Neoliparina nyonie, Powell, 2024

Powell, Bethany, 2024, A revision of the genus Neoliparina Schultze, 1934, with descriptions of three new species (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Lymantriinae), Ecologica Montenegrina 78, pp. 176-188 : 180-183

Neoliparina nyonie sp. n.

https://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:21F09444-A658-481F-B1BC-147FF28CF245

( Figs 2, 3 , 9 , 14 , 18 )

Holotype. Male , “ GABON 10m / Nyonié (Lowland forest) / 0°2’22”S, 9°20’25”E / 23–28.viii.2019, MV Light Trap / Albert, J-L., Aristophanous, M., / Bie Mba, J., Dérozier, V., / Moretto, P. Leg. / ANHRT:2019.17” // unique id.: ANHRTUK 00137595, gen. slide No.: BP 040 ( ANHRT).

Paratypes. Gabon. 1 male and 1 female, with same data as the holotype, unique ids: ANHRTUK 00139058, ANHRTUK 00172502, gen. slide Nos : BP 039, BP 057 ( ANHRT) .

Description.

Adult. Male ( Figs 2, 3 ). Forewing length 11–12 mm. Head large; antenna bipectinate-fasciculate, rami of antenna very long, seven to ten times longer than diameter of antennal shaft, ventral rami 1.5 times longer than dorsal rami, ochreous brown, dorsal side of antennal shaft black; labial palp short and broad covered in dark yellow, piliform scales. Frons and vertex dark yellow; collar orange. Tegula covered with long, dark orange, piliform scales turning paler apically; mesothorax red. Fore- and midleg covered in long, yellow and black, piliform scales; hindleg yellow; index of spurs 0-2-4. Abdomen red. Forewing short and broad, costal margin gently arched, apex rounded, termen smoothly convex, anal margin almost straight. Forewing ground colour reddish orange; basal and antemedial area orange; postmedial and terminal area red; discal spot large, black, round, sharply defined; medial line zig-zagged, angled outward medially; postmedial line sinuous, both lines black and diffuse; subterminal line consisting of black spots; terminal line black. Cilia longish, blackish. Underside orange proximal two-thirds, discal spot large and highly contrasting, apical third blackish brown. Hindwing orange, with thick blackish brown band along termen, ending at tornus. Cilia longish, blackish brown, orange along anal margin. Underside as on upperside.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 14 ). Uncus moderately long and broad, rounded quadrangular, with very slightly depressed distal margin and with two teeth-like ventral processes. Arms of tegumen heavily sclerotised, somewhat ribbon-like, broadened in proximal half with arched outer margin. Valva medium-long, broad at base, costa gently concave, ventral margin almost straight in proximal third then angled at ca. 30˚, distal section straight; apical section of valva ventrally rounded, dorsally with an acute triangular process. Juxta very broad, with V-shaped posteromedial notch, very thick proximally. Vinculum short and broad triangular. Phallus short, somewhat thin, slightly curved, coecum truncate, slightly dilated apically, carina unmodified; vesica very short, basal section inflated spherical with small rugose sclerotised area; vesica ejaculatorius narrow tubular.

Female ( Fig. 9 ). Forewing length 16 mm. Head large; antenna bipectinate-fasciculate, length ca. two-thirds that of male, rami ca. half the length of those of male, three to five times longer than diameter of antennal shaft, ventral rami 1.5 times longer than dorsal rami, colour as in male; labial palp short, narrow, covered in dark yellow, piliform scales. Frons, vertex, collar, tegula and mesothorax as in male. Legs as in male. Forewing more elongate and rounded at apex than in male. Forewing ground colour reddish grey, with dense reddish suffusion at base; discal spot black, large, round; transverse lines absent. Cilia longish, ochreous grey. Underside pale ochreous grey, discal spot reduced but visible. Hind wing pale ochreous, with some orange suffusion. Cilia longish, ochreous grey. Underside pale ochre.

Female genitalia ( Fig. 18 ). Papilla analis short and narrow with small triangular pseudopapilla; apophysis posterioris thin, medium-long, as long as apophysis anterioris. Eighth tergite very short, ribbon-like; antevaginal plate moderately broad, rounded quadrangular. Ostium bursae wide, with sclerotised margin; antrum short, goblet-shaped; ductus bursae long, three times longer than antrum, somewhat dilated proximally. Corpus bursae large, ovoid, fully membranous, bearing two equally sized, somewhat small, ovoid, membranous appendices; signum moderately sclerotised, concave.

