Cragandhara himalaya, Volynkin, 2023

Volynkin, Anton V., 2023, Cragandhara, a new genus for two new species from India (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae: Lithosiini), Ecologica Montenegrina 69, pp. 84-90 : 88-90

Cragandhara himalaya sp. n.

https://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:CBC64575-9597-4065-BE6C-97B024B3DFA0

( Figs 1, 2 , 10 , 15 )

Type material. Holotype ( Figs 1 , 10 ): male, [NE India, north of West Bengal] “Gopaldhara, | Darjeeling, | 3440–5800 '. | (H. Stevens). | 22.IX.[19]18.” / “Rothschild | Bequest | B.M. 1939-1.” / QR-code label with unique ID “ NHMUK010292457 ” | “Slide | NHMUK0104331720 ” ( NHMUK).

Paratype. INDIA: female, [NE India, north of West Bengal] Gopaldhara, Mirik, Sikkim, H. Stevens / Rothschild Bequest B.M. 1939-1 / QR-code label with unique ID: NHMUK010916194 , gen. prep. No.: NHMUK0104331732 ( NHMUK) .

Diagnosis. The forewing length is 11.0 mm in the male holotype and 12.0 mm in the female paratype. The male of C. himalaya sp. n. is externally distinguished from C. khasia sp. n. by its slightly smaller size, and the narrower forewing with a less distally convex costal margin and a narrower ochreous yellow costal stripe. The male genital capsule of C. himalaya sp. n. differs from C. khasia sp. n. in the larger spinulose bunches of the anellus, the narrower distal section of the valva, the longer setose crest of the ventral plate of the costa, and the longer distal saccular process. The phallus of the new species is somewhat proximally narrower than in C. khasia sp. n. Compared to C. khasia sp. n., the vesica of C. himalaya sp. n. has somewhat shorter and narrower diverticula, and bears a slightly longer and thinner cornutus. The female genitalia of the new species were characterised and diagnosed above under the new genus.

Distribution. Northeast India (north of West Bengal).

Etymology. The specific epithet is derived from the Himalaya mountain system and refers to the occurrence of the new species in it. The name is a noon in nominative singular in apposition to the generic name.

Figures

Figures 1–9. Lithosiina spp.: adults. Depositories of the specimens: 1–3 in NHMUK (©The Trustees of NHMUK); 4 in MfN; 5 in MWM/ZSM; 6, 8 and 9 in ANHRT; 7 in ZFMK (photo by S.-Y. Huang).

Figures 10–12. Lithosiina spp.: male genitalia. Depositories of the specimens dissected: 10 and 11 in NHMUK (©The Trustees of NHMUK); 12 in ANHRT.

Figures 15–18. Lithosiina spp.: female genitalia. Depositories of the specimens dissected: 15 in NHMUK (©The Trustees of NHMUK); 16 in MWM/ZSM; 17 and 18 in ANHRT.