Dichagyris guentereberti, Varga, Zoltán, Ronkay, Gábor & Ronkay, László, 2021

Varga, Zoltán, Ronkay, Gábor & Ronkay, László, 2021, Contributions To The Taxonomy And Biogeography Of The Genus Dichagyris (Subg. Dichagyris) Lederer, 1867 (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Noctuinae), Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 67 (4), pp. 313-340 : 326-329

Dichagyris guentereberti sp. n.

( Figs 25, 26, 47, 48)

Holotype. Male , Central Afghanistan, Koh-i-Baba Mts, southern side, Pandjao, 2560

m, 20–22.VII.1966, leg. G. Ebert; slide No. VZ 8424m (coll. SMNK) . Paratypes. Afghanistan. 1 male, with same data as holotype; 1 male, Central Afghanistan , Helmand, Mullah-Jacub-Pass, 3000 m , 16.VII.1966, leg. G. Ebert; 1 male, East Af- ghanistan, Salang-Pass, northern side ( Khinjan ), 2100 m , 5–11.VII.1966, leg. G. Ebert (coll. SMNK). Slide Nos VZ 8517m , VZ 9267m.

Diagnosis. The new species is on average slightly larger (wingspan 37–38 mm) than its sister taxon D. taftana , having more elongate, apically more acute forewings. Collar and tegulae with diffuse darker margin, being generally much lighter than in any subspecies of D. taftana . Hindwings also much light- er than in D. taftana , whitish with diffuse light grey marginal area. The male genitalia of D. guentereberti differ from those of D. taftana by the more tapering distal part of valvae and the slenderer, apically more acute harpe (clasper).

Description. A relatively large species (37–38 mm) with rather elongate, apically acute narrow triangular forewings. Antennae finely ciliate, head light ochreous-grey. Thorax and forewings light greyish-ochreous, collar and tegulae with diffuse darker margin. Patterns of forewings generally faint, crosslines with dark brown patches on costa, antemedial line scattered, medial shadow diffuse, postmedial line crenulate; submarginal area with darker brownish suffusion; inner part of cilia light brownish-ochreous, outer part white. Hindwings silky whitish with diffuse light grey margin. Female unknown.

Male genitalia ( Figs 47, 48). The configuration of the genital capsule is as those of D. taftana but the valvae are more tapering distally, the harpe (clasper) is slenderer and more acute terminally, and the dorsal margin of juxta is concave. The vesica is also similar in the two species; the folded transversal stripe of D. guentereberti is less sclerotised than that of D. taftana .

Bionomics and distribution. The new species seems to be restricted to the central part of the Hindukush mountain system, from the Koh-i-Baba massif to the Salang pass. It must be extremely rare since only four specimens were found in the several thousands of Noctuidae moths collected in Afghanistan in the second half of the last century .

Etymology. The new species is gratefully dedicated to Mr. Günter Ebert, honoured expert in Lepidoptera research and conservation, and prominent researcher of the fauna of Afghanistan.

Remarks. One of the paratypes has teratological genitalia with malformed aedeagus and vesica.

Taxonomy of the D. humilis group with the description of a new species and a new subspecies

Dichagyris humilis was described by BOURSIN (1940) based on a short but externally fairly diverse series of both sexes, collected in the central part of the Elburs mountains in 2000–3200 m altitudes. In the original description the relatively isolated status of this species was enhanced by some peculiar characters of male genitalia, as the reduction of the corona, the finely dentate, strong carina and the relatively long, needle-shaped cornutus of the vesica.

The externally somewhat different, lighter ochreous coloured specimens from the northern part of the Zaghros Mts (Prov. Hamadan, Mt. Alvend) were separated from the typical subspecies by Boursin in the same article as ssp. elvendi . Its taxonomic ranking seems, however, to be dubious, since the specimens collected in Prov. Zanjan, north of this region, cannot be differentiated from the typical subspecies. Moreover, specimens with yellowish colouration occur also in the eastern part of the Elburz Mts (near Shahrud, Shahkuhe-Pa’in) while the specimens from the most northeastern province of Iran (Khorasan, Kuh-i-Binaloud) display a concolorous greyish-ochreous brown colouration with blurred pattern. All these externally slightly differentiated populations show, however, little variation in their genital characters, as opposed to the eastern sister species, described below .