Gnathocinara boi Wang & Zolotuhin, 2015

Sarkar, Ankhi, Joshi, Rahul, Mollah, Kaiyum Baskh & Singh, Navneet, 2025, On the taxonomy of genus Gnathocinara Dierl, 1978 (Lepidoptera, Bombycidae) from India with description of a new species, Zootaxa 5647 (5), pp. 475-478 : 476

Gnathocinara boi Wang & Zolotuhin , in Wang et al., 2015

Gnathocinara boi Wang & Zolotuhin, 2015 ; Wang et al., 2015, Zootaxa, 3989 (1): 49.

Type locality: Dongzhong Forest Farm , Shangsi County, Shiwandashan National NR, Fangchenggang City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China.

Taxonomic note. The original description of the male genitalia presented by Wang & Zolotuhin in Wang et al. (2015) is demonstrably inconsistent with the established generic morphology, necessitating a revised interpretation. Firstly, the dorsal processes of the uncus, which are typically observed as distinct, laterally positioned lobes or processes in this genus, were incorrectly characterized as a bifid uncus. Secondly, the valva was erroneously identified as the costal process and thirdly, the vincular process, a feature arising from the vinculum, was mislabelled as the sacculus of the valva. These misidentifications reflect a significant deviation from the standard morphological understanding of the genital armature in this genus. Furthermore, a critical error was detected in the illustration of the 8th sternite. Specifically, the image provided for the newly described species ( Wang et al. 2015, Figure 18F) appears to be an incorrect substitution. Comparative analysis reveals that this image closely resembles the 8th sternite of G. situla ( Wang et al. 2015, Figure 18D or 18E), suggesting a potential transposition of figures during publication. While the associated textual description of the 8 th sternite in Wang et al. (2015) aligns with our observations, the corresponding illustration is clearly erroneous.

Efforts to resolve these discrepancies through direct communication with the first author of Wang et al. (2015) yielded no response. Consequently, given the observed inconsistencies and the lack of clarification from the original authors, we present herein a detailed redescription of the male genitalia for this species, incorporating accurate morphological interpretations and providing corrected illustrations. This redescription aims to rectify the errors in the original publication and provide a reliable foundation for future taxonomic and phylogenetic studies.

Redescription. Male genitalia with uncus long, digitate with two latero-dorsal horn like processes; gnathos thin, short; valva simple, long, curved; vinculum with two caudad directed strong processes with toothed ends, ventrally fused up to midway; saccus well developed, swollen basally; aedeagus slender and long with bifid arms at base, apical area with small hook like structure, vesica with minute cornuti. The 8 th tergite goblet-shaped, anterior margin with two long, thin, laterally directed bars. The 8 th sternite broad, posterior margin medially invaginated, Ushaped, apically with two pairs of processes, the outer bifid, broad and apically blunt, the inner longer, curved and sharply pointed; anterior margin with two long processes, apically curved outward and uniformly expanded.