Polyptychus lucindae, Takano, 2021

Takano, Hitoshi, 2021, Two new species of Polyptychus Hübner, [1819] (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae: Smerinthinae) from West Africa, Ecologica Montenegrina 47, pp. 1-8 : 5-7

Polyptychus lucindae sp. nov.

http://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:F56C4442-DFEE-4547-A90A-36A5ABAD697E

( Figs. 9–11 )

Holotype ♂ ( ANHRT):

“ IVORY COAST, 174m / Tai NP, Tai Research Station ( SRET) / 05˚50’00”N, 07˚20’32.0”W, / 25.III – 17.IV.2017, MV Light, / Aristophanous, A., Aristophanous, M., / Geiser, M., Moretto, P., leg. / ANHRT:2017.25 // ANHRTUK / 00007316”.

Paratypes (2♂♂):

IVORY COAST: identical data to holotype (1♂ ANHRT) ; LIBERIA: Grassfield, Nimba Mts., ix-x.1968, A. Forbes-Watson (1♂ NHMUK) .

Description

Forewing length: holotype: 27 mm; paratypes: 27 mm.

Upperside. Ground colour of head, thorax and abdomen purplish-brown. Vertex with a slight crest. Antenna strongly fasciculate, with brown scaling along its entire length and white scaling basally. Patagia with a patch of blueish-grey scales medially on posterior margin. Tegulae with outer anterior margin white. Posterior margin of thorax and abdominal segments 1-2 with blueish-grey markings medially. Forewing triangular, produced and broadly pointed at apex; outer margin falcate. Ground colour reddish-brown, darker in the submarginal region; a large dark greenish-brown spot at base with lighter cream scales on its outer edge, bisected laterally partially or completely. Basal two-thirds (up to the postmedial line) with silverymauve diffuse patches separated by bands of the ground colour; double antemedial band sinuate, very pale, the outermost stronger and wider, and a transverse band arising nearly halfway along the costa and terminating at the postmedial band, following the rough outline of vein M1. Discal spot cream, well-developed. Postmedial band dark brown, straight but kinked at a right angle at vein M1 with a line of silverymauve scales on the outer edge of the postmedial line, more prominent basally. Submarginal band dark greenish-brown linking triangular apical marking with triangular tornal marking. Apical marking with olive scaling along the inner margin; tornal marking with olive scaling markings on both inner and outer margins. Hindwing margin falcate, becoming more pronounced towards the tornus; ground colour brick red, darker in the submarginal area. Anal fold with a small narrow black marking towards the tornus. Tornal patch between vein CuA2 and the anal fold consists of an elongate olive marking, internally emarginate medially on vein CuP, with two further lines on its inner margin, one dark greenish-brown, the other grey, following the outline of the patch.

Underside: Ground colour of head, thorax and abdomen bright orangey-red. Labial palps the same ground colour except for their greyish-mauve apices. Legs brown, pro- and metafemurs with heavy silverymauve scaling, metatibia with a white circular marking basally. Forewing ground colour rusty-brown becoming darker beyond two dark brown postmedial lines. Apex of wing with a trapezoidal white marking not reaching the outer margin. Hindwing slightly lighter in tone, with a well-developed dark brown, sinuate postmedial line.

Male genitalia. Uncus long, narrow and gently arcuate, truncate and rounded at apex. Gnathos developed as a pair of well-sclerotised rounded lobes; distal margin slightly serrate. Vinculum v-shaped and well-developed. Juxta conical, strongly produced, emarginate apically in ventral view, arcuate in lateral view with a sharp projection medially at basal third; apical half with serrations proximally. Valve ovaline in shape; sacculus straight ventrally, dorsally gently arcuate; harpe bilobed, the dorsal lobe trapezoid, rounded at angles and strongly sclerotised along its dorsal margin, proximal lobe quadrangular, slightly hooked distally at apex. Valve costa very short. Phallus well-sclerotised apically slightly expanded and produced into a carinal hook with an excavation on its dorsal margin basally; caecum short and anteriorly rounded. Vesica expanded basally into a spherical sac.

Female unknown.

Diagnosis

Polyptychus lucindae ( Fig. 9 ) is similar in appearance to P. lagnelae (Fig. 12) but is on average a smaller moth with less contrasting forewing markings. On the forewing, the subterminal region in the latter is of a darker brown colouration, the apical patch and tornal patch is not linked by a submarginal line and the apical patch is more longitudinally elongate with a clear pale olive stripe bisecting it. The forewing underside is darker towards the outer margin. In the male genitalia, the juxta in P. lagnelae (Fig. 13) is nearly twice as long as in P. lucindae ( Fig. 10 ) and lacks apical serrations, the dorsal distal lobe of the harpe is arcuate distally and the ventral lobe is more digitate. The phallus in P. lagnelae (Fig. 14) is narrower, longer, and the basal expansion of the vesica is larger compared to that of P. lucindae ( Fig. 11 ).

DNA divergences

The new species has been assigned the BIN BOLD:AEK2399. Intraspecific PWD were 0.0% (n=2) and interspecific PWD between the new species and P. lagnelae were 4.8–5.0%.

Figures

Figures 9–11. Polyptychus lucindae sp. nov.: 9 – holotype ♂, upperside; 10 – idem., genital capsule; 11 – idem., phallus. Figures 12–14. Polyptychus lagnelae Pierre, 2014: 12 – ♂, Gabon, Dilo ANPN camp, Ivindo [ANHRTUK00073409], upperside; 13 – idem., genital capsule; 14 – idem., phallus. Scale bar equals 10 mm for the adults and 1 mm for the genitalia.