Naarda palawana sp. n.

(Figs 10, 19, 37)

Holotype. m, Philippines, Palawan, BrookesPoint, UringUring, 23.VIII.1961, Noona DanExp., „caughtbylightofPetromax”, slideNo. RL 7992m (coll. ZMUC).

Paratypes. 1 m, 5 f, Philippines, Palawan, BrookesPoint, UringUring, 16., 17. and 18.VIII.1961, NoonaDanExp.; slideNo. RL8003f (coll. ZMUC, HNHM). Threespecimens lacktheirabdomen .

Indonesia: 1 m, 1 f, S.W. Celebes: PangeannearMaros. 2,000 ft. March 1938; J.P.A.Kalis. B.M.1938-397, slideNosBMNoct. 21816m, 21817f (coll. BMNH)

Taxonomy. Theshapeandthepatternofthewingsareclosesttothoseof N. maculifera, butconspicuousdifferencescanbeobserved (seetheDiagnosis).

Description. Wingspan 11–12 mm, lengthofforewing 5–5.5 mm. Oneofthesmallestspeciesofthegenus. Maleantennaconsistingofsomewhatthickenedjoints, withlong fasciculateciliaarisingfromventralcrest- likeridge; femaleantennawithconsiderably lessthickenedjoints, withoutprominentridgeandciliabutwithsparredscales. Frontal scale-hoodsmall, roundedtriangular, consistingofbroad, largescales. Malepalpsshort, twicelongerthandiameterofeye, gracile, slightlyupturneddistally, greyish- brownwith somewhitishhair-scales; thirdjointratherlongandacute. Femalepalpssomewhatlonger, thicker, moreporrect. Characteristicwingpatternfeatures: groundcolourdarkblackish-grey; allcrosslinesdissolvedindarkgroundcolourorhardlyvisible; subterminallinedark mousegrey, othertransverselinesdark, blackish, subterminalandpostmediallinesparallel, veryslightlysinuous. Reniformstigmaconspicuous, narrow, yellow, relativelysmall, withindistinctdarkedge, withoutdarkerinnerscales; orbicularstigmamissing; hindwing lighterthanforewing, mouse-grey, withouttracesoftransverselinesanddiscalspot.

Malegenitalia (Fig. 10). Uncusverybroad, short, withhook- liketip. Scaphium straight, aslongasuncus. Tegumenslightlylongerthanvinculum. Saccusindistinct. Juxta Y-shaped, bifurcate; itsbranchesverynarrowanddirectedventro- laterally. Valvalshape uniquewithinthegenus, itsdorsalandventraledgesnearlyparallel, graduallytapering, sacculusdistallygraduallydilated, aslongasvalva; cucullusnotdifferentiated. Dorso-lateralcornerofsacculusextendingbeyongdorsaledgeofvalva. Costapresentonlyat thebasal 1/3 ofvalva, butbroad. Harpeabsentorentirelyfusedwithsacculus. Aedeagus verythick, slightlycurved, carinawithshort, straight, slightlysclerotisedprocess. Vesica globular, itsapicalhalfdenselyscobinatebyelongategrains, basalpartwithbroadand longdiverticulum, apicalpartofthisdiverticulumisarmedbyca. 10 small, rose-spine-like cornuti.

Femalegenitalia (Fig. 19). Ovipositorlobesshort, angular. Apophysesanteriores onlyhalfaslongasapophysesposteriores. SternumA7 short, sinusabsent. Ductusbursaerelativelybroad, moderatelylong, colliculumlarge, entirelycoveringductusbursae. Corpusbursaeellipsoidal, itswholesurfacescobinatebytinygrains; posteriorquarter with broad and very long cervix bursae being as long as the 2/3 of corpus bursae. Cervix smooth, exceptforitsverybasalparthavingsimilarscobinateasincorpusbursae.

Diagnosis. Theexternalappearanceofthisnewspeciesissimilarto N. maculifera (Staudinger, 1892), but N. palawana issmallerinsize, thelabialpalps areshorter, theforewingisbroader, thereniformstigmaissmallerandthe orbicularstigmaismissingwhileitispresentin N. maculifera.

Themalegenitaliaof N. palawana aresomewhatreminiscenttothoseof N. melinau Holloway, 2008 (Fig. 12) butintheformertaxontheuncusismuch broaderandshorter, thecostalprocessof N. melinau isabsent, thedistalpart ofthesacculusismuchbroader, andthevesicaofaedeagushasmuchmore, smallercornutithaninthelatterspecies.

Thefemalegenitaliaofthisnewspeciesareverysimilartothoseof N. alternata TóthetRonkay, 2014, buttheapophysesanterioresareconsiderably longerin N. palawana, theductusbursaeisbroaderandentirelycoveredby thelargecolliculumwhichisabsentin N. alternata. Thefemalegenitaliaare also somewhat similar to those of N. bisignata Walker, 1866 (Fig. 23), but the ductusbursaeisbroader, thecorpusbursaeisslightlynarrowerandscobinate incontrasttothesmoothcorpusbursaeof N. bisignata.

Etymology. ThisspeciesisthemosteasytodistinguishamongthosewhichwerecollectedattheislandofPalawan.

Distribution. ThesouthernpartofPalawanandsouthwesternSulawesi.