Psalis punctuligera ( Mabille, 1880 )

László, Gyula M. & Powell, Bethany, 2024, Review of the Afrotropical Psalis Hübner, [1823] with descriptions of two new species and notes on Asiatic taxa (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Lymantriinae, Orgyiini), Ecologica Montenegrina 77, pp. 77-96 : 93-96

Psalis punctuligera ( Mabille, 1880)

(Figs 9, 39)

Anchirithra punctuligera Mabille, 1880 , Annales de la Société entomologique de France (5) 9: 315. Holotype, male in coll. NHMUK. Type locality: Madagascar.

Material examined.

Madagascar. 1 male, Tongobory and Besaha, x.1934, leg. R. Catala, QR code label with unique id: NHMUK 010292332 , gen. slide No.: NHMUK 014332601 (prepared by G.M. László) ( NHMUK).

Remark. The facies of the Madagascan Psalis species is highly distinct displaying a broad dark brown longitudinal band in the anal third and a narrow, gently arched, brown longitudinal streak in the costal third of the forewing, largely dissimilar to the other Psalis species. Based on the male genitalia morphology, P. punctuligera has closer affinities to P. smithi sp. n., possessing a similarly short valva and a small spherical basal section of the vesica, however, without cornuti.

Discussion

Our morphological investigations confirmed the distinctness of the Afrotropical tussock moth Psalis africana , a species which cannot be safely distinguished from its Asian relatives based on habitus or male genital morphology. The original description of P. africana ( Kiriakoff 1956a) was somewhat vague referring to diagnostic features relying primarily on the differing tympanum/counter tympanum ratio between the Asian and African specimens. Kiriakoff provided an illustration of P. africana in the Lymantriinae instalment of his series on the tympanal organ ( Kiriakoff 1956b) but as a comparative illustration of P. pennatula was not included, it was difficult to discern the degree of difference between the ratios. As such, we intended to test Kiriakoff’s assertion.

For the purposes of this paper, we examined the width of the tympanal and counter tympanal membranes, to ascertain whether there was a difference in the ratio of these structures between taxa. After examining a variety of Asian P. pennatula and African P. africana specimens, as well as the two new species described in this paper, we concluded there was no clear difference in ratio of tympanum to counter tympanum between species ( Figs 49–55 ), and so it was deemed unnecessary to include measurements of the width of either membrane within this paper. We did, however, find variation between specimens belonging to the same species as reported by Kiriakoff (1956a), where the tympanum is closer in size to the counter tympanum ( Figs 51–52 ). It was therefore by chance, that the African and Asian specimens studied by Kiriakoff respectively grouped together using this character. However, in agreement with Kiriakoff’s (1956a) statements in the original description of P. africana , we found constant differences between certain structures of the ostium bursae and the signum bursae of the female genitalia of African and Asian specimens confirming the validity of P. africana ( Figs 40– 47 ). It is important to mention, however, that the different configuration of the ostium bursae and signum bursae ( Figs 40–42 ) was also observed between Indian and Javan specimens confirming that P. pennatula from the Indian subcontinent is morphologically distinguishable from P. securis described from Java, resulting in the latter species being reinstated from synonymy with the former.

In their conference poster, Balaji et al. (2021) provided a morphological characterisation of P. pennatula , which is considered to be an agricultural pest of rice in India. Additionally, the authors illustrated a phylogram built from seven samples showing little divergence between Indian and African samples but both distinct from an Australian sample suggesting perhaps that P. africana and P. pennatula underwent speciation more recently after an initial split from the Australian species (either P. securis or P. tacta ). As the genus seems to be widespread in South East Asia and is known from the Australian continent as well, a respective revisional study is required to clarify the taxonomic content and distribution of the Asian Psalis which, much like our present discoveries in the African fauna, is probably more diverse than it is currently believed.

