Garudinia shompen, Singh & Ahmad & Raha, 2022

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 : 82

Garudinia shompen sp. nov.

( Figs 2 , 13–15 )

Holotype: ♂, India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Great Nicobar Island, Check Post , 06.xi.2018 (NZCZSI, 9272/ H10), K. C. Gopi & Party leg.

Paratype: India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Great Nicobar Island, Bird Watching Point , 1 ♂, 14.xi.2018, (NZCZSI, 9273/H10), K. C. Gopi & Party leg.

Diagnosis: The new species belongs to Garudinia bimaculata-simulana-acornuta species group in which all the species have, in common, somewhat roundish, dark purplish-brown, broad subbasal band not reaching costa of forewing. Externally, G. shompen sp. nov. is distinct in having a characteristic medial bulge at the inner margin of the postmedial band of forewing which is uniformly concave in G. bimaculata Rothschild, 1912 , slightly sinuous in G. simulana ( Walker, 1863) and obliquely straight in G. acornuta Holloway, 1982 . The hindwing of G. shompen sp. nov. and G. simulana is ochreous white without any suffusion, whereas, it is suffused with fuscous in G. bimaculata and G. acornuta . The new species is clearly distinct from G. bimaculata and G. simulana by the absence of any apical spine or sclerotized process to the aedeagus apex, whereas, the aedeagus of G. bimaculata has a pair of curved apical spines and that of G. simulana has single hooked apical process, from G. acornuta , the new species differs in male genitalia by having a robust, less curved distal fragment to the saccular process of valva (the fragment is slender and more curved in G. acornuta ) and a broad saccus with a shallow median depression (which is narrow ushaped in G. acornuta ). The vesica of G. shompen sp. nov. has a distinct basal plate of small spines and two patches of coarse scobinations distally, while, the vesica of G. acornuta is slightly scobinate distally with a small comb of spines at its base.

Description: Male: Head: covered with ochreous scales, frons brownish-ochreous; antennae ciliate, brownish-ochreous; palpi short, not reaching the head, covered with cupreous-brown scales. Thorax: whitish-ochreous, suffused slightly with grey scales; legs cupreous brown, outer side darker. Wings: Forewing length: ♂ 7–8 mm. Forewing elongated, oval with slightly acute apex and more or less round termen and curved inner margin; ground colour ochreous; a broad, roundish, dark purplish-brown subbasal band from inner margin to cell, not reaching costa; another broad, dark purplish-brown postmedial band from costa to tornus, not covering the apical and marginal region, the inner margin of the band having a characteristic medial bulge, while, its outer margin sinuous; cilia pale ochreous. Hindwing excised between apex and M3 with ground colour pale ochreous, the costal and subcostal region suffused with fuscous from base to apex and outer margin; subcostal area with a longitudinal patch of modified yellowish scales; a short longitudinal streak of black scales on M 2 in the submarginal area; the median nervure distinctly yellow from near the origin of Cu2 to the junction between M3 and CU1; cilia fuscous-brown near the apex, gradually becomes pale below along the outer and inner margin. Abdomen: dark brown, intermixed with cupreous brown hairs with yellow anal tufts. Male genitalia: uncus long, curved, hook-like; tegumen broad, slightly longer than uncus; vinculum broad, much shorter than tegumen, weekly sclerotized; saccus broad with a shallow median depression; valva costa narrow, weekly developed; sacculus well sclerotized with a broad saccular process, a short, pointed, slender, slightly curved (more robust and less curved than that in G. acornuta ) distal fragment to the saccular process; vulvula membranous, setosed; juxta distally broad, well sclerotized; aedeagus arcuate, long without any apical spine or process, vesica with a distinct plate of small spines basally and two patches of coarse scobinations distally.

Female: Unknown.

Etymology: The new species is named after the tribe Shompen , endemic to Nicobar Island.

Remarks: This new species updates the Garudinia species count to 15 and 6, respectively from the world and India. Besides, this is also the second species under the genus from the Great Nicobar Island. Both the specimens of G. shompen sp. nov. are recorded from the low elevation (below 100 m altitude) in dipterocarp forests.

Figures

FIGURES 1–10. Adults of new species and new records of Erebidae from the Great Nicobar Island. 1, Anoba rigida, male, dorsal side; 2, Garudinia shompen sp. nov., male (Holotype), dorsal side; 3, Nishada sambara, male, dorsal side; 4, Teulisna chiloides, male, dorsal side; 5, ditto, female, dorsal side; 6, Plusiodonta nicobarensis sp. nov., male (Holotype), dorsal side; 7, ditto, ventral side; 8, Tamba cosmoloma, male, dorsal side; 9, T. occidinawa, male, dorsal side; 10, Anereuthina renosa, female, dorsal side.

FIGURES 11–19. Genitalia of Erebidae species from the Great Nicobar Island. 11–12, Anoba rigida, male: 11, ventral view, 12, aedeagus; 13–15, Garudinia shompen sp. nov., male (Holotype): 13, ventral view, 14, lateral view, 15, aedeagus; 16–17, Nishada sambara, male: 16, ventral view, 17, aedeagus; 18–19, Teulisna chiloides, male: 18, ventral view, 19, aedeagus. Diagnostic characters indicated with black lines.