Anoba Walker, 1858c: 1844

Singh, Navneet, Ahmad, Jalil & Raha, Angshuman, 2022, Contribution to the Erebidae fauna of the Great Nicobar Island, India with description of two new species (Lepidoptera: Noctuoidea), Zootaxa 5165 (1), pp. 79-94 : 80

Genus Anoba Walker, 1858c: 1844

Type species: Onoba [sic] trigonoides Walker, 1858c (by original designation) (Type locality: Rio Janeiro [Rio de Janeiro, Brazil]

= Galapha Walker, 1858c , 15: 1850. (preoccupied)

= Tephrias Wallengren, 1860: 170 .

= Baxagha Walker, 1865b , 33: 1002.

= Arctinia Möschler, 1880: 432 .

= Bessacta Warren, 1912: 52 .

Taxonomic note: The species of Anoba are usually moderate to large bodied with slightly falcate forewing apex. The genus may be broadly divided into two groups based on the overall wing pattern. The Bessacta group includes species having typical dark greenish-brown archipelagic patches on pale brown or fawn forewings, while, the other group with members having dark brown, black or grey fascies of variable sizes and shapes on relatively pale forewings. The antennae, in males, are either fasciculate or narrowly bipectinate. The male genitalia are characterised by a dorsal rod-like process to the uncus, short and narrow vinculum and well sclerotised costal process of the valva. However, according to Holloway (2005), the genus requires major taxonomic revision to identify synapomorphies, which can firmly define the genus characters. The genus comprises nearly 40 species distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, with exceptionally rich diversity in Afrotropics. Till date, the genus is known by six species from India, with four species in Bessacta group, of which, two species are widely distributed viz., A. pectinata ( Hampson, 1896) in the Himalayan, Indo-Burmese and Sundanian hotspot regions, and A. sinuata ( Fabricius, 1775) in the Peninsular India and Afrotropical countries, whereas, the other two viz., A. polyspila ( Walker, 1865b) and A. tessellata ( Moore, 1867) are restricted to Northeast Indian states and in the adjacent areas of Bangladesh.