Hypotrabala tamsi, Takano & László, 2024

Takano, Hitoshi & László, Gyula M., 2024, Descriptions of new Hypotrabala Holland, 1893 (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae: Lasiocampinae: Selenepherini) in the collections of the African Natural History Research Trust, with notes on allied genera and the description of a new genus, Ecologica Montenegrina 72, pp. 19-63 : 43-44

Hypotrabala tamsi sp. n.

https://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:B4E3D86F-7F1C-4182-B938-CACAA7B2D3E9

( Figs 39–40 , 76–77 )

Holotype ♂ ( ANHRT):

“ TOGO 505m / Fazao- Malfakassa National Park / Mare aux crocodiles campsite / (Sudanian Savannah /dry forest) / 8°44’58.8”N, 0°48’51.8”E / 26.viii-7.ix.2018 MV Light Trap / Aristophanous, M., Geiser, M., / Moretto, P., Sanbena, B. Leg. / ANHRT:2018.31 // ANHRTUK / 00090840 // Gen. slide No. / LG 6291 ♂ / prep. by Gy. M. Laszlo [black border; partially handwritten]”

Paratypes (4♂♂):

CAMEROON: Wack (La Falaise), 900m, 07°40’16.5”N, 13°33’18.4”E, 02–21.x.2018, leg. S. Sáfián & G. Simonics (3♂♂ ANHRT) ; TOGO: same data as holotype (1♂ ANHRT) .

Description.

Forewing length: holotype: 22 mm; paratypes: 21–22 mm.

Upperside. Ground colour of head and thorax mahogany irrorated with pale yellow scales; abdomen buff. Antenna bipectinate, brown. Forewing curved at apex, outer margin gently arcuate. Ground colour of wing orangey-brown irrorated with mahogany scales. Antemedial fascia mahogany, bilineate, crenulate, indistinct arising perpendicularly from costa, and gently angled to terminate perpendicularly along anal margin. Discal spot ovoid, pearlescent, ringed in mahogany; area around spot between antemedial and postmedial fasciae irrorated with mahogany scales. Postmedial fascia mahogany, bilineate, crenulate, indistinct, arising perpendicularly from the costa, gently curved around discal spot, terminating along anal margin. Area between outer postmedial and subterminal fasciae slate grey darkening towards anal margin. Subterminal fascia slate grey, irregular, broadly running parallel to the outer margin, indented. Terminal area greyish-mahogany, strongly bisected by orange scales along veins. Fringe greyish-mahogany. Hindwing outer margin arcuate, almost angled at vein CuA2; ground colour warm buff becoming darker towards anal fold. Costa with orangey-brown scaling.

Underside. Ground colour of head and thorax warm buff; forelegs mahogany with buff irroration, mid- and hindlegs buff with some brown speckling. Abdomen buff with some darker brown scaling. Ground colour of forewing pale brown. Discal spot almost invisible. Postmedial and subterminal fasciae, dark slate, indistinct, the former gently arcuate arising perpendicularly to costa and terminating perpendicularly along anal margin, the latter irregular, broadly parallel to the outer margin. Hindwing ground colour warm buff; costal margin with some mahogany irroration.

Male genitalia. Socius short, ca. one-third the length of valve, arms broad at base, gradually tapered to acutely pointed apex, arising relatively close and parallel to each other. Tegumen moderately long and broad, inner margin evenly arcuate. Valve short, narrow basally, gradually tapered to pointed tip, gently arched. Juxta with very short, rounded posteromedial process. Vinculum narrow ribbon-like medially, with very short, triangular lateral plates. Phallus short, coecum penis large, as long as sclerotised part of phallus, membranous sack-like, tightly attached to juxta; sclerotised section of phallus slightly dilated medially, tapered distally, curved dorsad, apically pointed. Vesica basally inflated, relatively large, somewhat ovoid, finely scobinate, anteriorly with two densely serrate relatively broad longitudinal plates consisting of sharp teeth, forming a V-shape with slightly curved arms, posterior diagonal dentate plate present, rather small. Sclerotised plate of eighth sternite anteriorly almost straight with thin anterolateral apodemes of variable length, posteriorly slightly dilated to two short sclerotised processes of variable length and width of gap between processes.

Diagnosis. Hypotrabala tamsi is reminiscent of H. argenteoguttata but the latter is a larger moth, the ground colour of the forewing is golden yellow and the hindwing is buff. In the male genitalia of the latter, the socii are shorter with a narrower gap in between the two arms, the valves are shorter, slenderer and medially slightly arcuate, the posteromedial process of the juxta is larger, the serrate plates of the vesica are straight, and the central plate of the eighth sternite is elongate quadrangular in shape. The West African H. giustii is not dissimilar but possesses more pointed forewings and the pale basal half of the forewing is larger and better-defined while the male genitalia are quite different, with the apically rounded socii arising further apart from each other, and the considerably longer, slenderer and subapically curved valves.

DNA divergences. The two populations of the new species fell into two BINs BOLD:ABU9603 ( Togo) and BOLD:AFG4526 ( Cameroon). Intraspecific PWDs ranged from 0.0–4.0% (n=5) and differed by 1.7% from the nearest samples ( H. horridula / H. argenteoguttata ).

Derivatio nominis. The new species is named after Willie Horace Thomas Tams (1891–1980), officer-in-charge of the NHMUK Heterocera collection from 1920–1957 and Lasiocampidae specialist who described several species of Hypotrabala believing correctly that the genus contained more taxa than just the type species.

Figures

Figures 39–49. Hypotrabala species: 39. H. tamsi sp. n., holotype ♂. 40. Id., paratype ♂. 41. H. argenteoguttata (Aurivillius, 1909), ♂, Mozambique, Maputo Special Reserve [ANHRTUK 00035111]. 42. Id., ♂, Kenya, Shimba Hills [ANHRTUK 00235806]. 43. H. giustii sp. n., holotype ♂. 44. Id., paratype ♂. 45. H. horridula Tams, 1925, ♂, Zambia, Hillwood [ANHRTUK 00224481]. 46. Id., holotype ♂ [NHMUK 010292292]. 47. Id., ♂, Zambia, Nyangombe Falls [ANHRTUK 00067068]. 48. Id., ♂, Zambia, Lukwakwa [ANHRTUK 00066310]. 49. Id., ♀, Zambia, Ntumbachushi Falls [ANHRTUK 00276150].

Figures 72–77. Male genitalia of Hypotrabala species, a: clasping apparatus, b: lateral view of phallus, c: eighth sternite, d: dorsal view of phallus (a, b, c to scale, d magnified). 72. H. obscura sp. n., holotype [LG 6331]. 73. H. giustii sp. n., holotype [LG 6295]. 74. Id., paratype [LG 6296]. 75. H. argenteoguttata (Aurivillius, 1909), Mozambique [LG 6322]. 76. H. tamsi sp. n., holotype [LG 6291]. 77. Id., paratype, Cameroon [LG 6290].