Hypotrabala aurantiaca, Takano & László, 2024

Takano, Hitoshi & László, Gyula M., 2024, Descriptions of new Hypotrabala Holland, 1893 (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae: Lasiocampinae: Selenepherini) in the collections of the African Natural History Research Trust, with notes on allied genera and the description of a new genus, Ecologica Montenegrina 72, pp. 19-63 : 28-29

Hypotrabala aurantiaca sp. n.

https://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:9DE91E8E-9A48-4D58-B00F-29216C3B3B6B

( Figs 9–10 , 62 )

Holotype ♂ ( ANHRT):

“ GABON 430m / Mikongo (Rougier), Monts / de Cristal (Secondary foest) / 0°29’47”N, 11°10’42”E / 28.vii-12.viii.2019 MV LightTrap / Albert, J-L., Aristophanous, M., / Bie Mba, J., Dérozier, V., /

Moretto, P. Leg. / ANHRT:2019.17 // ANHRTUK / 00130993 // Gen. slide No. / LG 6301 ♂ / prep. by Gy. M. Laszlo [black border; partially handwritten]”

Paratype ♂:

GABON: same data as holotype (1♂ ANHRT) .

Description.

Forewing length: holotype and paratype: 28 mm.

Upperside. Ground colour of head and thorax orange, irrorated with brown scales; abdomen ochraceous-salmon. Antenna bipectinate, brown. Forewing angled at apex, outer margin gently arcuate, anal margin convex. Ground colour orange, anal margin edged with dark grey scaling. Antemedial fascia dark brown, bilineate, crenulate, arising perpendicularly from costa, and angled to terminate perpendicularly along anal margin. Discal spot large, silvery-white and ringed in black, slightly emarginate distally, a little wider than the widest part of the cell. Postmedial fascia dark brown, bilineate, crenulate, the inner of the two more pronounced; arising perpendicularly from the costa, the two lines converge but do not meet and angle strongly at vein R5 terminating along anal margin. Area between postmedial and subterminal fascia strongly irrorated with dark grey scales, particularly concentrated in a band stretching from discal spot to tornus. Subterminal fascia dark grey, roughly parallel with outer margin, strongly indented proximally between veins M1 and M2, and CuA1 and CuA2. Terminal fascia dark grey edged distally with orange, broadest near apex and becoming weakly defined towards tornus, strongly bisected by orange scales along veins. Fringe dark grey. Hindwing outer margin arcuate, almost angled at vein CuA2; ground colour ochraceous-salmon becoming darker towards anal fold. Costa with dark grey scaling. Fringe pale salmon. Underside. Ground colour pale ochraceous-salmon. Forewing discal spot narrow, white and angled medially. Terminal fascia as on upperside. Hindwing costal margin with dark grey scaling from base to Sc+R1 vein.

Male genitalia. Socius long, ca. half the length of valve, arms narrow at base, gradually tapered to pointed apex, moderately diverging, forming a V-shape with straight medial notch. Tegumen short, moderately broad, inner margin evenly arcuate. Valve relatively long, with a longitudinal sclerotised crest medially running from base to tip, narrow basally, slightly tapered posteriorly, gently arched medially, apex rounded-serrate. Juxta with short, rounded posteromedial process. Vinculum narrow ribbon-like medially, with somewhat triangular, apically rounded lateral plates with slightly arcuate outer and straight inner margin. Phallus short, coecum penis large, as long as sclerotised part of phallus, membranous sack-like, tightly attached to juxta; sclerotised section of phallus tapered distad, postmedially curved dorsad, apically pointed. Vesica basally inflated, relatively small, somewhat cordate, finely scobinate with two moderately long, strongly serrate and arched longitudinal plates anteriorly forming a crescent; posterior sclerotisation absent. Eighth sternite with relatively short, narrow, curly bracket-shaped anterior apodemes medially produced into a narrow trapezoidal plate continued in two moderately long, narrow, distally tapered, apically pointed, almost parallel, heavily sclerotised posterior processes.

Diagnosis. See under H. magnimacula for the distinguishing features between H. aurantiaca and H. guttata . Hypotrabala aurantiaca is phenotypically very similar to H. magnimacula but can easily be distinguished by the male genitalia. In the latter, the socii are considerably longer and somewhat broader, the valves are slightly broader and apically truncate-dentate and the lateral lobes of the vinculum are noticeably longer, whilst the eighth sternite has markedly longer posterior processes, a somewhat narrower central plate, and longer basal apodemes.

DNA divergences. The new species has been assigned the BIN BOLD:AAM8670. Intraspecific PWD was 0.0% (n=2) and the interspecific PWD between the new species and H. guttata was 1.9%.

Derivatio nominis. The new species derives its name from the orange colouration of the wings.

Figures

Figures 5–13. Hypotrabala species: 5. H. guttata (Aurivillius, 1915), ♂, Ivory Coast, Tai NP [ANHRTUK 00024479]. 6. Id., holotype ♂ of Pachymeta guttata Aurivillius, 1915 [NHMUK 010292296]. 7. H. magnimacula sp. n., holotype ♂. 8. Id., paratype ♂. 9. H. aurantiaca sp. n., holotype ♂. 10. Id., paratype ♂. 11. H. retorta sp. n., holotype ♂. 12. Id., paratype ♂. 13. Id., paratype ♀.

Figures 60–65. Male genitalia of Hypotrabala species, a: clasping apparatus, b: lateral view of phallus, c: eighth sternite, d: dorsal view of phallus (a, b, c to scale, d magnified). 60. H. guttata (Aurivillius, 1915), Liberia [LG 6298]. 61. H. magnimacula sp. n., holotype [LG 6299]. 62. H. aurantiaca sp. n., holotype [LG 6301]. 63. H. retorta sp. n., holotype [LG 6303]. 64. H. castanea, Republic of Congo [LG 6317]. 65. H. smithi sp. n., holotype [LG 6315].