apex bears a conspicuous lobe and a neighboring notch, which is absent or inconspicuous in the other two species. 4. Apex of aedeagus is moderately long, slightly tapering, and ridged; in contrast, it is rather long and rod-like in E. largeteaui , and short and broad in E. quadrata . 5. Lamella antevaginalis is well-developed with large, irregular serrations, whereas in E. largeteaui , it is large and triangular with an upright sclerite in the center, and in E. quadrata , consists of two semicircular sclerites. 6. Lamella postvaginalis is rather large and M-shaped, with a pair of large, slightly sclerosed lateral processes, whereas it is much smaller in E. quadrata and quite small, barely visible, in E. largeteaui .

Description.

Forewing length 18–20 mm in males, 21 mm in the single female. Adults of E. tigratoides leopardiformis are almost identical to E. largeteaui in habitus, coloration, pattern and size, there are no consistent features to distinguish them. Typically, the six spots of postmedial line are fused in pairs, with the second and third pairs sometimes also slightly fused in certain specimens. However, the wing pattern observed in all four known type specimens of E. tigratoides leopardiformis is also found in specimens with nearly identical patterns within the extensive E. largeteaui collection. Currently, we believe that the two taxa cannot be accurately distinguished based on adult external morphological characters other than genitalia.

Male and female genitalia. The male and female genitalia are strikingly similar to those of E. tigratoides tigratoides (see the previous description of E. tigratoides ), with the following stable differences: the shaft of the uncus is longer, its stem is less curved, and its dorsal apical part is less dilated; The spines on the posterior part of bursa are sparser; the lateral process of lamella postvaginalis is less sclerotized.

Distribution.

China ( Sichuan, Hubei).

Etymology.

The subspecific name is derived from its potential mimicry model, the subspecies leopardaria (Oberthür) of Epobeidia tigrata (Guenée) .

Figures

Figures 20–37. Adults of Euryobeidia species. 20–24. E. largeteaui (Oberthür): 20. The holotype of Rhyparia largeteaui Oberthür, male, Guizhou, China, ZFMK; 21. Male, Hunan, China, upperside, CRICATAS; 22. Ditto, underside; 23. Female, Hunan, China, CRICATAS; 24. Male, N. Vietnam, CKY; 25. E. quadrata Xiang & Han, male, Hunan, China, upperside, CRICATAS; 26. Ditto, underside; 27–31. E. tigratoides leopardiformis subsp. nov.: 27. Holotype, male, Sichuan, China, IZCAS; 28. Paratype, male, W. Hubei, China, upperside, ZFMK; 29. Ditto, underside; 30. Paratype, female, W. Hubei, China, upperside, ZFMK; 31. Ditto, underside; 32–37. E. tigratoides sp. nov., Hainan Is., China, CRICATAS / IZCAS: 32. Holotype, male, upperside; 33. Ditto, underside; 34. Paratype, male; 35. Paratype, female, upperside; 36. Ditto, underside; 37. Paratype, female. Scale bar: 10 mm.

Figures 44–49. Male genitalia of Euryobeidia species. 44. E. supercostata sp. nov., holotype, Hainan, China, IOZ-CAS slide no. Geom- 4140; 45. E. xuei sp. nov., holotype, male, Fansipan, Vietnam, gen. prep. no. 2458 - DS; 46, 47. E. tigratoides sp. nov., paratypes, Hainan Is., China, gen. prep. nos. CRICATAS 00247, CRICATAS 00243; 48, 49. E. tigratoides leopardiformis subsp. nov.: 48. Holotype, Sichuan, China, IOZ-CAS slide no. Geom- 04555: 49. Paratype, W. Hubei, China, gen. prep. no. 2449 - DS. Scale bars: 1 mm.

Figures 50–55. Female genitalia of Euryobeidia species. 50. E. languidata (Walker), Japan, gen. prep. no. 2460 - DS; 51, 52. E. languidata yakushimensis Inoue, Yakushima Is., Japan, gen. prep. nos. RS 7412, RS 8879; 53. Euryobeidia languidata incrassata Xiang & Han, stat. nov., Hainan Is., China, gen. prep. no. CRICATAS 00223; 54. E. tigratoides sp. nov., paratype, Hainan Is., China, gen. prep. no. CRICATAS 00244; 55. E. tigratoides leopardiformis subsp. nov., paratype, W. Hubei, China, gen. prep. no. 2450 - DS. Scale bars: 1 mm.