Charissa (Pterygnophos) creperaria Erschoff, 1877

Erlacher, Sven, Palma, Laura Marrero & Erlacher, Josepha, 2017, A systematic revision of Charissa, subgenus Pterygnophos Wehrli, 1951, with description of a new species (Lepidoptera: Geometridae), Zootaxa 4341 (3) : -

3. Charissa (Pterygnophos) creperaria Erschoff, 1877

(adults Pl. 1, Figs 3a–3d ; male gen. Pl. 2, Figs 3e, 3f ; female gen. Pl. 3, Fig. 3g )

Gnophos creperaria Erschoff, 1877 , Horae Societatis Entomologicae rossicae, 12: 337, St. Petersburg.— Locus typicus: Russia, Radde. Deposition of neotype: ZFMK. Examined .

Material examined. Type material. Neotype ♂ of Gnophos creperaria Erschoff, 1877 (Pl. 1, Fig. 3a ; Pl. 2, Fig. 3e ) (according to Article 75 and 76 ICZN hereby designated): [Russia:] ‘Creperaria Ersch[off] | ♂ 31.7.[18]86 | Raddeffka [Radde]’, ‘[Wehrli–]543 | ♂ | creperaria |?’, <yellow label> ‘ erschoffi | W[e]h[r]li. | Gnophos | abgebildet Seitz IV. | Suppl. fig. | Dr. Wehrli’, ‘GlobInG | specimen ID: | 85 | Exemplar + Etiketten | dokumentiert | specimen + label | data documented’, <red label> ‘NEOTYPE ♂ | Gnophos creperaria Erschoff, 1877 | Designated by | Wehrli (1922) ’, ZFMK.

Further material. Mongolia: 1♀, Prov. Khentii, Khentii Mts. , 04.vii., coll. O. Bang-Haas ; 1♂, Ulan Bator, 30.vii., gen. prep. SE–597 ; 1♀, same data, gen. prep. SE–611, MNHU . 1♂, Prov. Selenge, Ero–Gol River , 49°48’N / 106°35’E, 650 m, 28.–30.vii.2002, leg. A. Saldaitis, gen. prep. JH–272, SGA . 1♀, Prov. Ömnögovi, “ Gurvansaikhan Mts. ”, Eliin pass, 22.–23.vii.1997, leg. P. Gyulai & A. Garai, gen. prep. SE–581, barcode id. SE– MNC– Lep –01149, BIN BOLD: ACE3591 , SMM. 1♀, Prov. Ömnögovi, ca. 75 km W Dalanzadgad , 43.613045°N / 103.77472°E, 2300 m, 09.vii.2001, leg. K. Nadrowski (Nadrowski & Albrecht 2007), gen. prep. SE–661, barcode id. SE–MNC– Lep –01150, BIN BOLD: ACE3591 ; 1♀ ( Pl. 1, Fig. 3d ), Ulan Bator, e.o. 08.xi.1987, leg. Peter Salk, gen. prep. DNATAX – 02316, barcode id. SE–MNC– Lep –00144, BIN BOLD: AAI7416 ; 1♂, same data, e.o. 08.x.1987, leg. P. Salk, gen. prep. DNATAX – 2315, barcode id. SE–MNC– Lep –00145, BIN BOLD: AAI7416 , ZSM. Russia: 1♂, South–Siberia, Prov. Tuva, Eastern Sayan Mts., Tunkinskie Gol'tsy Mts., Mt. Kulugaisha, near Mondy , 1700 m, 07.viii.2000, lux, leg. L. Lehmann, gen. prep. JH–285 ; 1♂, same data, barcode id. SE–MNC– Lep –00260, BIN BOLD: AAI7416 , MNC. 1♂, Siberia, Yablonoi Mts. , leg. Dörries, gen. prep. SE–598 ; 1♀, same data, gen. prep. SE–599 ; 1♀, same data ; 1♂, Region Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Radde , 31.vii.1886, leg. R. Tancré, gen. prep. SE–600 ; 1♀, Sayan Mts., Baranovskiy , leg. Dörries ; 1♀ (syntype of Gnophos turfosaria Wehrli, 1922 , misidentified), before iv.1912, gen. prep. JH–159, MNHU. 1♂, Buryatia, W Lake Baikal, Primorskii Chrebet, 60 km SE Irkutsk , near Malo Goloustnoye , 52°18’038’’N / 105°18’177’’E, 700–790 m, 02.–12.vii.2015, lux, leg. A. Steidel ; 2♀ (1♀ Pl. 1, Fig. 3c ), Buryatia, Sayan Mts., 400 km W Lake Baikal , 24 km N Sagan Shuluta , 1850–1950 m, 14.–18.vii.2015, lux, leg. A. Steidel & O. Czadek, MRJ . 1♂, Schawyr , E Tannuola, 2500 m, vi., gen. prep. JH–143 ; 1♀ (Pl. 3, Fig. 3g ), Sayan Mts., Tunkinskie Gol'tsy Mts. [“ Tunkinsk Weisgbg. ”], SW Irkutsk, 2000 m, vii., SE–571 ; 1♂ (Pl. 1, Fig. 3b ), Prov. Irkutsk, Sayan Mts., Tunkinskie Gol'tsy Mts. [“ Tunkisk Weisberge ”], 2000 m, vii., gen. prep. JH–153 ; 1♂ (Pl. 2, Fig. 3f ), Prov. Tuva, Sayan Mts., Tunkinskie Gol'tsy Mts. , Turan , 2000 m, vii., gen. prep. JH–152, ZFMK .

Description. Adults (Pl. 1, Figs 3a–3d ).

