Gretnini Grishin, 2019

Cong, Qian, Zhang, Jing, Shen, Jinhui & Grishin, Nick V., 2019, Fifty new genera of Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera), Insecta Mundi 731, pp. 1-56 : 5

Gretnini Grishin , new tribe

http://zoobank.org/ E7F984DE-BC49-4617-8624-9630FCEE18F3

Type genus. Gretna Evans, 1937 .

Definition. Placed as a sister to all other Hesperiinae but Aeromachini Tutt, 1906, Ceratrichiini trib. n. and Astictopterini Swinhoe, 1912 in all genomic trees, this stand-alone lineage has no close relatives ( Fig. 1). Keys to VIII.B.(b)(b 1)(a 2)(a 3)(a 4) in Evans (1937), and the description of Gretna given by Evans (1937: 149) applies to the tribe. Most prominently it is distinguished from other Hesperiinae by a combination of large stout palpi with tiny 3rd segment, curved forewing vein 1A+2A, well-defined hindwing vein M 2, narrow hindwing cells M 1 -M 2 and M 2 -M 3 around it and unusual vein structure at the origin of vein RS in males, which is close to the origin of vein Sc+R 1, and veins M 1 and RS are curved at their divergence point, U-shaped rather than V-shaped. In DNA, a combination of the following base pairs is diagnostic: aly 2012.5.1:A98C, aly 2195.3.11:A37G, aly349.39.4:C152G, aly276378.25.8:A84T, aly6398.6.4:A46C.

Genera included. Only the type genus.

Parent taxon. Subfamily Hesperiinae Latreille, 1809 .

Comments. Uniqueness of Gretna as a stand-alone phylogenetic lineage of the tribal rank was not readily apparent from morphology and the genomic approach was critical in revealing its distinctness.