Siccia curvalva, Volynkin, 2023

Volynkin, Anton V., 2023, Contribution to the knowledge of the genus Siccia Walker (= Aemene Walker, syn. n.) in the Afrotropics with descriptions of seventy-three new species, three new subspecies, and a check-list of Asiatic taxa of the genus (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae: Lithosiini), Ecologica Montenegrina 64, pp. 1-184 : 69

Siccia curvalva sp. n.

https://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:07A05A9E-AF4C-4E21-B37F-03BA9CA9BC17

( Figs 177, 178 , 399, 400 )

Type material. Holotype ( Figs 177 , 399 ): male, “ Gabon 430m | Mikongo (Rougier) , Monts | de Cristal (Secondary forest) | 0°29'47''N, 11°10'42''E | 28.vii.–12.viii.2019 Actinic Light | Albert, J-L., Aristophanous, M., | Bie Mba, J., Dérozier, V., | Moretto, P. Leg. | ANHRT:2019.17” / “ANHRTUK | 00162677” (DNA barcode iD) / “Slide | AV6581 ♂ | A. Volynkin ” ( ANHRT).

Paratypes. GABON: 2 males, the same data as holotype, LepiLED Light Trap, gen. prep. Nos.: AV6598, AV6599 ( ANHRT) ; DRC: 1 male, Salonga National Park , 02°45'22.79''S 20°18'55.56''E, Ekongo Camp, January 2017, V.D. Kravchenko & G.C. Müler, gen. prep. No.: AV7159 ( GMF-B) .

Diagnosis. The forewing length is 8.0– 8.5 mm in males. Siccia curvalva is externally indistinguishable from S. setis , S. spinulosia , S. microsticta , S. durantei , and S. stictica , and identification requires the examination of the genitalia structures. The male genital capsule of S. curvalva is reminiscent of S. microsticta and S. durantei but differs clearly in the markedly longer, upcurved and medially constricted valva with a narrowly elliptical cucullus and a smaller nodular setose tip of the distal saccular process whereas the valvae of the aforementioned congeners are almost straight and have broader cuculli. The phallus of S. curvalva is somewhat shorter than in S. microsticta and S. durantei . The vesica of the new species is shorter and narrower than in the similar congeners and bears distally thicker cornuti in the dorsal diverticulum.

The female is unknown.

Molecular data. The intraspecific divergence between the two DNA barcoded specimens is 0.62%. The pairwise distances between the new species and the similar S. microsticta and S. durantei are in the range of 3.64–4.81 % and 4.46–4.97%, respectively.

Distribution. The new species is currently known from Gabon and Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Etymology. The specific epithet is an aggregate of the Latin adjective ‘curvus’ meaning ‘curved’ and a noun ‘valva’, and refers to the remarkably upcurved valva of the new species. The name is a noun in the nominative singular in apposition.

Figures

Figures 163–178. Siccia spp., adults. Depositories of the specimens: 163–169, 171–178 in ANHRT; 170 in NHMUK (©The Trustees of NHMUK).

Figures 399–402. Siccia spp., male genitalia. Depositories of the specimens dissected: 399 and 400 in ANHRT; 401 in ZSM; 402 in NHMUK (©The Trustees of NHMUK).