Ninodes Warren, 1894

Li, Xinxin, Xue, Dayong & Jiang, Nan, 2017, One new species and one new record for the genus Ninodes Warren from China (Lepidoptera, Geometridae, Ennominae), ZooKeys 679, pp. 55-63 : 56-57

Genus Ninodes Warren, 1894

Ninodes Warren, 1894, Novit. zool., 1: 407. Type species: Ephyra splendens Butler, 1878, by original designation.

Generic characters.

Antenna filiform, ciliate in both sexes. Frons narrow, not protruding. Labial palpi narrow and short. Apex of forewing rounded; outer margin of both wings smooth, or slightly rounded. Forewing length: 7-13 mm. Wings usually pale yellow to yellow, with black or greyish brown markings. Forewing with Sc free, R1 coincident with R2, R3+4 stalked with R5, R3-5 arising before anterior angle of cell, CuA1 arising from or before posterior angle of cell; hindwing with Sc+R1 close to cell less than one half of length of cell; Rs arising before anterior angle of cell; CuA1 arising from or before posterior angle of cell. An elongate, unscaled, translucent fovea present in male. Male genitalia with uncus almost triangular; median process of gnathos small; valva with a narrow and strongly curved dorsal arm at valva base, with a tiny spine apically; juxta short; saccus broad and rounded; aedeagus short and narrow; vesica often with a sclerotized lobe and a patch of tiny spines. Female genitalia with papillae anales not elongate, slightly narrower terminally; antrum well sclerotized; ductus bursae short; ductus seminalis often with a sclerotized base, and separate from posterior part of corpus bursae; corpus bursae sclerotized and with longitudinal ribbing posteriorly; signum rounded, with long marginal and smaller central spines.

Distribution.

China, Japan, Korean Peninsula, (Papua New Guinea, see below).

Remarks.

Only one female specimen (the holotype) of N. flavimedia was located in NHM. Close examination of the holotype (Fig. 9) revealed that N. flavimedia is quite different from its present congeners in both wing patterns and female genitalia. Further morphological study of Ninodes and its related genera is needed to determine the correct taxonomic position of N. flavimedia . Characters of N. flavimedia are not included in the generic description above.

One male and one female probably belonging to N. watanabei are kept in the collection of ZFMK (collected at “Tapaishan”, Shaanxi). Before recording this species as new to the Chinese fauna, the specimens must be checked closely and the identity proved by dissection (Dieter Stüning, pers. comm.).

Ninodes miegi Sterneck, 1931 has been treated as a junior synonym of N. splendens since Inoue (1956). However, we found that the wing pattern of the holotype of N. miegi (Fig. 6) is quite similar to N. albarius (Figs 4, 5). The above two species were both originally described from Korea. We suspect that N. miegi Sterneck, 1931 may be a senior synonym of N. albarius and probably has to be restored from synonymy of N. splendens . The female holotype of N. miegi has to be checked carefully. We will discuss this taxonomic problem in the future revision of Ninodes .

Ninodes scintillans Thierry-Mieg, 1915 was described as a distinct species, but listed as a junior synonym of N. splendens by Scoble (1999). After examining the type of N. splendens at BMNH, a photo of a syntype of N. scintillans (coll. MNHN) and specimens of both taxa in IZCAS, we found that the male and female genitalia of them are in fact identical (Figs 16-18, 22, 23), although the wing patterns of N. splendens (Figs 7, 8) and N. scintillans (Figs 10-12) are quite different, as described by Prout ( 1915) and Wehrli ( 1939). The identical genitalia are probably the reason why Scoble (1999) listed N. scintillans as a junior synonym of N. splendens . However, the genitalia of the syntypes of N. scintillans have not been studied so far. Examination of the collecting localities and data of the Chinese specimens in IZCAS and ZFMK revealed that N. splendens and N. scintillans are probably just seasonal forms of the same species, with typical N. splendens being the first generation and N. scintillans the second. However, further morphological, biological, and molecular studies are needed to test this hypothesis. We will also discuss this problem in the future revision of Ninodes .