Blepharosis sirotka Gyulai & Saldaitis, 2019

Gyulai, Peter, Saldaitis, Aidas, Truuverk, Andro & Vaitonis, Gintas, 2019, A new Blepharosis species from China (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae), Zootaxa 4576 (3), pp. 596-600 : 596-599

Blepharosis sirotka Gyulai & Saldaitis sp. n. ( Figs 1–4 , 7, 8 )

Type material. Holotype ( Fig.1 ): male, China, W Sichuan, road Batang / Litang, 30 km W from Litang , 4200m, 21.IX.2017, leg. A. Saldaitis; slide no. PGY 4893m, coll. PGM, to eventually be deposited in the HNHM. GenBank accession code of the COI sequences is MH753084 .

Paratypes ( Figs 2–4 ): 5 males, with the same data as the holotype, slide no. PGY 4924m (colls ASV, AFM); GenBank COI accession codes are MH 753085 and MH 753086 compared to MH 753083 for B. anachoretoides .

Diagnosis. Blepharosis sirotka ( Figs 1–4 ) is an unmistakable species among the Blepharosis . The new species is best distinguished by the unicolorous brown body and forewing in which only the ochre or pale brown orbicular and

reniform stigmata are conspicuous, while the rest of the wing pattern remains conjectural. It is very different externally from B. anachoretoides ( Figs 5, 6 ) (the only close congener regarding their male genital structures) which has narrower, more variegated forewing; whitish to pale yellow reniform stigma, of which the continuation along the lower cellvein reaches the base of wing; brown coloration restricted to the middle, while the outer part of the basal and the inner half of the marginal areas are suffused with whitish-grey well-defined antemedial, postmedial and subterminal crosslines and whitish-grey covered veins; and much lighter hindwing inner area.

In the male genitalia features, B. sirotka ( Figs 7, 8 ) differs from B. anachoretoides ( Fig. 9 ) by the apically smaller horned uncus; terminally prominent cucullus, stronger, in the basal section much broader, slightly longer digitus which is partly fused with the continuation of the ampullar plate and the somewhat shorter aedeagus with smooth ventral carinal plate and with slightly more ample vesica armed with basally thicker distal cornuti.

The entire structure of the male genitalia (shape of uncus, valvae, juxta, the lack of the clasper and ampulla and the vesica configuration) of the new species is, however, so strongly similar to that of B. anachoretoides that it became necessary to compare their DNA to decide their taxonomic relationship. The separation of the two taxa as two distinct species is further supported by their different habitats and the unusually late flight period of the new species compared to B. anachoretoides which is a typically summer species.

Description ( Figs 1–4 ). Wingspan 23–24,5 mm (holotype 24,5 mm), length of forewing 11–12,5 mm. The remarkable external features of the new species are the finely serrate male antennae; the gracile body with brown vestiture; the pointed forewing apex; the pale brown to reddish-brown ground colour of forewings; the general absence of wing pattern excepting pale ochreous reniform and orbicular stigmata, the latter of which is flattened-elongate and usually confluent with the reniform stigma; the only slightly lighter inner area of the hindwing; and the patternless underside with its colouration being similar to the upperside.

Male genitalia ( Figs 7, 8 ). The most conspicuous features are the long, distally curved, terminally finely hooked, thin uncus based on short tegumen; the densely hairy, rounded penicular lobes; the broadly pentagonal, weakly sclerotised juxta, apically with medial depression; the U-shaped vinculum; the nearly symmetrical, broad and straight valvae, the densely hairy, terminally somewhat prominent, rounded cucullus without corona; the conspicuous, slightly curved, basally broader, apically pointed, strongly sclerotized digitus which is partly fused with the continuation of the ampullar plate; the long, narrow, strongly sclerotized bar-like basal plate of the harpe (clasper); the rather straight, cylindrical aedeagus with smooth carina; and the short, evenly ample, membranous, dorsally everted vesica, bearing three broadbased, short and acute thorns, of which the distal two are obliquely wedge-shaped, the basal one is drawing-pin-like. The female is unknown.

Molecular analysis. Three identical DNA barcodes of B. sirotka differed from a single 658 bp sequence of B. anachoretoides by 13.5%.

By the information of Reza Zahiri (pers. comm.), Amphipoea fucosa to be the nearest or the most similar sequence to B. sirotka (~5%), based on his own research. Our decision on the genus selection based on the very similar external and particularly the male genitalia features of the Blepharosis anachoretoides . This idea concerning Amphipoea is very interesting and useful, however B. sirotka cannot be an Amphipoea, since those are very distinctive in the external features, having well detached cucullus with corona and very different shape of vesica and configuration, etc. in the male genitalia.

Biology and distribution. Six males were collected at light on 21.IX. 2017 in a remote part of Sichuan province near the Litang of the Shaluli Shan mountain range, in China. The new species was collected during a single cold night in an alpine grassland (at ca 4200 m altitude) where the vegetation was damaged by people and animals.

Etymology. The new species name “sirotka” in Russian refers to the desolate and hostile type locality with very depauperate moth diversity.

Figures

FIGURES 1–6. Blepharosis spp. male adults. 1. B. sirotka sp. n., holotype, China, Sichuan, PGY4893m (PGM/HNHM); 2. B. sirotka sp. n., Paratype, China, Sichuan (ASV); 3. B. sirotka sp. n., Paratype, China, Sichuan (AFM); 4. B. sirotka sp. n., Paratype, China, Sichuan (AFM); 5. B. anachoretoides, China, Qinghai (PGM); 6. B. anachoretoides, China, Qinghai PGY4911m (PGM).

FIGURES 7–9. Blepharosis spp. male genitalia. 7. B. sirotka sp. n., holotype, China, Sichuan, PGY4893m (PGM/HNHM); 8. B. sirotka sp. n., paratype, China, Sichuan, PGY4924m (ASV); 9. B. anachoretoides, China, Qinghai, PGY4911m (PGM);