Smerinthulus mirabilis mirabilis ( Rothschild, 1894 )

Jiang, Zhuo-Heng, Xu, Zhen-Bang, Lin, Yi-Ting, Liu, Chang-Qiu, Wang, Xin & Hu, Shao-Ji, 2025, New records and notes of hawkmoths from China (Lepidoptera, Bombycoidea), Zootaxa 5673 (2), pp. 151-188 : 161-162

Smerinthulus mirabilis mirabilis ( Rothschild, 1894) [BNJÊ天ẽDz名亚Ñ]

( Figures 13–17 )

Cypa mirabilis Rothschild, 1894 ; Novit. zool., 1: 664; TL: ‘ Khasia Hills’ [Khasi Hills, Meghalaya, India].

Material examined. CHINA: ♂, Nyingchi , Xizang Autonomous Region (2130m), 21-VI-2023, Zhong Peng leg. [JZHC] .

Diagnosis. Male ( Figures 13A–B , 15A , 17 ): The head is yellow-brown with ochre hairs dorsally. The thorax is yellow-brown with two dorsal ochre lines. The abdomen is yellow-brown dorsally with ochre hairs and a central row of pale golden dots; laterally with a yellow stripe. The forewing is triangular with a pointed apex; outer margin crenulate, the distal portion of the inner margin strongly concave. Upperside ground color a deep ferruginous-red, variably patterned with ochreous and orange-yellow patches; the black discal spot has a small transparent center. The basal area includes a dark ochreous patch and a curved line, an olive irregular shape near the cell, a broad brown zigzag stripe, a creamy yellow patch near the tornus, and the apex has a small concavity. Underside—pattern resembles the upperside, but with a paler ground color. The hindwing has the ground color in deep reddish-brown, with faint medial and submarginal bands. Costal margin strongly excavated, forming a prominent subapical lobe. Underside—ground color yellow with a black discal spot; the submarginal line displays a conspicuous reddish-brown, leaf-shaped patch on the edge.

Female: Similar to the male, though significantly larger, with an ochraceous ground color. Wings broader, with heavier and more extensive patterns. Antennae noticeably slenderer.

Male genitalia ( Figures 14A–D , 16A ): Uncus broad, with apex bifurcated into a pair of lobes, each ending in a sharp curved hook. Gnathos absent. Valve rounded, dorsal margin thickened and bent inward, bearing a long, sharp spine ventrally and a sharp hook at the apex. Sacculus with a ventral, elongated, upwardly curved sclerite. Phallus slender, lacking an apical tooth.

Distribution. China (SE Xizang), Nepal, India ( Figure 1 ).

Biological notes. This species was collected in middle to high elevation evergreen broad-leaf forest, either attracted to light at night or found hanging on plants at rest by day. This moth can be easily identified by its unique resting attitude: the wings slightly roll upward and are held so that the strongly curved lobe of the hindwing projects well in front of the costa of forewings ( Figure 17 ).

Remarks. This splendid moth occurs from Southeast Asia, southern China and parts of Himalaya regions, generally inhabiting montane forest over 1000 m. Thus, a number of subspecies have been separated from different mountain ranges based on phylogenetic analyses and small differences in appearance, including the male genitalia ( Haxaire, Melichar, Kitching & Brechlin, 2022) ( Figure 15–16 ). The exact borders of the ranges and the taxonomic status of these subspecies requires further verification in future. In this study, we recorded the nominotypical subspecies of S. mirabilis in SE Tibet from China first time, confirmed by DNA barcoding.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Geographic distribution of Smerinthinae and Sphinginae species included in this study.

FIGURE 13. Habitus of Smerinthulus mirabilis mirabilis, male, Nyingchi, Xizang Autonomous Region, China. (A) Upperside; (B) underside. Scale bar = 10 mm.

FIGURE 14. Male genitalia of Smerinthulus mirabilis mirabilis, Nyingchi, Xizang Autonomous Region, China. (A) Genital ring; (B) Left valve; (C) Right valve(D) Phallus.

FIGURE 15. Habitus of Smerinthulus mirabilis from China. (A) S. m. mirabilis, Nyingchi, Xizang Autonomous Region; (B) S. m. tonkiniana, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan; (C) S. m. orientosinica, Longyan, Fujian; (D) S. m. schnitzleri, Nantou, Taiwan. Scale bar = 10 mm.

FIGURE 16. Male genitalia of Smerinthulus mirabilis from the Chinese mainland. (A) S. m. mirabilis, Nyingchi, Xizang Autonomous Region; (B) S. m. orientosinica, Longyan, Fujian; (C) S. m. tonkiniana, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan.

FIGURE 17. Habitat and living adult (male) of S. m. mirabilis in Nyingchi, Xizang Autonomous Region, China.