Diagnosis. The differences between N. nyonie sp. n. and N. paradoxa are discussed under the latter’s diagnosis. Neoliparina nyonie sp. n. can be distinguished externally from N. schultzei sp. n. by the darker orange ground colour of the forewing (it is yellowish in the latter species), the dark apical third of the forewing underside (which is uniform in N. schultzei sp. n.) and the wide blackish brown hindwing border which is absent in the latter species. From N. smithi sp. n., it can be distinguished by its less intense and reduced forewing markings, the considerably smaller patches of the subterminal line and the absence of the hindwing discal spot. The female of this species can be diagnosed by the somewhat reddish tinge to its ground colour in contrast to the more ochreous colouration of N. smithi sp. n. and the predominantly brownish grey N. schultzei sp. n.

In the male genitalia, N. nyonie sp. n. is readily distinguished from N. smithi sp. n. and N. schultzei sp. n. by its rounded quadrangular uncus, bearing a pair of tooth-like basoventral processes compared to the rounded triangular uncus of the last two species with similar, but longer processes being present only in N. schultzei sp. n. As a further diagnostic feature, N. nyonie sp. n. has a conspicuous dorsal process of the valva apex in contrast to the smoothly rounded apical section in N. smithi sp. n. and the truncate valva tip of N. schultzei sp. n. Furthermore, the somewhat longer valva of N. nyonie sp. n. is slightly curved caudad, as opposed to the shorter, straight valvae of N. smithi sp. n. and N. schultzei sp. n.

The female genitalia of N. nyonie sp. n. are readily distinguished from those of N. schultzei sp. n. by the markedly narrower papillae anales and the goblet-shaped antrum which is tubular in the latter species. The antrum is similarly goblet-shaped in N. smithi sp. n. however, N. nyonie sp. n. has a sclerotised, concave signum which is absent in the former species, but present and raised in N. schultzei sp. n.

Etymology. The new species is named after Nyonié, a village on the Atlantic coast of Gabon, the only locality this taxon is known from to date.

Bionomics and distribution ( Fig. 21 ). Neoliparina nyonie sp. n. is known exclusively from Nyonié, Gabon where it inhabits lowland Atlantic coastal forest.

Figures

Figure 21. Distribution map of Neoliparina paradoxa (circles), N. nyonie sp. n. (squares), N. smithi sp. n. (triangles) and N. schultzei sp. n. (inverse triangles).

Figures 1–6. Adults, male, a: upperside, b: underside. 1. Neoliparina paradoxa (ANHRT). 2. N. nyonie sp. n., HT (ANHRT). 3. Ibid, PT (ANHRT). 4. N. smithi sp. n., HT (ANHRT). 5. Ibid, PT (NHMUK). 6. N. schultzei sp. n., HT (ANHRT).

Figures 7–12. Adults, female. 7. Neoliparina paradoxa, HT (MfN/© Eran Wolff). 8. Ibid (ANHRT). 9. N. nyonie sp. n., PT (ANHRT). 10. N. smithi sp. n., PT (ANHRT). 11. Ibid, PT (NHMUK). 12. N. schultzei, sp. n., PT (ANHRT).

Figures 13–16. Male genitalia, a: clasping apparatus, b: phallus. 13. Neoliparina paradoxa, Cameroon, Wack, BP 056 (ANHRT). 14. N. nyonie sp. n., HT, Gabon, Nyonié, BP 039 (ANHRT). 15. N. smithi sp. n., HT, Sierra Leone, Gori Hills, BP 041 (ANHRT). 16. N. schultzei, sp. n., PT, BP 062 (ANHRT).

FIGURES 17–20. Female genitalia. 17. Neoliparina paradoxa, Cameroon, Wack, BP 058 (ANHRT). 18. N. nyonie sp. n., PT, Gabon, Nyonié, BP 057 (ANHRT). 19. N. smithi sp. n., PT, Liberia, Wologizi Mts, BP 061 (ANHRT). 20. N. schultzei sp. n., PT, Zambia, Kalene Hill, BP 059 (ANHRT).