Siccia quilimania Strand, 1922

Volynkin, Anton V., 2023, Contribution to the knowledge of the genus Siccia Walker (= Aemene Walker, syn. n.) in the Afrotropics with descriptions of seventy-three new species, three new subspecies, and a check-list of Asiatic taxa of the genus (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae: Lithosiini), Ecologica Montenegrina 64, pp. 1-184 : 62-63

Siccia quilimania Strand, 1922

( Figs 153 , 383 )

Siccia quilimania Strand, 1922 , Lepidopterorum Catalogus, 26: 736 (Type locality (hereby fixed by the neotype designation): Mozambique, 22m, Maputo Special Reserve, West Gate , 26°30'14.2''S, 32°42'59.6''E).

Type material. Neotype (hereby designated) ( Figs 153 , 383 ): male, “ Mozambique, 22m | Maputo Special Reserve, | West Gate, ( Sand Thicket ) | 26°30'14.2''S, 32°42'59.6''E | 21–30.XI.2016 Light Trap | Aristophanous, M., Cristóvão, | J., László, G., Miles, W. leg. | ANHRT:2017.22” / “ANHRTUK | 00013408” (DNA barcode iD) / “Slide | AV4449 ♂ | A. Volynkin ” ( ANHRT).

Note. Strand (1922) introduced the name Siccia quilimania for the specimen briefly described by Pagenstecher (1893) as ‘ Aemene spec. ’ (No. 86 in the paper) with the label data [ Mozambique] “Quilimane, 2.II.[18]89”. The specimen was held in the collection of the University of Hamburg ( Germany), which was destroyed during the Second World War ( Kühne 2007), and the identity of the taxon remained unclear. Kühne (2007) assumed that it may be conspecific to S. punctipennis . However, following the specimen description by Pagenstecher (1893), it is possible to conclude that the type specimen was largely externally different from S. punctipennis . In order to stabilise the nomenclature, the male specimen from the same coastal region matching well with the description provided by Pagenstecher (1893) is hereby designated as the neotype. According to ICZN (1999) Article 76.3, the place of origin of the neotype ( Mozambique, Maputo Special Reserve) becomes the type locality of the species.

Diagnosis. The forewing length is 7.5 mm in the male neotype. Siccia quilimania is externally reminiscent of S. tanzaniae but distinguished by the more distally positioned medial spot on the forewing costa. The male genitalia of S. quilimania are unmistakable and characterised by the broad valva with a broad cucullus bearing three robust elongate and curved processes of different shapes, and the extremely broad, distally directed triangular ventral costal lobe dorsally bearing a broad and elongate dense cluster of robust spines protruding distally into the medial section of the costa. The detailed comparison with the similar S. mulanjia is provided below in the diagnosis of the latter species.

The female is unknown.

Molecular data. As the species is known from its neotype only, the intraspecific genetic variability could not be calculated. Since the molecular data for the other species in the species-group are currently unavailable, the COI-5P sequence of S. quilimania was compared with the species of the morphologically similar S. nzame species-group, from which the current species diverges by 8.99–10.43%.

Distribution. The species is known only from the coastal area of Mozambique.

Figures

Figures 149–162. Siccia spp., adults. Depositories of the specimens: 149, 150, 152–154, and 162 in ANHRT (154 and 162: ex AKW); 155–159 in NHMUK (©The Trustees of NHMUK); 160 in ZSM; 161 in AKW.

Figures 381–384. Siccia spp., male genitalia. The specimens dissected are deposited in ANHRT (384: ex AKW).