Parvispinia cortex ( Alphéraky, 1887 ) Babics & Kononenko & Saldaitis, 2012

Babics, J., Kononenko, V. S. & Saldaitis, A., 2012, New genus and three new species of the subfamily Xyleninae (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae), Zootaxa 3509, pp. 55-68 : 58-60

Parvispinia cortex ( Alphéraky, 1887) comb. n.

( Figs. 5, 6, 18, 26)

Miselia cortex Alphéraky, 1887 , Entomologische Zeitung. Entomologischen Vereine zu Stettin 48: 169, Type locality: [Kyrgizstan] Turkestan, Tura, Aram Kungei. Lectotype presently designated, male, ZI, Sankt-Peterburg.

Miselia cortex var. corticula Püngeler, 1901 . Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift Gesellschaft Iris zu Dresden , 14:185, Pl. 2:16.: Type-locality: China, Xinjiang. Syntypes: MNHU, Berlin.

References: Alphéraky 1889: 159, Pl. 7:4 ( Miselia ); Hampson 1906: 381, Fig. 124 ( Atrachea ); Warren 1909–1914: 139 ( Atrachea ); Poole 1989: 130 ( Athaumasta ); Chen, 1982: 2259 ( Atrachea ); Chen, Wang & Lin, 1991: 216, Pl. 12:17 ( Atrachea ); Chen 1999: 582, Pl. 26:7 ( Atrachea ); Lehman et al. 1998: 610 ( Atrachea ); Lehmann & Bergmann 2005: 28 ( Atrachea ).

Material examined. Lectotype (designated herein) male, [Kyrgizstan] Tura, Aram Kungei, leg. Gr. Gr., type; Paralectotype, 1 female, same label. Other material examined: 1 male, ара -tереk, 29.viii. [Year not indicated], 8500', collector unknown; 3 males, [ Kazakhstan] Semiretchensk, Naryn , 2140', 17.vii.–9.ix.1908, leg. V. Dazenko; 1 male, 2 females, Semiretchensk , Naryn , 15–27.viii.1906, leg. Akulin ; 1 male male, Naryn , 21.vii.1986, leg. A. Kondratyev, (ex coll. A. V. Nekrasov) , Prep. Nekrasov 916a; 1 female, Pamir merid-occ., Fl. Schah – Dara , prope loc. Nemos , 2800 m, 2.viii.1956, leg. A. Bundel ; 1 female, Pamir, Horog, Hortus Botan. , 2300 m, 4.viii.1966. leg. M. Zaprjagaev ; 1 male, female, Pamir, Horog, Shivoz , 2800 m, 7.ix.1983, leg. М. Zaprjagaev, (ex coll. A. V. Nekrasov) ; 1 male, Uzbekistan, 60 km ESE Tashkent, Chatkalsky reserve , 14.x.1992, leg . V. Zolotukhin (all ZISP); 1 male, Turkmenia, Ili , prep. 3088LR ( HNHM). 1 male, Tajikistan, N slope of Great Peter range, Darai-Nazarak valley , right side, Ganishou , 25.viii.1977: 2110, Yu.L. Schetkin leg. ; 1 female Tajikistan, N slope of Great Peter range, 14 km SW Tajikabad, right side, Ganishou , 3.viii.1977: 2180, Yu.L. Schetkin leg. (coll. GB) . 1 male, Kazakhstan, Prov. Almaty, Toraygir Mts., Charyn River , 1060 m, N43˚16'; E078˚58', 17. vii. 2009, leg. B. Benedek (coll. Floriani) .

Diagnosis. A. cortex ( Figs. 5, 6) differs from partially sympatric A. parvispina by reddish-brown forewing colour, smaller orbicular and reniform and dentate antemedial line. It could be confused with A. parilis , described below, but well differs by less contrast wing pattern and absence of reddish-brown colour in subbasal and subterminal fields (contrast greyish in A. parilis ). The other distinctive characters referred in the diagnosis of A. parilis . In male genitalia ( Fig. 18) it differs by broad, relatively short valva, strong curved, extended and rounded apically harpe and strong broad triangular digitus reaching the ventral margin of valva; aedeagus with tubular vesica, without diverticula, bearing two patches of small cornuti and two moderate strong cornuti. The female genitalia ( Fig. 26) differ by very strong apophyses anteriores and posteriors, weakly sclerotised antrum, relatively small corpus bursae with sclerotised wrinkled bar in caudal part and four ribbon-like signums in posterior part.

Distribution and Bionomics. Central Asian. Kazakhstan, Kyrgizstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, West China. Xerothermic species occurring in the xeromontane steppe biotopes.

Notes. The species was placed to the genus Atrachea by Hampson 1906; Poole (1989) incorrectly referred cortex in the genus Athaumasta Hampson, 1906 (subfamily Bryophilinae ).