Bryophila perloides Guenée, 1852

Vargas-Rodríguez, Suraya M., Fibiger, Michael, Honey, Martin R., Ronkay, Gábor, Yela, José Luis, Zilli, Alberto & Ronkay, László, 2020, Bryophila perloides Guenée, 1852 (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Bryophilinae), an overlooked member of the European Noctuidae fauna, with upgrading of Bryopsis Boursin, 1970 to generic level (Taxonomic studies on the western Palaearctic Bryophilinae, No. 1), Zootaxa 4845 (1), pp. 53-70 : 56-60

Bryophila perloides Guenée, 1852 , stat. rev.

( Figs 1a to 1d, 6a and 6b)

Material examined: 2 male syntypes in coll. NHMUK, “ Andalousie ”, one of them here designated as lectotype ( Figs 1a and 6b ) (specimen labelled as 010918082) . 1 male, 7-9-2010, Finca La Molina, Casares, Málaga , Spain (30 STF93 ), Penny Hale leg., coll. MF in coll. ZMC ( Figs 1b and 6a ) . 2 males, 24.8.2018 and 21.9.2018, Campo de Gibraltar, Algeciras, Cádiz , Spain (30 STE79 ), José Manuel Gaona Ríos phot. ( Figs 1c and 1d ) .

Lectotype designation: male, “ Andalousie ”, “ Perloides ”, “ Syntype ” (blue ring label), “Ex MUSAEO Dris BOISDUVAL”, “Fig par J. CULOT, Noct. et Géom. d’Europe, Pl. 24 Fig 12”, “Vu par Stgr pour Catal. 1900”, “Ex Oberthür Coll. Brit. Mus. 1927-3.” (specimen labelled as 010918082, coll. NHMUK) (illustrated in Fig 1a ).

Taxonomic notes: the species is listed in most recent works as subordinate to Bryopsis muralis (e.g. Poole 1989, Fibiger et al. 2009; but see Fibiger et al. 2011: 33). This statement is erroneous; this species in not a Bryopsis but a true Bryophila , according to the genital configuration (see above). All five known specimens are from Andalucía, S. Spain; therefore perloides is the only European member of the group.

External diagnosis: Ground colour bright olive green ( Figs 1a and 1b ) to dull greyish ( Figs 1c and 1d ). Forewings relatively small and tapered to the apex. Unlike B. domestica , subbasal and antemedian lines fused basally by an inner marginal line, forming the omega-shaped design typical of the species-group, which is completely closed in perloides ; this feature is shared with the species of Bryopsis (e.g. B. muralis ), where it is open to almost open in its basal part ( Figs 1e and 1f ). Dark spots at the costa very subtle. Unlike B. muralis , but in common with the rest of the species of the group, black X-mark on the forewings proximal to reniform stigma present. Antemarginal line absent or very subtle, in contrast to B. muralis , where it is quite apparent.

Genital diagnosis: male genitalia simple, as in the rest of the species of the group; all species have similar genitalia, mostly differing in subtle details ( Figs 6a to 7c). Those of B. perloides ( Figs 6a and 6b ) are particularly similar to those of B. barbaria ( Fig 6c ), but the uncus is more incrassate subapically, with shorter tip, whereas that of B. barbaria is more gradually tapered towards its apex. Additionally, the aedeagus of B. perloides shows a narrow coecum penis and broadens to its distal end, whereas in B. barbaria and other closely related species it is more or less cylindrical. Costal and hind margins of the valvae of B. perloides are almost parallel; the sacculus is weaker and smaller, the clasper smaller too, fully embedded onto the central area of valva, with slightly spatulate apex. Vesica without cornuti. The female genitalia has not yet been studied, no females have been collected so far.

Figures

FIGURE 1. 1a. Syntype of Bryophila perloides. Designated here as lectotype.Andalusia, Spain. NHMUK. 1b. Bryophila perloides. Male, Finca La Molina, Casares, Málaga, Andalusia, Spain (Photo Penny Hale). 1c. Bryophila perloides. Male, Campo de Gibraltar, Algeciras, Cádiz, Spain (Photo José Manuel Gaona Ríos). 1d. Bryophila perloides. Male, Campo de Gibraltar, Algeciras, Cádiz, Spain (Photo José Manuel Gaona Ríos). 1e. Bryopsis muralis. Male, Germany. HNHM. 1f. Bryopsis muralis. Female, Germany. HNHM. 1g. Nyctobrya simonyi. Male, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. NHMW. 1h. Nyctobrya simonyi. Female, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. NHMW.

FIGURE 6. 6a. Male genitalia of Bryophila perloides, male, Finca La Molina, Casares, Málaga, Andalusia. Genit, prep. MF, ZMC. 6b. Genitalia of the syntype of Bryophila perloides, designated here as lectotype. Andalusia, Spain. Genit, prep. Gyula M. László, NHMUK, specimen labelled as 010918082. 6c. Male genitalia of Bryophila barbaria. Lectotype male, High Atlas Mts, Morocco. Slide No.: RL12477. NHMW.