Craniophora fujianensis Kiss & Gyulai

Kiss, Adam & Gyulai, Peter, 2013, Two new species and one subspecies of Craniophora Snellen, 1867 (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Acronictinae) from China, ZooKeys 353, pp. 61-70 : 63-64

Craniophora fujianensis Kiss & Gyulai sp. n. Figs 1, 7, 8

Type material.

Holotype: Male (Fig. 1), China, Fujian, Dai Mao Shan, 20 km NW of Longyan, 25°32'N, 116°51'E, 1300 m, 21-30.Nov.2004, leg V. Siniaev and team; slide No.: 3207 Gyulai (coll. P. Gyulai, to be deposited in Hungarian Natural History Museum (HNHM), Budapest). Paratypes: None. We exclude specimens of Craniophora fujianensis from Hainan, China, as these represent a separate subspecies, described below.

Diagnosis and description.

Wingspan 37 mm. Craniophora fujianensis resembles Craniophora praeclara (Graeser, 1890) (Fig. 6) and especially Craniophora harmandi (Poujade, 1898) (Fig. 5) externally. Reliable separation of the three taxa does not require genitalic study, since Craniophora fujianensis exhibits unique external characteristics. The shared features of the two related taxa are the more or less similar forewing pattern and noctuid maculation, the presence of the strong or weaker black streaks in the basal area, in the termen and the tornus (the latter streak in the submedial fold, regularly from the medial area or the postmedial line towards the terminal line; the oblique, wavy antemedial line, the double, crenulate postmedial line and the less wavy whitish-grey subterminal line. Craniophora fujianensis can be distinguished from Craniophora praeclara and Craniophora harmandi by its more uniform vestiture of thorax, light brownish-grey (and not chequered white) forewing fringe and the less evenly broad, somewhat shorter blackish streak extending through the submedial fold from the medial area outwards to the lowest part of the terminal line. In comparison with Craniophora harmandi , the new species has a more unicolorous, lighter brownish-grey forewing ground colour; lighter, more obsolescent, narrower dark suffusion in the medial area, conspicuous clear white colouration of the small quadrangular basal spot, which is not confluent with the whitish spot of the costal field; rather ashy grey (and not white), less conspicuous comma-like tiny spot beside the claviform stigma; the stigmata are smaller, the orbicular spot is not evenly white encircled. Craniophora fujianensis is distinguished from Craniophora praeclara by its smaller average size, more unicolorous, lighter brownish-grey forewing ground colour, without mossy green shades; lighter, more obsolescent, narrower dark suffusion in the medial area; clear white small quadrangular basal spot; less crenulate postmedial line, much smaller, blackish-filled stigmata and especially by the almost white hindwing of the male. Male genitalia (Figs 7, 8): a close relationship with Craniophora harmandi (Figs 13, 14) is evident; however, the differences are very conspicuous. Craniophora fujianensis can be easily distinguished from both of the allied taxa by its much larger, longer uncus, larger juxta and vinculum, large bundle of long hairs on the tegumen, strikingly elongate, curved valvae with straighter dorsal and almost evenly curved (with one angle medially) ventral costa and broader corona with much longer setae. The aedeagus is larger, the vesica ventrally curved; the two medial spines are straight, almost evenly thin and parallel, the third, weaker medial spine weakly sclerotised and hardly visible; whereas the two large spines are oppositely positioned in Craniophora harmandi , and the third, medial, cornutus is weaker than the others but stronger than in Craniophora fujianensis ; Craniophora praeclara has no cornuti in the vesica (Figs 15, 16). Additionally, Craniophora fujianensis has a tiny semiglobular, sclerotised medial diverticulum, finely serrate on its surface, from which a longitudinal, wavy-ribbed, sclerotised area is situated towards the terminal section of the vesica.

Female. Unknown.

Etymology.

The species name refers to Fujian Province, China, where the species was discovered.

Distribution.

The species is known from Fujian and Hainan Provinces, China, with the nominate subspecies known only from the type locality in Fujian; subspecies hainanensis occurs in Hainan. Craniophora fujianensis is the allopatric sister taxa of Craniophora harmandi , which occurs from the western Himalaya to Taiwan, in the region with monsoonic influence.