Rhotana vitriceps ( Stål, 1858 ), Distant, 1906

Zelazny, B. & Webb, M. D., 2011, 3071, Zootaxa 3071, pp. 1-307 : 105-106

Rhotana vitriceps ( Stål, 1858)

Genestia vitriceps Stål, 1858: 450 .

Rhotana vitriceps (Stål) Distant, 1906: 313

( Figs. 80-82, 254)

Redescription. Forewings 2.1 times longer than wide, length about 5.2 mm. Colour stramineous; mesoscutum but not scutellum light brown; abdomen stramineous to light brown. Forewings glassy; faintly infuscated across first two subcostal sectors, along Ms1, parts of Ms1a, Ms1b, Cu, Cu1, and along apical crossveins; claval and cubital veins stramineous; costa and apical halves of Sc, R, and M brown tinted with red; other veins light brown; apical margins tinted with red. Hindwings colourless without marks; veins stramineous in basal half, light brown in apical half. Facial carinae contiguous in front of eyes; rostrum not reaching hindcoxae; subantennal processes well developed; lateral carinae of pronotum poorly developed. Forewings with apical section of subcosta sinuate; a small triangle at base of Ms1; Ms1 branched at end of its basal third; Ms1b merging with middle part of Cu1 for a short section. Pygofer of male genitalia with lateral, triangular projections. Genital styles with proximal dorsal process short and slender; distal dorsal process long. Apical part of aedeagus hook-like, with a longitudinal impression on the outside, and with two short, terminal lobes: the left one curved and pointed, the right one rounded. The right terminal process of the aedeagus may be slightly shorter (neotype and 2 males) or slightly longer (one male) than the left process .

Etymology. We consider the species name to be a Latin noun used in apposition, combined from vitrum (= glass) and the suffix - ceps referring to the head.

Type material. Genestia vitriceps , neotype ♂ (here designated) (forewing 5.2 mm, body 3.1 mm), SRI LANKA: labels: 1) Peradeniya / Ceylon / X 1905 / Distant ( BMNH) .

Note. In his original description Stål gives the Dohrn collection as origin, but does not indicate on how many specimens his description was based. He mentions a male and gives no range of sizes, which makes it likely that only one male was available. Per Inge Persson of the Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet in Stockholm, Sweden and J. Nast of the Museum and Institute of Zoology (Polish Academy of Sciences), Warszawa, Poland were unable to find any type(s) or traces of Genestia vitriceps in their museums and kindly provided the following additional information: The Dohrn collection was kept in the museum of Stettin (now Szczecin, Poland) and was partly destroyed during World War II. A small remaining part of that collection is kept in the museum in Warszawa. On the other hand, a list of insect types present at the museum in Stettin and prepared by R. Kleine in 1944 (unpublished) also does not include the name Genestia vitriceps . Since it is likely that the type has been lost, a male specimen collected at the type location ( Sri Lanka) and identified by Distant in 1905 is here selected as neotype. The neotype agrees with Stål's very brief description. On the other hand, Melichar (1903, p. 62) described and illustrated a specimen under Rhotana vitriceps (= Genestia vitriceps ) which does not match Stål's description (as already pointed out by Distant in 1906, p. 313). Melichar's specimen seems to be a species of Saccharodite and his description caused confusion among subsequent authors about the identity of the genus Genestia .

Other material examined. SRI LANKA: Peradeniya , VII .1905, 1 ♂, Distant ; Bogawantalawa , 1911, 1 ♂ 1 ♀, Distant; Kottawa, VIII.11, 1 ♂ (all BMNH) .

Distribution. Sri Lanka.

Diagnosis. Rhotana vitriceps is most similar to R. albata Melichar , also from Sri Lanka. It can be separated by the hindwings lacking any marks and by the right terminal lobe of the male aedeagus being rounded.