Cicadoforma vau-nigrum (Hampson) Martinez, 2020

Martinez, Jose I., 2020, Revision of the South American genus Gaujonia Dognin (Noctuidae, Pantheinae) with descriptions of five new genera and twenty-one new species, ZooKeys 985, pp. 71-126 : 71

Cicadoforma vau-nigrum (Hampson) comb. nov. Figs 11 , 12 , 20 , 81 , 92

Gaujonia vau-nigrum Hampson, 1913: 387 pl. 235, fig. 3.

Type material.

Holotype, ♂, Venezuela: " Gaujonia vau.nigrum type ♂ Hmpsn / Tovar, Venezuela Moritz / 1901-57 / Tovar Venezuela / Noctuidae ♂ Slide genitalia No. 5207 / NHMUK 010917654", coll. G.Hampson, deposited in NHMUK. Additional examined specimens (8 ♂, 4 ♀, CUIC): Venezuela: Venezuela, Route Caracas-Colonia, Tovar, D. F.,IX.1939, Rene Lichy (1 ♂); Venezuela, El Junquito, D. F., 3 Apr. 1943, coll. Rene Lichy (1 ♂); no locality given, “j.15.X.44” / Franclemont diss. #5263 (1 ♂); no locality given, “j.22.VI.47” (1 ♂); no label data (2 ♀). (2 ♂, 1 ♀, CNC): Venezuela: same collecting data as the first CUIC male specimens (2 ♂); Same collecting data as the second CUIC male specimens (1 ♀).

Etymology.

George F. Hampson likely named this species " vau-nigrum " because of the black V-shaped mark at the base of CuA2.

Diagnosis.

Cicadoforma vau-nigrum is the largest species in this genus; males have a forewing length of ca. 24-26 mm, whereas that of females is ca. 30-32 mm. This species is similar to C. ocelotus , but easy to distinguish by the size, and also by the orbicular spot, which is larger in C. vau-nigrum . Another important difference is that C. vau-nigrum males have hyaline wings where only the veins and margins are covered with yellow and black scales; the abdomen has dark brown tufts in the middle of A4-A7. Cicadoforma vau-nigrum can be differentiated from other species by the male genitalia; the vesica has two patches of spines, one near to the aedeagus and the other on the upper side of the vesica. Female genitalia have heavily sclerotized ductus bursae and appendix bursae, with the corpus bursae ca. 2 × longer than the appendix bursae and 1½ × wider; the anterior apophyses are remarkably short, whereas the posterior apophyses are almost as long as the valva.

Immature stages.

Unknown.

Distribution.

Cicadoforma vau-nigrum is endemic to Venezuela, known only from the states of Vargas and Aragua at moderate elevation in the northern part of the northwestern Andes (Fig. 92 ).

Biology.

Unknown.

Remarks.

The specimens that were examined were over 60 years old and DNA could not be obtained from them. The specimens from the CNC have rotting stains on the base of the wings, and one of the males is missing half of the abdomen. The only female has incomplete antennae.

Figures

Figure 92. Distribution of examined specimens of the genera Cicadoforma and Cicadomorphus.

Figures 8 - 11. Type specimens 8 Gaujonia arbosi, lectotype, USNM, Loja, Ecuador 9 Millerana arbosioides, holotype, USNM, Loja, Ecuador 10 Oculicattus renifera, holotype, NHMUK, Puno, Peru 11 Cicadoforma vau-nigrum, holotype, NHMUK, Tovar, Venezuela.

Figures 12 - 25. Adult habitus of Cicadoforma and Cicadomorphus species 12 Cicadoforma vau-nigrum, ♂, CNC, Tovar, Venezuela 13 C. ocelotus, ♂, holotype, MGCL, Santander, Colombia 14 C. ocelotus, ♂, paratype, MGCL, Boyaca, Colombia 15 C. ocelotus, ♂, paratype, MGCL, Quindio, Colombia 16 Cicadomorphus lilianae, ♂, holotype, MGCL, Napo, Ecuador 17 C. chuya, ♂, holotype, MGCL, Tolima, Colombia 18 C. falkasiska, ♂, holotype, MGCL, Oxapampa, Peru 19 C. chicharra, ♂, holotype, MGCL, San Rosa, Bolivia 20 C. vau-nigrum, ♀, CNC, El Junquito, Venezuela 21 C. ocelotus, ♀, paratype, MGCL, Santander, Colombia 22 C. lilianae, ♀, paratype, FSU, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador 23 C. chuya, ♀, paratype, MGCL, Cochabamba, Bolivia 24 C. falkasiska, ♀, paratype, MGCL, Oxapampa, Peru 25 C. falkasiska, ♀, paratype, MGCL, Junin, Peru.

Figures 80 - 84. Female genitalia of Cicadoforma and Cicadomorphus species 80 Cicadoforma ocelotus, paratype, MGCL, Santander, Colombia 81 C. vau-nigrum, CNC, El Junquito, Venezuela 82 Cicadomorphus lilianae, paratype, FSU, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador 83 C. falkasiska, paratype, MGCL, Oxapampa, Peru 84 C. chuya, paratype, MGCL, Cochabamba, Bolivia.