Gandhara Moore, 1878

Volynkin, Anton V., Černý, Karel, Huang, Si-Yao & Hu, Hua-Lin, 2023, Taxonomic review of the Oriental genus Gandhara Moore with descriptions of four new species (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae: Lithosiini), Zootaxa 5374 (3), pp. 390-408 : 391-392

Genus Gandhara Moore, 1878

Type species (hereby fixed): Gandhara typica sp. n. misidentified as Lithosia serva Walker, 1854 in the original description by Moore (1878).

Note. Moore (1878) described the genus from specimen(s) from Darjeeling misidentified as Lithosia serva Walker. This species ( Figs 21–23 , 47, 48, 50 ) belongs to the genus Collita and is clearly different superficially from the Moore’s original illustration of “ Gandhara serva ” ( Fig. 1 ), contradicting the currently accepted treatment of the genus Gandhara ( Dubatolov & Zolotuhin 2011; Kirti & Singh 2015). Following the Article 70.3 of ICZN (1999), the taxonomic species actually involved in the misidentification by Moore was chosen for fixation of the type species of the genus in the present paper. Unfortunately, only a single female specimen lacking the abdomen supplemented with a Moore’s handwritten identification label was located in NHMUK ( Fig. 2 ), which made fixation of the type species of the genus problematic due to the confirmed occurrence of two species of the genus in Northeast India. However, the aforementioned specimen is relatively large and matches the undescribed species treated in the earlier publications as “ Gandhara serva ” ( Dubatolov & Zolotuhin 2011; Kirti & Singh 2015) whereas all the Indian specimens of the second species, G. vietnamica Dubatolov, 2012 , examined ( Figs 15, 16 ) are considerably smaller than it. For this reason, “ Gandhara serva ” sensu Dubatolov & Zolotuhin (2011) and Kirti & Singh (2015) described below as Gandhara typica sp. n. is hereby fixed as the type species of the genus Gandhara .

Diagnosis. Species of the genus have distally dilated forewing with a convex costal margin which is reminiscent of Collita . However, the forewing of Gandhara is broader and its upperside has a cluster of androconial scales in the distal section of the cell in males, which is absent in Collita . In the male genital capsule of Gandhara , the anellus bears two sclerotised plate-like lobes basally fused with the postero-lateral branches of the juxta (the feature characteristic of the genus). Additionally, unlike Collita , the juxta of Gandhara is weakly sclerotised and flattened (it bears a sclerotised conical apical process in the similar genus), the vinculum is shorter, U-shaped or rectangular, and lacks coremata (it is elongate frame-like and with well-developed coremata in Collita ), and the sacculi are symmetrical and distally tapered (they are asymmetrical and with lobe-like postmedial processes in Collita ). The phallus vesica of Gandhara is membranous and its distal section is more or less tubular and bears a robust clawor horn-shaped terminal cornutus whereas the vesica of Collita is granulose, sack-like, and bears several short but robust spike-like cornuti. The female genitalia of Gandhara differ from Collita in the presence of the antrum, the tubular and rugose ductus bursae (it is heavily sclerotised and dorso-ventrally flattened in Collita ), and the short and conical appendix bursae directed postero-laterally or posteriorly whereas it is strongly elongate, tubular and directed anteriorly in Collita .

Re-description. Adults. Antenna ciliate in both sexes. Sexual dimorphism limited: female with somewhat narrower and longer forewing than male. Head ochreous yellow. Thorax brownish-grey, patagia ochreous yellow, tegula brownish-grey with ochreous yellow margins. Forewing distally dilated, with postmedially convex costal and antemedially convex anal margins. Forewing ground colour brownish-grey with narrow and distally tapering ochreous yellow stripe along costal margin. In male, forewing upperside with cluster of androconial scales in distal section of cell. Hindwing unicolorous pale ochreous yellow. Abdomen ochreous yellow, paler in proximal third. Male genitalia. Uncus cylindrical, medially or distally dilated in certain species, with tiny claw-shaped tip. Arms of tegumen fused in posterior two-thirds. Vinculum equal in length to tegumen or somewhat shorter, anteriorly Ushaped or rectangular and with thin but evenly sclerotised arms. Valva lobular, with distally tapered and apically rounded dorsal section. Sacculus broader than dorsal section of valva, distally tapered and with upcurved and apically pointed distal process. Juxta flattened, weakly sclerotised, broadly X-shaped with shorter postero-lateral branches. Anellus with two sclerotised plate-like lobes basally fused with postero-lateral branches of juxta. Phallus cylindrical, somewhat upcurved medially, slightly dilated distally and with rounded coecum. Vesica membranous, with more or less tubular distal section bearing one robust claw- or horn-shaped terminal cornutus, and with additional semiglobular or utricular diverticula subbasally and medially. Vesica ejaculatorius originating subbasally. Female genitalia. Papilla analis trapezoidal with rounded corners, weakly setose. Apophyses thin and equal in length. Postvaginal plate elliptical and swollen. Antrum funnel-shaped or rectangular. Ductus bursae shorter o equal in length to ovipositor, tubular and rugose. Posterior section of corpus bursae gelatinous with sclerotised wrinkles, asymmetrically protruding laterally. Anterior section of corpus bursae globular, membranous, with one or two rounded or elliptical signa. Appendix bursae conical, membranous, situated postero-laterally.

Distribution. Species of the genus are known from Himalaya, northern Indochina, southern China and the island of Taiwan.

Species content of Gandhara

Figures

FIGURES 17–24. Gandhara (17–20) and Collita (21–24) spp.: adults. Depositories of the specimens: 17, 18, 22 and 23 in MWM/ZSM; 19 and 20 in NMNS (photos by S. Wu); 21 in NHMUK (©The Trustees of NHMUK); 24 in SZMN (photo by V.V. Dubatolov).

FIGURES 47–50. Collita spp.: male (47–49) and female (50) genitalia. Depositories of the specimens dissected: 47, 48 and 50 in MWM/ZSM; 49 in SZMN (photo by V.V. Dubatolov).

FIGURES 1–8. Gandhara spp.: adults. Depositories of the specimens: 1: an original painting from Moore (1878); 2 in NHMUK (©The Trustees of NHMUK); 3–8 in MWM/ZSM.

FIGURES 9–16. Gandhara spp.: adults. Depositories of the specimens: 9–14, 16 in MWM/ZSM; 15 in MfN.