Eudarcia abchasicum ( Zagulajev, 1979 )

Bidzilya, Oleksiy V., Budashkin, Yury I. & Gaedike, Reinhard, 2016, A revision of the Eudarcia glaseri - species group (Lepidoptera, Meessiidae) with description of two new species from Greece and Crimea, Zootaxa 4179 (3), pp. 547-560 : 554-555

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4179.3.9
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:A25BCD87-8E83-4380-8CF7-A9CD6FB12A3B
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6087271
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/038487B8-FFD1-F16E-FF24-F9C5A27AF828
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Eudarcia abchasicum ( Zagulajev, 1979 )
status	stat. nov.

Treatment

Eudarcia abchasicum ( Zagulajev, 1979) View in CoL , stat. rev., bona species

( Figs 5 View FIGURES 1 – 10 , 13 View FIGURES 11 – 14 , 16 View FIGURES 15 – 18 )

Obesoceras (Abchagleris) abchasicum Zagulajev 1979: 372 View in CoL –379, Figs 313–319.

Obesoceras glaseri Petersen, 1967 (= Obesoceras abchasicum Zagulajev, 1979 , nov. syn.) sensu Petersen & Gaedike 1983 (incorrect synonymization).

Eudarcia glaseri ( Petersen, 1967) sensu Gaedike 2015: 107 View in CoL , partim ( Georgia) (misidentification).

Material examined. Paratypes of O. abchasicum : 2Ƌ, 2♀, [ Georgia], Abkhazia, Cherkessko-poljanskoe lesnichestvo, 2–18.vii.1977 (Zagulajev) (gen. slide 204/15Ƌ, 205/ 15♀, 207/15Ƌ, 127/ 16♀, O. Bidzilya) ( ZIN).

Description. ( Fig. 5 View FIGURES 1 – 10 ). Wingspan 8.0– 10.8 mm (males), 10.0– 10.8 mm (females). Head with dense tuft of dirtywhite scales, neck brown, laterally several brown scales on base of scape. Galea as long or slightly longer than labial palpus. Maxillary palpus nearly twice as long as labial palpus, narrow, light grey, covered with sparse setae. Labial palpus moderately short, drooping, segment two nearly as long as segment three, light grey with long brown scales on apex and brush of shorter whitish scales beneath, segment three brown with dirty white top, inner surface grey. Antenna slightly longer than forewing, greyish-yellow, not ringed, scape slightly darker than flagellum. Thorax and tegulae greyish-brown, mottled with brown anteriorly. Forewing relatively long and broad, costal margin weakly curved. Ground colour dirty white with three transverse light brown fasciae: the first one, the narrowest, just on base, the second one nearly interrupted at mid width with uneven outer margin in middle, and the third one at 2/3–3/4 length. Several brown scales between fasciae at mid width. Apex mottled with brown. Cilia grey irregularly mottled with brown. Hindwing dark grey, proximal portion light grey. Cilia grey. Abdomen greyish-brown, last segments light grey.

Male genitalia ( Figs 13–13 View FIGURES 11 – 14 a). Uncus with paired narrow, long thorn-shaped projections, posterior margin straight. Tegumen a little longer than basal breadth, sub-trapezoid, posteriolaterally with rare setae. Gnathos arms narrow, medial portion sub-trapezoid, anterior margin with deep sub-triangular or sub-rectangular incision, anterolateral lobes moderately long, branchial-shaped, anterior margin serrated. Subscaphium broad, well sclerotized. Vinculum a moderately narrow ring. Saccus sub-triangular, broad at base, tapered apically, slightly shorter than valva, with thorn on apex. Valva comparatively long and narrow, sub-rectangular, apically obliquely truncated or narrowed, with row of strong pointed setae before middle. Phallus weakly curved at 1/4, narrowed in distal 1/3 towards pointed apex, about 1.4 times longer than the length of valva, with small apical tooth, without cornuti.

Female genitalia ( Fig. 16 View FIGURES 15 – 18 ). Ovipositor rather long and narrow. Papilla analis moderately large, narrowed apically, covered with long rare setae. Apophyses posteriores narrow, weakly dilated apically, about 4.5 times longer than segment VIII. Segment VIII sub-trapezoid, smooth, wrinkled posteriolaterally. Apophyses anteriores weakly curved, about 3.5 times shorter and nearly two times broader than apophyses posteriores, curved in apical 1/5, connected with band-shaped sclerotization on base. Ostium opening rounded, at posterior margin of sternite VIII. Antrum well sclerotized goblet-shaped. Proximal portion of ductus bursae weakly narrowed, caudal sclerotized portion of ductus bursae about 3/5 length of ductus bursae, slightly shorter than apophyses anteriores. Corpus bursae small, rounded. Signa forming a paired cluster of a large number of small thorns.

Diagnosis. E. abchasicum resembles externally E. glaseri but it is darker. E. saxatilis is very similar externally but it is distinctly smaller. The male genitalia are recognizable by sub-triangular saccus with apical tooth, broad and strongly sclerotized subscaphium in combination with very narrow projections of uncus, presence of row of strong setae on valva and phallus with small apical tooth. The female genitalia differ from those of related species in posteriolaterally sclerotized segment VIII, comparatively short sclerotized portion of ductus bursae and signa forming large clusters of small thorns

Distribution. Georgia (Abkhazia).

Biology. Meso-xerophitic species which inhabits open biotopes. Larval cases were discovered 22.v.1977 on vertical south-south-east rocks on roadside at an altitude of 400– 450 m . Larvae feed in the laboratory by grazing moss, lichens and algae from stones. The second portion of larvae were gathered 24.vi.1978 and 20.vii.1978 on stone wall of Ptsyrkha station near Novy Afon, Abkhazia, Georgia. These larvae were parasitized by Elasmus obesoceratis Trjapitzin, 1979 ( Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea , Elasmidae ). The larva fixed one end of the case to the substrate before pupation. The pupal stage lasted 20–25 days at 21–23° C. After emerging, the exuvium remains protruding for 1–2 mm and can hardly be observed. Adults live 4–5 days, mating takes about 10 minutes. Adult have been observed from late June to mid August ( Zagulajev 1979).

Remarks. Obesoceras (Abchagleris) abchasicum was described from 13 males and 8 females both collected as adults and bred from larvae in three localities in Abkhazia. The label data of type material are published by Zagulajev (1979). Male and female genitalia of the paratypes of E. abchasicum collected sympatrically with the holotype fully agree with the figs 317–319. The genitalia of the male paratypes of Obesoceras (Abchagleris) abchasicum agree with the male genitalia of the holotype (gen. prep. 14138Ƌ) but differ significantly from those of E. glaseri . Therefore , E. abchasicum is treated as a distinct species and it is returned from synonymy with E. glaseri ( Petersen & Gaedike 1983: 285) . The male genitalia of the holotype of O. abchazicum as it is figured in original description (Fig. 317) are conspecific with the genitalia of paratypes studied by us. This fact allowed us not to examine the holotype of O. abchazicum for the present study.