Measurements. Wingspan: 28–33 mm (♂), 31–33 mm (♀); forewing length: 15–18 mm (♂), 15–17 mm (♀); forewing width: 10–11 mm (♂), 10–12 mm (♀).

Wings. Upper side with a range of colors from dirty-white to dark brown; wing pattern with medial lines and discal spot sometimes clearly defined and rich in contrast, sometimes almost missing or blurring with an unevenly darkened background; underside dull, cream or light-gray, faintly patterned.

Male genitalia (Pl. 2, Figs 3e, 3f ). Total length: 2.23–2.56 mm; length of ventral valva margin: 1.92–2.16 mm; uncus and gnathos small, strongly sclerotized; sclerotized, swollen dilation close to base of costa covered with minute spines; juxta with degree of asymmetry variable; aedeagus length: 2.10–2.36 mm; aedeagus with cornutus.

Female genitalia (Pl. 3, Fig. 3g ). Total length: 4.57–5.41 mm; antrum length: 1.57–1.83 mm; antrum width: 0.87–1.00 mm; length of spined longitudinal folding: 0.86–1.12 mm.

Diagnosis. Males of C. (P.) creperaria can be confused with male specimens of C. (P.) agnitaria because of the shape of the ventral valva with its long process, and with males of C. (P.) beljaevi spec. nov. because of the presence of a sclerotized dilation close to the base of the costa. For distinction see diagnosis of the respective species. The female genitalia of C. (P.) creperaria are characteristic because of the short and posteriorly remarkably broadened antrum (antrum width of C. (P.) creperaria : 0.87–1.00 mm; other species of the subgenus Pterygnophos: 0.87 mm at maximum), thus forming a wide funnel.

Distribution ( Fig. 5 ). Charissa (P.) creperaria is known from southern Siberia where it has been found in the Sayan Mountains, near Schawyr east of Tannuola and around Radde (Radeffka) located in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast. In Mongolia the species occurs around Ulan Bator, in the Khentii Mountains of Khentii Province, in Selenge Province at Ero–Gol River and in South Mongolia (Ömnögovi Province) both from the Gurvansaikhan Mountains and from 75 km E Dalanzadgad. The vertical distribution range extends from 650 m (Ero–Gol River) to 2500 m (Schawyr).

Biology. The flight period lasts from June to the beginning of August. Breeding of C. (P.) creperaria was successful with withered leaves of Taraxacum officinale as food plant for the caterpillars (B. Müller in lit.).

Remarks. Alpheraky (1892) had already stated that the female holotype of Gnophos creperaria was not present in the Erschoff collection, St. Petersburg. It could also not be found in ZRAS today (Mironov in lit. 2016). Therefore it is to be assumed that the holotype was destroyed. A neotype for Gnophos creperaria Erschoff, 1877 is designated with the purpose of clarifying its taxonomic status according to Article 75 and 76 ICZN. Wehrli’s description of “ Gnophos erschoffi ” explicitly referred to Gnophos creperaria which he already recognized as unidentifiable ( Wehrli 1922). This should be interpreted as an invalid attempt to designate a neotype: “Ich ziehe deshalb den Namen für die fragwürdige Art ein und setze an deren Stelle eine klar umschriebene Species […]” ( Wehrli 1922: 19). In accordance with Recommendation 75D of Article 75.7 ICZN it was decided to give preference to this earlier invalid “ neotype ” although it does not come as nearly as practicable from the original type locality.

The assumption by Vojnits (1975) that “ Gnophos erschoffi ” is a synonym of “ Dysgnophos benepunctarius ” without examination of type specimens is preposterous and must be rejected.

Based on available molecular data the nearest species to C. (P.) creperaria is C. (P.) ochrofasciata with a COI distance of 2.35% (see also Tab. 1 and Fig. 5 ), whereas the morphology of male and female genitalia indicates a close relationship between C. (P.) creperaria and C. (P.) beljaevi spec. nov.

PLATE 1. Adults of Charissa , subgenus Pterygnophos. 1— C. (P.) agnitaria : 1a— ♂, 1b— ♂, 1c—holotype ♀, 1d— ♀; 2— C. (P.) beljaevi spec. nov.: 2a—holotype ♂, 2b—paratype ♂, 2c—paratype ♀, 2d—paratype ♀; 3— C. (P.) creperaria : 3aneotype ♂, 3b— ♂, 3c— ♀, 3d— ♀; 4— C. (P.) ochrofasciata : 4a—lectotype ♂, 4b— ♂, 4c—paralectotype ♀, 4d— ♀. Undersides of specimens are denoted by ‘*’. Scale bar: 10 mm.

PLATE 2. Male genitalia of Charissa , subgenus Pterygnophos, with arrows pointing at diagnostic characters; valvae and aedeagus. 1e— C. (P.) agnitaria ; 2e— C. (P.) beljaevi spec. nov. (holotype); 3e— C. (P.) creperaria (lectotype), 3f— C. (P.) creperaria ; 4e— C. (P.) ochrofasciata (lectotype). Scale bar: 1 mm.

PLATE 3. Female genitalia of Charissa , subgenus Pterygnophos, with arrows pointing at diagnostic characters. 1f— C. (P.) agnitaria (holotype), 1g— C. (P.) agnitaria ; 2f— C. (P.) beljaevi spec. nov. (paratype); 3g— C. (P.) creperaria ; 4f— C. (P.) ochrofasciata . Scale bar: 1 mm.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Neighbor joining tree for all species of Charissa, subgenus Pterygnophos, on the basis of DNA barcoding (pairwise distances model for COI- 5 P marker) with Gnophos furvata ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775) as outgroup. Terminal branches provided with species name, barcode id., barcode length, origin, and BIN number from BOLD.

FIGURE 5. Distribution of Charissa (Pterygnophos) species.