Alara obscura ( Muir, 1915 ), 1981

Zelazny, B. & Webb, M. D., 2011, 3071, Zootaxa 3071, pp. 1-307 : 27

Alara obscura ( Muir, 1915)

Mecynorhynchus obscurus Muir, 1915: 134

Alara obscura (Muir) Zelazny, 1981: 217

( Figs. 14, 15, 142)

Redescription. Forewings 2.1 times longer than wide, length: male 2.6–3.4 mm (mean = 3.2, n= 6), female 3.7–3.9 mm (mean = 3.8, n= 5). Colour stramineous to light brown; two small purple marks in front and above eyes; apical segment of labium brown; apices of fore and middle femora with a red mark; all tibiae with a red ring; apices of fore and middle tibiae dark brown; abdomen orange-red dorsally, stramineous underneath, genitalia grey. Forewings white, powdered; costal and apical margins orange. Specimens from Sri Lanka with two faint bands across forewing, one at base and one just distad of middle. Rostrum nearly reaching end of abdomen; antennae and eyes small. Forewings with Sc+R fork in basal third; Ms1 branched well before its middle; bases of Ms1 and Cu1 connected by a cross-vein. Hindwings narrower than forewing. Male genitalia with pygofer narrow. Genital styles broad, rounded; bases of dorsal processes nearly merging. Aedeagus with stem long and slender; apical part spatulate widening towards end. Figures 3 and 5 illustrate the general habitus of the species. The live specimen in the photographs closely resembles A. obscura , however, it shows differences in the colouration of the legs.

Etymology. The species name is a Latin adjective ( obscurus , -a, -um = dark).

Type material. Lectotype ♂ (here designated) (forewing 3.3 mm), INDONESIA: JAVA; labels: 1) TYPE OF / M. obscurus / Muir 2) Btzg 3) Mecynorhynchus / obscurus/ 662 Muir ( BPBM #5217).

Note. As Muir did not indicate how many specimens he studied we designate the only available syntype as lectotype.

Other material examined. EAST MALAYSIA: SARAWAK: Gunong Mulu , Nat. Park, Base camp, Helipad, D., 17.IX.-8.X.1977, 1 ♂, D. Hollis, RGS Mulu exped., B.M. 1977-543 ( BMNH) . SRI LANKA: Peradeniya , XII.1899, I.1902, 4 ♂ 2 ♀; Kandy, I.1910, 2 ♀ (all BMNH); Udawattekelle, Kandy, 10–13.XI.1966, 1 ♀, J.F.G. Clarke and Thelma M. Clarke ( USNM) .

Distribution. Java, Borneo ( Sarawak), Sri Lanka. In his description Muir specifies Buitenzorg (now Bogor), Java (on palm tree) as type locality. The locality records seem to indicate that this species is widely distributed in southern Asia.

Diagnosis. Alara obscura (Muir) is similar to A. aquilonia sp. nov. from Laos, but has the bases of the dorsal processes on the male genital styles nearly merging and a longer aedeagus with the apical portion widening towards its end.