Atkinomus parilis Ranjan, N. Singh & Kirti, 2022

Ranjan, Rahul, Singh, Navneet & Kirti, Jagbir Singh, 2022, A new genus, three new species and a new species record of Epipaschiinae (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) from India, Zootaxa 5222 (4), pp. 385-394 : 386-388

Atkinomus parilis Ranjan, N. Singh & Kirti , sp. nov.

( Figs 1 , 7 , 13, 14 )

Type locality: Dodak (Sikkim, India) .

Material examined: Holotype (♁): India, Sikkim, Dodak , 1 ♁, 24.ix.2014, R. Ranjan leg. (Coll. NZCZSI).

Diagnosis: Externally, Atkinomus parilis sp. nov. most closely resembles Canipsa atkinsonii Moore , but it is distinct from the latter in the backwards bent basal process of the antennae and the forewing’s basal area being much darker (without any antemedial pale band), whereas in C. atkinsonii the antennal process is straight and crown-like (not directed backwards) and the forewing with a pale, slightly curved antemedial band. In the male genitalia, A. parilis sp. nov. is distinct from C. atkinsonii in the apically and basally broader uncus, the saw-like medial plate of the valva, and the juxta with the apico-lateral arms fused apically to form a ring, whereas in C. atkinsonii the Tshaped uncus is apically narrow and bearing two long lateral processes; the valva lacks any plate in the medial area, and the short apical processes of the juxta are free.

Description: Adult. Head with labial palpi porrect, white, tinged with fulvous, 3 rd segment white dorsally, dark ventrally. Antennae minutely serrate, fasciculate; first segment of antennae with long, whitish, hairy process, suffused with fuscous. Forewing with basal area fuscous; medial upper half whitish; below subcostal nervure greenish fuscous; inner margin fulvous ochreous; postmedial crenulated line, straight from costa to vein M 1, then rounded and inwardly extends up to median nervure, then curved below Cu 2 and reaching inner margin; area beyond postmedial line pale fulvous, tinged with fuscous. Hindwing with postmedial line sinuous, diffused towards costa, area beyond it fuscous; margin of both wings outlined with black. Cilia of both wings banded with fuscous and white from apex to tornus. Thorax whitish tinged with fuscous. Abdomen black laterally, whitish dorsally and ventrally. Legs fuscous, banded with white.

Male genitalia. Tegumen slightly longer than uncus; gnathos highly sclerotised with the small curved spine-like apical process; transtilla sclerotised basally, membranous apically; vinculum longer than tegumen, narrow, broad u-shaped; aedeagus elongate, bent medially; vesica without any cornutus.

Female. Unknown

Distribution: So far, A. parilis sp. nov. is only known from its type locality, i.e., Sikkim ( India).

Etymology: The Latin species epithet ‘parilis’ means ‘similar’, referring to its similar appearance with C. atkinsonii .

Taxonomic note: The two similar-looking but different species i.e., Canipsa atkinsonii and Atkinomus parilis sp. nov., assigned to different genera is an excellent example of convergence. Furthermore, C. atkinsonii looks substantially different from Canipsa suspensalis Walker , the type species of Canipsa (holotype illustrated here: https://oumnh.ox.ac.uk/collections-online#/item/oum-catalogue-3032). We are quite sure that the study of genital morphology of C. suspensalis will lead to the resurrection of the genus Sarama Moore (with its type species C. atkinsonii ) from the synonymy of Canipsa and the new genus, Atkinomus gen. nov. described here will prove to be the most closely similar to Sarama .

Figures

FIGURES 1–6. Adults. 1, A. parilis gen. et sp. nov., male; 2, C. atkinsonii, male; 3, L. whitakeri sp. nov.; 4, L. buruensis; 5, A. confusa sp. nov.; 6. C. dudgeoni, male (photo credit: Wang et al. 2017b).

FIGURES 7–12. Male genitalia. 7, A. parilis gen. et sp. nov., male. 8, C. atkinsonii; 9, L. whitakeri sp. nov.; 10. L. buruensis; 11. A. confusa sp. nov.; 12. C. dudgeoni (photo credit: Wang et al. 2017b).

FIGURES 13–16. Enlarged view of antennae and head. 13–14, A. parilis gen. et sp. nov., male; 15–16, C. atkinsonii, male.