Further examination of the African Psalis revealed two additional, hitherto undescribed species, increasing thus the species number on continental Africa from one to three (with a fourth on Madagascar). Based on small but constant differences in female genital morphology, another potential taxon inhabiting the Zambian plateau may also be delimited if additional diagnostic features, for instance genetic traits, provide another strain of evidence for the taxonomic distinctness of this population. The sympatric P. africana and P. smithi sp. n. are largely distinguished in both external as well as genital morphology, whilst the allopatric central-western African P. bashfordae sp. n. displays a highly distinctive external habitus whilst its genital morphology suggests close affinities to P. africana , as might be expected with allopatric speciation.

Whilst molecular studies cannot be discounted, as discussed throughout this paper, our study is a further example of the importance of in-depth morphological investigations in revealing the true diversity of the Afrotropical Lepidoptera (cf. László et al. 2023, Takano & László 2024, Volynkin 2023, Taberer et al. 2023) where countless new taxa still await description, even in such well-known, appealing genera like Psalis .

Acknowledgements

In the Republic of Congo, we are indebted to the staff of the Odzala-Kokoua National Park, in particular to Jonas Erickson (director), Gwili Gibbon (head of research) Sylvain Yaba Ngouma (research assistant) and Adrich Mouamana (head of logistics) for their continuous support during ANHRT’s fieldwork. Merlia Talani (Marien Ngouabi University, Brazzaville) is thanked for her invaluable assistance in the field as well as for acting as an interpreter. We are indebted to the Ministère de l’Enseignement Superieur de la Recherche Scientifique et de l’Innovation Technologique for granting us a research permit and Joseph Moumbouilou (Direction de la Faune et des aires protégées, DEFAP) and Victor Mamonekene ( Institut National de Recherche en Sciences Exactes et Naturelles, IRSEN) for issuing the necessary export permits. In Zambia, Rhoda Kachali ( Department of National Parks and Wildlife – ZAWA, Lusaka), Claire Mateke and Martha Imakando ( Livingstone Museum , Livingstone ) are thanked for the diverse administrative and technical assistance provided during fieldwork as well as for issuing the research and export permits .

We are grateful to Alberto Zilli and Geoff Martin (NHMUK) and James Hogan (OUMNH) for kindly facilitating access to the Lymantriinae type and accession material under their care. The images of the holotype and paratype of Psalis africana are reproduced with permission from the Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London, and made available under Creative Commons License 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

The authors declare that to the best of their knowledge they conform to the national regulations and meet with the conditions and requirements of International Conventions concerning collecting/export and handling of the specimens presented in this Article.

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Figures

Figures 49–55. Tympanal organs, ct – counter-tympanum, ty – tympanum. 49. Psalis pennatula, India, Khasis (OUMNH). 50. Id., India, Khasis (OUMNH). 51. P. africana, Mozambique (ANHRT). 52. Id., Zambia (ANHRT). 53. P. bashfordae sp. n., PT, Republic of Congo (ANHRT). 54. P. smithi sp. n., PT, Zambia (ANHRT). 55. P. securis, Indonesia, Java (OUMNH).

Figures 40–45. Female genitalia. 40. Psalis securis, Indonesia, Java, NHMUK 014332609 (NHMUK). 41. P. pennatula, India, Assam, NHMUK 014332607 (NHMUK). 42. Id., Sri Lanka, NHMUK 014332608 (NHMUK). 43. P. africana, Mozambique, MSR, LG 6368 (ANHRT). 44. Id., South Sudan, Tereteinia Hill, BP 044 (OUMNH). 45. Id., Zambia, Danger Hill, LG 6370 (ANHRT).

Figures 46–48. Female genitalia. 46. Psalis africana, Zambia, Choma, LG 6376 (ANHRT). 47. Id., Zambia, Jiwundu, LG 6369 (ANHRT). 48. P. smithi sp. n., PT, Zambia, Chitunta Plain, LG 6371 (ANHRT).