Zadadra Moore, 1878

Dubatolov, Vladimir V., Volynkin, Anton V., Singh, Navneet, Joshi, Rahul & Černý, Karel, 2021, On the taxonomy of the Prabhasa / Zadadra generic complex with descriptions of two new genera and two new species (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Arctiinae, Lithosiini), Zootaxa 4966 (5), pp. 519-534 : 528

Genus Zadadra Moore, 1878

Zadadra Moore, 1878 , Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1878: 25. Type species: Zadadra distorta Moore, 1872 , by monotypy.

Diagnosis. Small or medium-sized moths. The sexual dimorphism is more expressed in the generic complex ( Figs 11–18 ). The male forewing is shorter and broader than that of female, its distal part is slightly curved posteriorly, and the anal and outer margins are convex. Additionally, the forewing cell of the male is narrow and bearing a longitudinal row of androconial scales continuing to the basal part of the area between the veins Cu 1 and M 2–3. The male hindwing is conspicuously broader than that of female and bearing a wide dark area of androconial scales at the costa (the character unique among the genera of the generic complex). The female forewing is long and narrow, nearly straight. The male genitalia of the genus ( Figs 27–32 ) are characterized by the combination of the following diagnostic characters: (1) the juxta is narrow, weakly sclerotized, its distal end is connected to the intervalval commissura by a membrane; (2) the intervalval commissura is thick membranous with a weakly sclerotized medial area, connecting from one third to a half of valvae (an autapomorphic feature); (3) the cucullus is weakly sclerotized, well-separated from the distal saccular process; (4) the sacculus is heavily sclerotized, wide, lobe-like (an autapomorphic feature); (5) the distal saccular process is short but broad, robust, without setae. The female genitalia of Zadadra ( Figs 37, 38 ) display no remarkable differences from those of Chinasa ( Fig. 35 ) but can be distinguished by the presence of sclerotized pockets on the 7th sternite (absent in Chinasa ).

Figures

FIGURES 11–18. Zadadra spp.: adults. Depositories of the specimens: 11 in OUMNH; 12 in NHMUK (© The Trustees of the Natural History Museum); 13–18 in MWM/ZSM.

FIGURES 27–30. Zadadra spp.: male genitalia. Depositories of the specimens: 27 in OUMNH; 28–30 in MWM/ZSM.

FIGURES 31–32. Zadadra spp.: male genitalia. The specimens are deposited in MWM/ZSM.

FIGURES 33–38. Lithosiina spp.: female genitalia. Depositories of the specimens: 33 and 36 in NHMUK (© The Trustees of the Natural History Museum); 34 and 38 in CKC; 35 and 37 in MWM/ZSM.