Afranthrene cinerea, Bartsch & Sáfián, 2024

Bartsch, Daniel & Sáfián, Szabolcs, 2024, A new genus and species of Paranthrenini from Angola (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae), Zootaxa 5537 (3), pp. 439-444 : 441-443

Afranthrene cinerea sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:C83AAAD0-E345-4B93-AD8E-47D4B8F30A75

Figs 1–5

Material examined. Holotype: ♂ ( Figs 1–2 ), Angola, Luanda Province, Riverine forest on Kwanza River , 23 km North-east of Muxima, 9°21’37.45”S, 13°49’09.18”E, 23 m, 20–21.I.2024, Sáfián, Sz., Correia, C.Y.M., Neves E Silva, C.J., Correira, E. leg. ( SMNS).

Paratype: 1♂ ( Figs 3–5 ), Angola, Kwanza Norte Province, Cambondo Forest , 9°06’01.6”S, 14°39’58.3”E, 400 m, 25.III.2024, Sáfián Sz., Correia C.Y.M., Ginga F., de Andrade E. leg. ( SMNS) .

Etymology. From Latin “cinis, cineris” (=ash), because of the grey colour of the species.

Description. Holotype with alar expanse 20 mm, antenna length 6 mm, forewing length 9 mm, body length including anal tuft 16 mm.

Head: Labial palpus with first palpomere white throughout; second palpomere white with pale brown-grey scales laterally and dorso-distally as well as some black, bristle-like scales laterally; third palpomere brown-grey, with some white scales ventrally. Frons glossy, dark grey, sublaterally brown-grey, laterally white. Vertex glossy, dark brownish grey. Pericephalic scales dorsally dark grey, laterally pale grey. Antenna dorsally black, ventrally whitish yellow, ciliate part dark reddish brown.

Thorax: blackish grey with white shine; patagia dorsally blackish grey, sub-dorsally paler, laterally pale brown-grey; some brown-grey scales between patagia and forewing base.

Legs: Foreleg dark brown-grey; femur and tibia laterally with tufts of long, blackish grey scales. Other legs pale brown-grey; coxae distally, femora ventrally, tibiae and tarsi on inner side whitish.

Wings: Forewing opaque, blackish grey; discal cell, posterior area and discal spot with dark brownish grey scales; vein interspaces distal of discal spot greyish brightened; a black spot between basal thirds of M1 and M2; underside, except veins, densely dusted with pale grey scales. Hindwing partially opaque; wing base and distal and apical portion broad blackish grey, veins, margins and discal spot black; underside with costal area, distal portion and discal spot dusted with pale grey scales. Fringes of all wings dark grey.

Abdomen: glossy black; segments 6 and 7 with tufted scales laterally. Anal tuft appears forked, with short scales in the middle and long scales laterally, black dorsally, mixed with blackish grey scales ventrally. The female is unknown.

Variation. The holotype has forewing veins R4 / R5 with a very long stalk on the left and completely fused on the right side. The paratype is similar to the holotype, but slightly larger with an alar expanse of 23 mm and has R4 / R5 with common stalk on both forewings.

Male genitalia. See description of genus.

Diagnosis. This species is very characteristic and cannot be confused with any other known member of the tribe (see egg. Arita & Gorbunov 2001, Bartsch 2008, Duckworth & Eichlin 1988, Kallies 2020, Kallies & Arita 1998, Kallies et al. 2014). Species of Thyranthrene Hampson, 1919 that sometimes exhibit a similar pattern in the transparent areas of the hindwings have a much shorter abdomen, stronger hindlegs and a simple, fan-like anal tuft that does not appear bipartite or forked.

Habitat and behaviour. The holotype was collected at around midday in sunny weather in a narrow stretch of riverine forest right on the southern bank of the Kwanza River. The forests in nearby Kissama National Park are among the southwesternmost occurrences of forest habitats with Congolian affinities in Angola. It is possible that the specimen was attracted from the nearby baobab-dominated moist thickets of the slopes. The second specimen was captured in typical Northern Escarpment Forest further northeast near Cambondo. These forests are outliers of the Guineo-Congolian forest biome, isolated from the Congo Basin forests by vast areas of tall-grass savannah in the north of Angola and in south DRC ( Huntley 2023). Both specimens were attracted to a bundle of various commercial pheromones composed mainly for Sesiidae of the northern hemisphere and the Southern African Felderiola candescens (Felder & Felder, 1874) .

Figures

FIGURES 1–4. Afranthrene cinerea sp. nov. (1–2) holotype ♂. (3–4) paratype ♂.

FIGURE 5. Afranthrene cinerea sp. nov. male genitalia, phallus in the upper left.