Hypotrabala smithi, 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 : 31-32

Hypotrabala smithi sp. n.

https://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:5DBAF442-B95C-4471-B52F-05A3B557D1E0

( Figs 16–17 , 65 )

Holotype ♂ ( ANHRT):

“ IVORY COAST 1171m / Mt Tonkoui Peak. / 07°27’15.2”N, 07°38’12.5”W, / 1-8.xi.15. Light Trap. / Aristophanous, M., / Moretto, P., Ruzzier, E., leg. // African Natural History / Research Trust / 2017.16 // ANHRTUK / 00224619 // Gen. slide No. / LG 6315 ♂ / prep. by Gy. M. Laszlo [black border; partially handwritten]”

Paratypes (7♂♂):

GUINEA: Nimba Mountains , SMFG concession area, Cité 1 camp, 700m, 07°42’00.47”N, 08°23’58.88”W, 27–30.v.2017, leg. S. Sáfián (1♂ ANHRT) ; IVORY COAST: same data as holotype (1♂ ANHRT) ; same data as holotype but 12–18.vii.2015 (1♂ ANHRT) ; Banco National Park , 40m, 05°23’03.8”N, 04°03’11.2”W, 29.xi–05.xii.2019, leg. M. Aristophanous, V. Dérozier, P. Moretto & S. Ouattara (1♂ ANHRT) ; LIBERIA: Foya Proposed Protected Area , 530m, 07°56’36”N, 10°16’36”W, 10–19.xi.2017, leg. M. Aristophanous, S. Sáfián, G. Simonics & L. Smith (2♂♂ ANHRT) ; Krahn- Bassa Reserve , 7.5km SW Pellokon Town, 140m, 05°39’04”N, 08°39’04”W, 14–20.i.2018, leg. M. Geiser, S. Sáfián & G. Simonics (1♂ ANHRT) .

Description.

Forewing length: holotype: 18 mm; paratypes: 17–20 mm.

Upperside. Ground colour of head brown irrorated with straw-yellow; patagia straw yellow with varying amounts of brown irroration; tegula cream with sparse dark scaling; both patagia and tegulae with well-defined darker, often brown margins. Metathorax with a dense patch of pale straw scaling posteriorly; abdomen buff. Antenna bipectinate, brown. Forewing strongly angled at apex, outer margin almost straight. Ground colour straw yellow with a slight golden infusion and a broad longitudinal band, dark brown, from base of costa along space CuA2 to tornal angle. All veins well-defined with dark brown scaling. Antemedial fascia dark brown, bilineate, crenulate, arising perpendicularly from costa, and gently curved to terminate perpendicularly along anal margin. Discal spot ovoid, creamy-white, the width of the cell and ringed in dark brown. Postmedial fascia dark brown, bilineate, crenulate, the inner of the two more pronounced; arises perpendicularly from the costa and angled strongly at vein R5 terminating along anal margin. Subterminal fascia dark brown, arising at the apex and terminating at vein CuA1, broadly following the outer margin; widest and strongly indented from apex to vein M1. Terminal fascia dark brown, bilineate, crenulate, the inner one weakly defined, the space between the outer and the termen filled in with dark brown. Fringe dark brown, short. Hindwing elongate tornally, outer margin almost straight. Ground colour warm buff becoming darker towards anal fold. Costa with mahogany scaling. Tornal marking dark brown, well-defined, tapered distally extending ca. 3 mm along vein CuA2. Fringe dark brown.

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 golden becoming pale yellow distally and posteriorly with a large area medially of mother-of-pearl like reflection. Antemedial, postmedial and subterminal fasciae marked only along costa and at apex, the remainder indistinctly showing through from upperside. The outer of the bilineate terminal fascia as on upperside. Ground colour of hindwing golden becoming paler distally and posteriorly. Tornal spot less well-marked than on upperside.

Male genitalia. Socius very short, somewhat ear-shaped, broad at base, inner margin straight, outer margin evenly convex, apex pointed; arms situated rather far apart. Tegumen very short, strongly dilated to large, rounded inner lobe. Valve short, narrow at base, gradually tapered to pointed apex, strongly curved in entire length, finely setose dorsally. Juxta without posteromedial process. Vinculum narrow ribbon-like medially, with short, somewhat triangular, apically pointed lateral plates with arcuate margins. Phallus very short, coecum penis large, as long as sclerotised part of phallus, membranous sack-like, tightly attached to juxta; sclerotised section of phallus tapered distad, strongly curved dorsad postmedially, apically pointed. Vesica basally inflated, relatively small, deformed-spherical, densely scobinate with two short, slightly arched, finely serrate narrow longitudinal plates anteriorly and with a small, elongate, moderately dentate sclerotised plate posteriorly. Eighth sternite with narrow, somewhat curly bracket-shaped anterior plate with rounded anterolateral apodemes, posteromedially with two short and narrow, arcuate, converging sclerotisation both produced into short, sclerotised triangular tip.

Diagnosis. The external habitus of H. smithi is virtually identical to H. castanea but in the latter, the dark forewing longitudinal band on the upperside is broader distally with a greater extent of darker scaling in space CuA2 and on the underside, the band is clearly defined along its entire length. The new species is however easily distinguished based on the male genitalia. In H. castanea , the socii are moderately long and digitiform, the valves are twice as long and angled postmedially, the vesica has a larger inflated basal section with longer serrate plates, and the central plate of the eighth sternite is more dilate and somewhat trapezoidal.

DNA divergences. The new species has been assigned the BIN BOLD:AFG5100. Intraspecific PWDs were 0.0–0.2% (n=3) and although there are no barcodes available for its sibling taxon, H. castanea , it diverged by 8.2–8.4% from the nearest sample ( H. tamsi ).

Derivatio nominis. The new species is dedicated with great pleasure to Richard Smith, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, ANHRT, for his continued zealous support of taxonomy and Afrotropical entomology.

Figures

Figures 14–21. Hypotrabala species: 14. H. castanea Holland, 1893, ♂, Republic of Congo, Nouabalé-Ndoki NP [ANHRTUK 00284967]. 15. Id., ♂, Uganda, Kampala [NHMUK 010292297]. 16. H. smithi sp. n., holotype ♂. 17. Id., paratype ♂. 18. H. exquisita sp. n., holotype ♂. 19. Id., paratype ♂. 20. H. extenuata sp. n., holotype ♂. 21. Id., paratype ♂.

Figures 60–65. 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). 60. H. guttata (Aurivillius, 1915), Liberia [LG 6298]. 61. H. magnimacula sp. n., holotype [LG 6299]. 62. H. aurantiaca sp. n., holotype [LG 6301]. 63. H. retorta sp. n., holotype [LG 6303]. 64. H. castanea, Republic of Congo [LG 6317]. 65. H. smithi sp. n., holotype [LG 6315].