Torona lucida ( Schintlmeister, 2008 ) Mazumder & Sanyal & Schintlmeister & Gayen & Chandra & Raha, 2022

Mazumder, Arna, Sanyal, Abesh Kumar, Schintlmeister, Alexander, Gayen, Subrata, Chandra, Kailash & Raha, Angshuman, 2022, New records of Notodontidae Stephens, 1829 (Lepidoptera: Noctuoidea) from India, Zootaxa 5092 (2), pp. 191-208 : 196-197

Torona lucida ( Schintlmeister, 2008) comb. nov.

[ Fig. 6 D ; Fig. 7 J–L]

2008. Bireta (Torona) lucida Schintlmeister, Pal. Macrolep. , 1: 94.

2013. Bireta (Torona) lucida Schintlmeister, World Cat. Ins. , 11: 55.

TL: Myanmar; TD: in collection of A. Schintlmeister, Dresden

Material Examined: India: 1 ♂, Arunachal Pradesh, Dibang Valley dist., Dihang-Dibang BR, Anini , Pattharnallah-1, 2029 m, 29.1047 °N, 96.0807 °E, 19. IV. 2017 ; 1 ♂, Bruni , 2436 m, 29.1535 °N, 96.1485 °E, 20. IV. 2017 ; 1 ♂, Karoya , 2822 m, 28.7780 °N, 95.9502 °E, 04. VII. 2018, leg. S. Gayen & Team.

Diagnosis: Schintlmeister (2013) considered Torona Walker, 1865 , Cutuza Kiriakoff, 1962 and Mangea Kishida, 2004 as subgenera under the extended concept of genus Bireta Walker, 1856 . Kobayashi and Nonaka (2016) revived all these subgenera to valid genera based on their characteristic wing pattern and male genitalia formations which are quite different from those of Bireta . The basic formation of the male genitalia of Bireta (Torona) lucida Schintlmeister, 2008 is similar to that of T. ferrifera Walker, 1865 which Kobayashi and Nonaka (2016) treated as the representative taxon to revive Torona as a valid genus. Therefore, Torona lucida ( Schintlmeister, 2008) is being used here as a new combination.

Forewing length: ♂ 24–25 mm. Torona lucida most closely resembles T. ferrifera Walker, 1865 , the only known species under this genus from India, distributed also in Northeastern India, but differs in following characters: forewing is much broader with acute apex compared to rounder apex in T. ferrifera . Moreover, the weakly developed brown shading on the lemon-yellow ground colour and the presence of median brown spot below the cell in T. ferrifera and T. symmetricus ( Schintlmeister, 1997) , are obsolete or indistinct in T. lucida . The hindwing of T. lucida is more yellowish without any white or brownish suffusion, whereas that in T. ferrifera and T. symmetricus is rather white. The female of T. lucida can be confused with T. symmetricus , but the forewing patterns are more prominent in T. lucida . In male genitalia, T. lucida differs from T. ferrifera in having broader knob-shaped uncus, an extra small process on soccii and somewhat straight phallus which is curved in the latter.

Remarks: This is the second species from India under the genus Torona , and was originally described from Kachin state in South East Myanmar and is also known from North-Western Yunnan ( China) within altitudinal range of 2400–3000 m ( Schintlmeister 2008). The current record from the contiguous landscapes of Dihang-Dibang Biosphere Reserve from East Himalayan Wet Temperate and Mixed Coniferous Forest extends the lower altitudinal limit of the species down to 2000 m ( Fig. 3 ).

Figures

FIGURE 3. Map showing distributions of Odnarda leechi and Torona lucida with their Type localities.

FIGURE 6. Adult males of Notodontidae spp. new records to India,A. Tarsolepis (Tarsolepis) taiwana, B. Ogulina ochrocinerea, C. Odnarda leechi, D. Torona lucida, E. Syntypistis synechochlora, F. S. witoldi, G. Pseudosomera noctuiformis yunwu, H. Himalodontosia mahendra, I. Periphalera albicauda, J. Ptilodon amplius.