Hypotrabala volynkini, 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 : 38-39

Hypotrabala volynkini sp. n.

https://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:5E930275-4E99-42A8-B0EE-E164AD921012

( Figs 29 , 83 )

Holotype ♂ ( ANHRT):

“ GABON 430m / Mikongo ( Rougier ), Monts / de Cristal (Secondary Forest) / 0°29’47”N, 11°10’42”E / 28.vii-12.viii.2019 MV LightTrap / Albert, J-L., Aristophanous, M., / Bie Mba, J., Dérozier, V., / Moretto, P. Leg. / ANHRT:2019.17 // ANHRTUK / 00130373 // Gen. slide No. / LG 6312 ♂ / prep. by Gy. M. Laszlo [black border; partially handwritten]”

Description.

Forewing length: holotype: 23 mm.

Upperside. Ground colour of head and patagia mahogany, the outer margin of the patagia highlighted in dark chocolatey-brown; tegulae and the rest of the thorax reddish-mahogany irrorated with pale yellow scales; abdomen buff. Antenna bipectinate, brown. Forewing pointed at apex, outer margin almost straight, gently sinuate. Ground colour of forewing brown, paler in basal quarter, darker and greyer distally. Basal area defined by a line that runs from approximately one-fifth of the way along the costa to the middle of the anal margin. Antemedial fascia dark brown, bilineate, crenulate, indistinct arising perpendicularly from costa, and gently angled to terminate perpendicularly along anal margin. Discal spot ovoid, pearlescent. Postmedial fascia indistinct. Subterminal fascia dark grey, irregular, broadly parallel to the outer margin, with paler reddish-brown patches on its outer edge between veins R5 and M3. Terminal area bisected by pale brown scales along veins. Fringe dark greyish-brown. Hindwing outer margin arcuate, almost angled at vein CuA2; ground colour buff becoming darker towards anal fold. Area between costa and Rs vein dark brown. Outer half of wing irrorated with dark brown scales forming an indistinct band from the apex, broadening and becoming better defined to form a patch between vein CuA2 and tornus. Fringe pale buff becoming darker towards the tornus.

Underside. Ground colour of head and thorax buff; forelegs greyish-brown, mid- and hindlegs buff with brown irroration. Abdomen buff with mahogany tufts on each segment. Ground colour of forewing pale brown; more golden in the basal area as on the upperside with an indistinct dark border on its outer edge. Postmedial fascia straight, weakly defined arising approximately three-quarters of the way along the costa and terminating midway along the anal margin meeting the dark border of the basal area. Discal spot ovoid, yellow, slightly wider than the widest part of the cell. Terminal area dark greyish-brown strongly bisected by pale brown scales along veins. Hindwing ground colour warm pale yellow, costal margin with mahogany scaling from base to vein Sc+R1; some mahogany irroration near the outer between vein CuA2 and margin forming an ill-defined patch.

Male genitalia. Socius very long, ca. two-thirds the length of valve, arms digitiform, slightly dilated inwards subbasally, rounded apically, arising close and running parallel to each other. Tegumen moderately long, very narrow, inner margin evenly arcuate. Valve short, very narrow basally, slightly curved and tapered subapically to rounded narrow tip. Juxta with relatively long, pointed posteromedial process. Vinculum narrow ribbon-like medially, with short, rounded-triangular lateral plates. Phallus moderately long, coecum penis large, as long as sclerotised part of phallus, membranous sack-like, tightly attached to juxta; sclerotised section of phallus gradually tapered, curved dorsad, apically pointed; carina apex with two short but acute teeth. Vesica basally inflated, relatively large, spherical, finely scobinate without anterior serration but with a short posterior serrate crest. Sclerotised plate of eighth sternite anteriorly concave with relatively long, pointed anterolateral apodemes, posteriorly dilated to two short but robust, pointed, distally slightly diverging medial processes.

Diagnosis. Hypotrabala volynkini is most similar to H. lydiae although the latter is smaller, has a distinctly greyer distal half of the forewing and a paler creamy hindwing. The genitalia however differ considerably; in H. lydiae , the socii are much shorter forming a broad V-shape, the tegumen plate is broader, the valves are longer, sigmoidal and distally setose with a long apical spine, the inflated vesica is elongate with a long V-shaped serration, and the posterior processes of the eighth sternite are shorter, thinner and converging. Hypotrabala volynkini is found sympatrically with H. ophioglossa , and although the habitus is not dissimilar, the male genitalia are considerably different. In the latter species pale orange markings are found basally, anteriorly and subterminally on the forewing, and the ground colour of the hindwing is a warmer buff. In the male genitalia of H. ophioglossa the socii are strongly diverging and apically clubbed, the tegumen plate is much broader, the valves are highly modified, postmedially dilated with a stout apical spine, the phallus is conspicuously short with an uninflated vesica lacking serrate plates and the eighth sternite with a heavily sclerotised, apically bifurcate posterior process.

DNA divergences. The new species has been assigned the BIN BOLD:AAY7258. The single barcoded specimen diverges by 5.9% from the nearest sample ( H. argenteoguttata ).

Derivatio nominis. The new species is dedicated with great pleasure to Anton Volynkin, ANHRT, an Arctiinae specialist whose many revisionary works have shed light on the diversity and biogeography of the Afrotropical fauna.

Figures

Figures 29–38. Hypotrabala species: 29. H. volynkini sp. n., holotype ♂. 30. H. ophioglossa sp. n., holotype ♂. 31. H. lydiae sp. n., holotype ♂. 32. Id., paratype ♂. 33. H. tabithae sp. n., holotype ♂. 34. Id., paratype ♂. 35. H. lunda sp. n., holotype ♂. 36. Id., paratype ♂. 37. H. neavei (Aurivillius, 1915), ♂, Malawi, Mzuzu Wildlife Sanctuary [ANHRTUK 00270070]. 38. Id., holotype ♂ of Pachymeta neavei Aurivillius, 1915 [NHMUK 0010292291].

Figures 78–83. 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). 78. H. cinereamargo sp. n., holotype [LG 6310]. 79. H. igneata sp. n., holotype [LG 6305]. 80. H. joiceyi Tams, 1925, D.R. Congo [LG 6349]. 81. H. lydiae sp. n., holotype [LG 6318]. 82. H. tabithae sp. n., holotype [LG 6319]. 83. H. volynkini sp. n., holotype [LG 6312].