Lithostege fissurata subsp. inanis, Prout

Sh, Hossein Rajaei, Stüning, Dieter & Viidalepp, Jaan, 2011, A review of the species of Lithostege Hübner, [1825] 1816 (Lepidoptera: Geometridae, Larentiinae), occurring in Iran and adjacent countries, with description of two new species from Iran and Pakistan, Zootaxa 3105, pp. 1-46 : 15-16

L. fissurata inanis Prout

( Figs. 18 , 68 ; Map 4)

Lithostege inanis Prout, 1941: 331 , pl. 34: i. Holotype 3, allotype Ƥ, BMNH (examined by photo). Type locality: Saudi-Arabia: Khafs.

Lithostege fitzgeraldi Wiltshire, 1947: 10, pl. Fig. 15 ; text-fig. 10. Holotype 3, BMNH (not examined). Type locality: Saudi- Arabia: Artawiya.

Lithostege fissurata inanis : Wiltshire, 1990: 125, fig 81.

Lithostege inanis: Parsons et al., 1999 .

Lithostege fissurata inanis: Hausmann & Seguna, 2005: 11 –15.

Material examined. Type material: Holotype 3: ‘Arabia: Khafs. 26.ii. 1935. H. St. J. B. Philby, B. M. 1935 – 222 ’, ‘Type’, ‘ Lithostege inanis Prout Holotype 3 ’; allotype Ƥ: same data; coll. BMNH.

Additional material: 1 Ƥ: Iran, Belutschistan, Iranshahr, 800 m, 1.- 10.III. 1954, [leg.] Richter u. Schäuffele, gen. prep. 1012 / 2010 H. R. Preparations of genitalia: 1 3, 2 Ƥ.

Description & Diagnosis. Wingspan of the single specimen from Iran: 22 mm. Wings similar to L. fissurata , but without apical dark grey line on forewing ( Fig. 18 ). Female genitalia ( Fig. 68 ) with very short apophyses anteriores (0.1 of apophyses posteriores) and a short funnel-shaped antrum; the pear-shaped corpus bursae fully spinulate, with a small anterior diverticulum. Female genitalia of fissurata without distinct differences. Also the male genitalia of the holotype (studied) almost identical.

Taxonomic note. Wiltshire ( 1990) synonymised L. fitzgeraldi Wiltshire, 1947 with L. inanis Prout, 1941 and simultaneously downgraded this taxon to a subspecies of L. fissurata Mabille, 1888 . The single examined specimen from Iran was recorded by Hausmann & Seguna ( 2005) as L. fissurata inanis Prout, 1941 . The female genitalia of this specimen are highly similar to those of L. fissurata (figured in Hausmann & Seguna ( 2005)). Also the male genitalia of the holotype of L. inanis Prout fit well with those of L. fissurata Mabille. On the other hand, a separation on species-level of inanis and fissurata is supported by genetic differentiation between these two taxa. DNAbarcoding of 5 specimens of fissurata from a wide area of distribution ( Mauretania: 2; Tunisia: 2; Israel: 1) does not show any intraspecific variation, but comparing these with three barcodes of inanis (from United Arab Emirates) reveals a distance of 2.35%, suggesting inanis to be a distinct species. Conventionally, a barcode difference exceeding 2 % is understood as an argument of a species-level difference. It seems not unlikely that long-term isolation between Iranian and Arab populations led to a cryptic species (“in statu nascendi”) in Iran, but without further studies of more material we are not able to decide this question. So here we follow Hausmann & Seguna ( 2005), regarding inanis as a subspecies of L. fissurata .

Bionomics. Specimens studied are collected in January and February.

Distribution. Saudi Arabia, Iraq and SE of Iran ( Hausmann & Seguna, 2005) (Map 4).

Figures

FIGURES 16 – 21. Adult moths of Lithostege Hübner (left column, a: upperside, right column, b: underside). 16. L. notata (3, Sarkhoun, SW Iran); 17. L. fissurata fissurata (Ƥ, Roche de Sel, Algier); 18. L. fissurata inanis (Ƥ, Baluchistan, E Iran); 19. L. parva (3, Kopet-Dagh, Turkmenistan); 20. L. turkmenica (3, Karakum desert, Uzbekistan); 21. L. farinata (Ƥ, Sarepta, Russia). Scale bar: 10 mm.

FIGURES 66 – 71. Lithostege Hübner: Female genitalia & details of abdominal integument. 66. L. samandooki sp. nov. (gen. prep. 1076 H. R.; type locality, S Iran); 67. L. senata (gen. prep. 8611 H. R.; Uzboi, Turkmenistan); 68. L. fissurata inanis (gen. prep. 1012 H. R.; Baluchistan, E Iran), a: genital organ, b: 7 th tergite, dorsal view; 69. L. parva (gen. prep. 1615 H. R.; Wachsch- Tal, Tajiikistan), a: genital organ, b: terminal segments of abdomen, lateral view; 70. L. turkmenica (gen. prep. 7649 J. V.; Uzbekistan, Karakum desert); 71. L. coassata (gen. prep. 1043 H. R., Gonbad, N Iran). Scale bar: 1 mm.

FIGURES 11 – 15. Adult moths of Lithostege Hübner (left column, a: upperside, right column, b: underside). 11. L. dissocyma (Ƥ, Bandar Abbas, S Iran); 12. L. hreblayi sp. nov. (3, type locality, N Pakistan); 13. L. hreblayi sp. nov. (Ƥ, Type locality, N Pakistan); 14. L. samandooki sp. nov. (Ƥ, Type locality, S Iran); 15. L. senata (Repetek, E Turkmenistan). Scale bar: 10 mm.