Visiana horista Schmidt

Schmidt, Olga, 2013, Review of the species of Visiana Swinhoe from the Papua New Guinea region (Lepidoptera: Geometridae: Larentiinae), Zootaxa 3693 (2), pp. 189-199 : 191

Visiana horista Schmidt sp. nov.

( Figs 6 , 14 , 27, 31 )

Type material. Papua New Guinea. Bougainville Island (autonomous region). Holotype female, Kukugai Village, (Buin), WWB, 17.x.1960 – 2.ii.1961 (ANIC).

Description. Labial palpi dark brown, with some ochreous scales at base of medial segment and at the apex. Thorax with light brown scales dorsally. Legs dark brown, without rings of lighter scales. Wing expanse 41 mm (n = 1). Forewings above brown to purple-brown and dark brown, with median band consisting of dark brown and purple-brown wavy lines, edged with a distinct, thin, white wavy line, with a short, medial double-tooth outwards, curved towards the costa, underneath coloured and patterned like above, but with the median band edged with indistinct, ochreous line, with rather large, curved, blackish discal dot. Hind wings above and underneath coloured as forewings. ( Figs 6 , 14 ). Male unknown. Female genitalia ( Figs 27, 31 ). Antrum broad and short, almost parallelsided, with a thin, slightly sclerotised medial ring; ductus bursae medium-sized, narrowed proximally, with lateral stripes of heavier sclerotisation, corpus bursae membranous, shaped like a narrow boxing glove, without a prominent medial extension, with a drop-shaped diverticulum, connected to corpus bursae close to the ductus by a medium-sized, thin tube, with ductus seminalis set medially on corpus bursae; signum distinctly larger than in V. hyperctenista , a rounded patch of inwardly directed spicules.

Diagnosis. Forewings above brown, darker than in V. hyperctenista , with median band edged with more distinct, thin, white wavy line. Antrum and ductus bursae are slightly broader and corpus bursae is narrower than in V. hyperctenista , without a prominent medial extension, signum distinctly larger than in V. hyperctenista .

Distribution. Papua New Guinea (autonomous region Bougainville Island). Bougainville is a high volcanic mountainous island with swamp forests in its southern part. The island is part of the Solomon Islands rain forests ecoregion.

Etymology. The species name is derived from the Greek horistos (definable).

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 8. Visiana spp., wings above: 1. V. variovinosa, male, sp. nov., Papua New Guinea, Kumusi River; 2. V. morobensis, male, sp. nov., Papua New Guinea, Morobe district; 3. V. r a n e n s i s, male, Moluccas, Buru, Rana; 4. V. grandivinosa, female, sp. nov., Papua New Guinea, New Britain, Mt Sinewit; 5. V. v i n o s a, male, Papua New Guinea, Upper Mambaré River; 6. V. ho r i st a, female, sp. nov., Papua New Guinea, Bougainville Island; 7. V. hyperctenista, male, Bismarck Archipelago, Vulcan Island; 8. V. hyperctenista, female, Bismarck Archipelago, Vulcan Island.

FIGURES 9 – 15. Visiana spp., wings underneath: 9. V. v i n o s a, male, Papua New Guinea, Upper Mambaré River; 10. V. morobensis, male, sp. nov., Papua New Guinea, Morobe district; 11. V. ranensis, male, Moluccas, Buru, Rana; 12. V. variovinosa, male, sp. nov., Papua New Guinea, Kumusi River; 13. V. hyperctenista, male, Bismarck Archipelago, Vulcan Island; 14. V. horista, female, sp. nov., Papua New Guinea, Bougainville Island; 15. V. grandivinosa, female, sp. nov., Papua New Guinea, New Britain, Mt Sinewit.

FIGURES 26 – 33. Visiana spp., female genitalia: (26 – 29) general view, (30 – 33) signum: 26, 30. V. hyperctenista; 27, 31. V. horista; 28, 32. V. grandivinosa; 29, 33. V. variovinosa.