Fansipaniana tamdaoensis Heppner & Bae

Heppner, John B. & Bae, Yang-Seop, 2016, A new species of Fansipaniana from Northern Vietnam (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae: Olethreutinae: Olethreutini), Zootaxa 4097 (1), pp. 135-138 : 135-137

Fansipaniana tamdaoensis Heppner & Bae , new species

( Figs. 1–5 )

Type locality: Tam Dao (930 m), Vinh Phuc Province, Vietnam.

Diagnosis. Diagnostic characters for this species include the lighter basal forewing area (darker in F. fansipana Razowski ) and the male valva lacking the bulge midway on the valva, as well as dense lateral valval spines nearly twice as numerous along the mesal valval margin as in F. fansipana .

Description. Male ( Fig. 1 ). Head: ( Figs. 2–3 ): Gray with scales white-tipped; same on frons and labial palpus. Antenna with segmental row of black scales each segment (basally white), with venter denuded and dull orange chitin only. Thorax: Gray (scales with white bases) and tegulae same; venter white. Legs black on fore- and midlegs, with thin white rings at tibial base joint and tarsal segments; mesally white; mesofemur white ventrally toward joint with tibia; coxae black; hindleg white at femur-tibial joint and most of femur, but tibia white-tan and tarsal segments brown-black with thin white ring for each tarsal segment; femora and tibiae dorsoventrally white. Wing expanse: 12.6–14.3 mm (n = 3). Forewing brown with tan-umber patches near base at 1/4 near costa and at 1/3 near dorsal margin; with similar tan patch at tornus and apex, and light tan triangular patch on apical 1/3 near costa; a dark brown bar at midwing from costa to cell and another dark brown area midway along termen; apical margin brown, slightly intersected almost midway by the extensive point of the apical 1/3 light tan patch; fringe dark brown except for brown at apex and light tan at tornus; venter brown at base and along dorsal 1/2 of wing, and darker brown on costal 1/2 of wing, with black-brown along costal edge and with 5 white strigulae (three evenly spaced on basal 1/2 and two more on apical 1/3, and large orange patch on apical 1/4 by apex emarginated with yellow basally; ventral fringe gray to black distally, with an umber fringe at tornus. Hindwing gray, slightly lighter towards basal, with a umber area on apex; fringe light gray except for umber on apex; venter pale gray-tan and red-brown at apex and extended basally along costa to 1/2 wing; ventral fringe silvery gray. Abdomen: Lustrous gray, lighter towards base on T1–2, posteriorly with black-tipped scales; venter dark gray, with white-tipped scales, with basal segments S1-3 mostly dull white; genital tuft dark gray with white-tipped scales, valvae pale tan and with large lateral scale tufts; pregenital plates enlarged ( Fig. 6 ), with lateral margin widened and a central sclerotization extended posteriorly as a narrow line. Male genitalia ( Figs. 4–5 ) with tegumen elongated distally to blunt end; uncus a small convex extension from tegumen, basally with slightly enlarged ends; gnathos-like sclerotization with bulbous dorsal end. Valva bent upwards from straight basal 1/4, the upright portion subequal in width, with strong setae directly mesally along mid-portion, with a short recurved setose dorsal process near base; sacculus elevated setose area from the disc of valva; vinculum short, without extended saccus. Anellus clothes-pin-like (upside down), with bulbous basal area, the upper arms extended around phallus; phallus short, with extended hood dorsally. Female. Unknown.

Specimens studied (n = 3). Holotype, male, Vietnam, Tam Dao, 930 m, Vinh Phuc Province, 10–12 Oct 2014, J. B. Heppner (JBH photo 12594; genitalia slide JBH 3300). Deposited in FSCA/MGCL (Florida State Collection of Arthropods, McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity), on indefinite loan from PPRI (Hanoi, Vietnam). Paratype, male, Vietnam, same locality as holotype, 13–15 Oct 2014, J. B. Heppner (FSCA/MGCL). Additional specimen, male, Vietnam, Cuc Phuong Natl. Pk., Mac Lake, 155 m, Ninh Binh Province, 25–26 Apr 2012, J. B. Heppner (JBH photo 12867; genitalia slide JBH 3408) (FSCA/MGCL).

Etymology. The species is named after Tam Dao, Vinh Phuc Province, Vietnam.

Biology. Nothing is known of the life history and biology of the species.

Distribution. Known only from northern Vietnam.

Discussion. The new species superficially is very similar to F. fansipana , described from the Fansipan Mountains, near Sapa (1600 m elevation), near the northern border with China. As already noted, the basal forewing is more tancolored in the new species, whereas it is much darker in F. fansipana . In addition, the male genitalia are diagnostic, with the valvae evenly narrow in F. tamdaoensis but bulging mesally beyond midway in F. fansipana , and the mesal margin spines are more compact in F. fansipana than in F. tamdaoensis ; in the later the spine area is much longer (nearly twice as long as in F. fansipana ). A further specimen from a lowland site (Cuc Phuong Natl. Park, Ninh Binh Province, about 150 km south of Tam Dao) is not included in the type series. It is darker and smaller (wingspan 12.6 mm) than the Tam Dao specimens (wingspans 13.7–14.3 mm), but because the genitalia show no significant differences from those of F. tamdaoensis , the specimen is most likely conspecific with F. tamdaoensis .

Nedoshivina (2013) reported two new records of F. fansipana from Dong Nai Province, a lowland site (121–132 m) about 1300 km south of Sapa near Hochimin (= Saigon) in southern Vietnam; however, we did not examine these specimens. Presumably, they conform in genitalia and adult characters to the Sapa population of F. fansipana as identified by Nedoshivina (2013). Unfortunately, all specimens of Fansipaniana known thus far are males, so females cannot be compared.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 6. Fansipaniana tamdaoensis. 1. Male holotype (14.3 mm wingspan) (JBH photo 12594). 2 – 3. Close-up of head (lateral and dorsal views) (JBH photo 12594). 4. Male genitalia (JBH slide 3300) with long ventral valval setae intact. 5. Male genitalia with detail of central area and phallus in situ. 6. Male genitalia with detail of posterior of abdomen (ventral view).