Barsine paraprominens Huang & Wang, 2018

Huang, Si-Yao, Ji, Shu-Qin, Wang, Min & Fan, Xiao-Ling, 2018, Barsine paraprominens sp. nov. (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Arctiinae, Lithosiini) from China, with notes on four new records, Zootaxa 4457 (1), pp. 189-196 : 190-192

Barsine paraprominens Huang & Wang sp. nov.

( Figs. 1–2 , 6–7 )

Type material. Holotype: male, 2130 m, 30. VII. 2017, Pailong Village , LinZhi County, LinZhi Division, XiZang Autonomous Region, P. R. China, leg. Si-yao Huang, Shu-qin Ji, Fu-hong Wei and Shi-fang Mo . Paratype: 1 male, same label as holotype. The two types are deposited in the InseCt ColleCtion of Department of Entomology, South China AgriCultural University ( SCAU), GuangZhou, P. R. China .

Diagnosis. B. paraprominens is CharaCteriZed by forewing having vivid yellow ground Color and Continuous antemedial transverse fasCia and hindwing having obsCure postmedial blaCkish fasCia and blaCk lengthwise strokes along veins.

Description. Male. Length of forewing 12.5– 14 mm. Antennae Ciliate, dorsally with basal one-third yellow and distal two-thirds blaCk. Head yellow. ThoraX yellow, with four prominent blaCk spots on dorsal surfaCe. Tegulae yellow. Abdomen Covered by yellowish long hair dorsally and ventrally. Ground Color of dorsal surfaCe of forewing vivid yellow, with blaCk pattern. A dot-like spot present at subbasal area, inner transverse fasCia Consisted of three separated spots, antemedial fasCia direCted outwards, medial fasCia waved, shifting basally at disCal Cell, nearly touChing antemedial fasCia; disCoCellular spot CresCent-shaped, plaCed near postmedial fasCia; postmedial fasCia with a M-shaped bulge medially; the remaining part of the wing with blaCk lengthwise strokes along veins. Hindwing dorsal surfaCe with ground Color slightly paler than forewing, pattern Comprising a diffuse blaCkish medial band near wing base, an obsCure postmedial blaCkish fasCia at about two-thirds of the wing, and several blaCk lengthwise strokes along veins eXterior to the postmedial blaCkish fasCia.

Male genitalia. UnCus long, slender and Curved medially, with sharp apeX. Tegumen short and broad. JuXta short and broad, with two small reCtangular apiCal lobes. SaCCus broad, U-shaped. Valvae slender, gradually broadening towards apeX, widest at distal Costal proCess. Costa strongly sClerotiZed, medial Costal proCess triangular, long and direCted ventrally; distal Costal proCess moderately long ( Fig. 6 ) or very short ( Fig. 7 ), triangular and direCted dorsally. ApiCal lobe of valvae broad. Basal part of saCCulus lightly sClerotiZed; distal saCCular proCess slender, gradually tapering to the apeX, with the shape varying from totally straight ( Fig. 6 ) to medially Curved ( Fig. 7 ). Aedeagus short, robust, and with a strong Carinal plate distally. VesiCa broad and globular; a semiCirCular lateroventral divertiCulum present, sCobinated with numerous small spines; distally with a field of shortand robust spine-like Cornuti, whiCh oCCupies about a quarter of the total surfaCe of vesiCa; a long and broad Cornutus positioned right neXt to the Cornuti field.

Female. Unknown.

Distribution. This speCies is only known to oCCur in Pailong village in SE. XiZang Autonomous Region at present.

Etymology. The speCifiC name paraprominens is derived from prominens sinCe the new speCies strikingly resembles B. prominens Moore in appearanCe.

Remarks. EXternally, B. paraprominens sp. nov. is similar to Barsine prominens (Moore) ( Fig. 3–4 , 8 ) distributed in Nepal, India and China. But it Can be easily distinguished from the latter by the following CharaCters: 1) The antemedial transverse fasCia in forewing is Continuous, not interrupted into three short fasCiae as in B. prominens . 2) The medial transverse fasCia on forewing Curves inwardly in disCal Cell, whereas in B. prominens suCh fasCia is nearly straight from Costa to dorsum. 3) An obsCure blaCkish fasCia borders the interior of the blaCk lengthwise strokes along veins in hindwing, whereas suCh a fasCia is totally absent in B. prominens . 4) Valvae gradually broadening from base to apeX, with the widest part at distal Costal proCess, while in B. prominens the valve broadening at the middle portion and gradually narrowing to the apeX, with the widest part basally of distal Costal proCess. 5) On aedeagus vesiCa, the area of Cornuti field is smaller than in B. prominens , only oCCupies less than a quarter of the total surfaCe; lower portion of the vesiCa does not eXtend downwards; while in B. prominens the area of Cornuti field is larger, lower portion of the vesiCa eXtends downwards, forming a triangular divertiCulum.

The new speCies is also similar to reCently desCribed B. wernerthomasi Volynkin ( Figs. 5 , 9 ) from Sikkim and E. Nepal ( Volynkin, 2018). But it Can be easily distinguished from the latter by the following CharaCters: 1) forewing antemedial transverse fasCia Continuous, not interrupted into short fasCiae as in B. wernerthomasi . 2) forewing medial transverse fasCia Curved inwards in disCal Cell, whereas in B. wernerthomasi suCh fasCia slightly Curves outwards in disCal Cell. 3) disCoCellular spot situated near postmedial fasCia, nearly touChing it; whereas in B. wernerthomasi the disCoCellular spot is situated far from the postmedial fasCia. 4) in valvae, distal saCCular proCess thiCker and blunter, whereas in B. wernerthomasi it is slender and sharper. 5) on aedeagus vesiCa, a long and robust Cornuti field on apiCal divertiCulum, whereas in B. wernerthomasi there is only a robust granular field on apiCal divertiCulum.

The new speCies is somewhat similar to B. multistriata ( Hampson, 1894) distributed in India, China and Thailand in the details of valvae and vesiCa. But we Can easily distinguish it from the latter by the following CharaCters (refer to Kirti & Singh 2016, p. 80 for B. multistriata ): 1) ground Color of both wings vivid yellow, not yellowish white as in B. multistriata . 2) antemedial and medial bands totally separated, not Confluent as in B. multistriata . 3) aedeagus vesiCa with only one prominent Cornuti field, while in B. multistriata the aedeagus vesiCa presents two distinCt Cornuti fields.

Figures

FIGURES 1–5. Barsine spp.: 1, B. paraprominens sp. nov., holotype male, Xizang (SCAU); 2, B. paraprominens sp. nov., paratype male, Xizang (SCAU); 3, B. prominens, syntype male, Khasis (©Natural History Museum); 4, B. prominens, male, Darjeeling (photograph by Dr. Anton Volynkin); 5, B. wernerthomasi, holotype male, Darjeeling (photograph by Dr. Anton Volynkin). Scale bar=1 cm.

FIGURES 6–9. Male genitalia of Barsines spp.: 6, B. paraprominens sp. nov., holotype; 7, B. paraprominens sp. nov., paratype; 8, B. prominens; 9, B. wernerthomasi, holotype. 8, 9 by courtesy of Dr. Anton Volynkin.