Prasinocyma monikae, Hausmann, Axel, Sciarretta, Andrea & Parisi, Francesco, 2016

Hausmann, Axel, Sciarretta, Andrea & Parisi, Francesco, 2016, The Geometrinae of Ethiopia II: Tribus Hemistolini, genus Prasinocyma (Lepidoptera: Geometridae, Geometrinae), Zootaxa 4065 (1), pp. 1-63 : 21-22

Prasinocyma monikae sp. n.

( Figs 18 , 59 )

Holotype. 1♂, S. Ethiopia [southern Oromia], Sidamo, 13 Km, W Yabello, Motel, 1960m, 4.90°N 38.01°E, 28 – 30.III.2009, leg. R. Beck, M. Dietl ( BC ZSM Lep 45504, gen.prp. ZSM G 19404).

Description. Adult ( Fig. 18 ). Wingspan. Male 30 mm. Ground colour leaf green, slightly irrorated with white scales. Forewing without spot at the inner termen. On fore- and hindwings, black discal dot present, terminal dots absent. Hindwing termen very slightly angled at M3. Length of male palpi 1.2 times diameter of eye, tip and upperside pale brownish, underside white. Frons green, pale towards proboscis. Antennae long bipectinate in male, antennal branches pale ochre. Male frenulum well developed. Male hindtibia with large white pencil, four spurs and a terminal process covering half of the first tarsomere.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 59 ). Uncus stout, broad at base. Valva elongate, subapical membranous lobe well developed, ventral part strongly corrugated. Sacculus membranous, at tip rectangularly curved towards costa, ending in a round, strongly spinose sclerite. Aedeagus very broad, slightly curved, length 2.0 mm, with a small terminal lateral tooth. Sternum A8 with paired short triangular projections.

Differential diagnosis. In habitus clearly distinguished from all other species lacking discal dots and/or having spots at the inner forewing margin as well as from all species with clearly angled hindwings, with whitish encircled discal dots and/or with terminal (fringe) dots. In habitus almost indistinguishable from the somewhat larger P. aquamarina sp. n., but the large genetic distance (see below) clearly contradicts conspecifity. Ground colour somewhat darker than in P. tricolorifrons . Male genitalia unique, not matching any of the types examined in NHM and ZSM.

Genetic data. BIN: BOLD:AAW4692. Nearest neighbours in Ethiopia: P. leveneorum sp. n. (2.5%), P. croca (5.4%) and P. fusca sp. n. (5.7%). Distance from the similar P. aquamarina sp. n. 7.6%.

Etymology. The name refers to Mrs. Monika Dietl (now Monika Beck) who collected the holotype.

Figures

FIGURES 13 – 18. Adults of Ethiopian Prasinocyma species. Scale Bar— 1 cm. In parantheses the ID-numbers of genitalia slides, and / or DNA barcoding, and / or nomenclatural status of the illustrated specimen are given. 13. Prasinocyma shoa Herbulot, 1993 (gen. prp. ZSM G 19503; Paratype); 14. Prasinocyma shoa yabellensis subsp. n. (BC ZSM Lep 85819; Paratype); 15. Prasinocyma robusta sp. n. (BC ZSM Lep 85818; Paratype); 16. Prasinocyma amharensis sp. n. (BC ZSM Lep 40510; Holotype); 17. Prasinocyma jefferyi Prout, 1930; 18. Prasinocyma monikae sp. n. (BC ZSM Lep 45504; Holotype).

FIGURES 56 – 59. Male genitalia of Ethiopian Prasinocyma species. Scale Bar (s) — 1 mm. In parantheses the ID-numbers of genitalia slides are given. 56. Prasinocyma robusta sp. n. (gen. prp. ZSM G 19467); 57. Prasinocyma amharensis sp. n. (gen. prp. ZSM G 19595); 58. Prasinocyma jefferyi Prout, 1930 (gen. prp. ZSM G 19647); 59. Prasinocyma monikae sp. n. (gen. prp. ZSM G 19404).