Exilisia bipuncta ( Hampson, 1900 )

Volynkin, Anton V., 2020, Two new Exilisia Toulgoët, 1958 from mainland Africa (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Arctiinae), Zootaxa 4768 (4), pp. 596-600 : 600

Exilisia bipuncta ( Hampson, 1900) ( Figs 6 , 9 )

Philenora bipuncta Hampson, 1900 , Catalogue of the Lepidoptera Phalaenae in the collection of the British Museum 2: 508, pl. 33, fig. 21 (Type locality: “ Madagascar, Betsileo ... Cape Colony , Tolini, Transkei ”).

Type material examined. Lectotype ( Figs 6 , 9 ) (designated herein): ♂, handwritten label “ C. Colony 99-25, Miss F. Barrett, Tolini ” / round printed label with a red circle “Type” / “ Arctiidae genitalia slide No. (printed) 494 (handwritten)” / printed label with QR-code NHMUK 010918116 ” (Coll. NHMUK).

Remark. In the species’ original description, Hampson (1900) mentioned two specimens from South Africa and one from Madagascar as well. The author of this present paper could not locate the Madagascan specimen in the NHMUK collection, but most probably it belongs to another, externally similar species (e.g., Parexilisia bipunctoides ( Toulgoët, 1954)) . The second South African syntype specimen mentioned by Hampson (1900) as “Ab. 1.” and described later as ‘ Philenora bipuncta ab. prominens Strand, 1922’ is not conspecific to the first male syntype. In order to preserve stability of nomenclature, the specimen from Cape deposited in the NHMUK collection and labeled as “Type” is designated here as lectotype.

Distribution. South Africa (Eastern Cape Prov.) ( Hampson 1900; Kühne 2007).

Figures

FIGURES 1–6. Exilisia spp.: adults. 1, E. ngai, holotype ♂, Kenya (©NHMUK); 2, E. ngai, paratype ♂, Kenya (©NHMUK); 3, E. smithi, holotype ♂, Liberia (ANHRT); 4, E. smithi, paratype ♂, Liberia (ANHRT); 5, E. smithi, paratype ♀, Liberia (ANHRT); 6, E. bipuncta, lectotype ♂, S Africa (©NHMUK).

FIGURES 7–10. Exilisia spp.: male (7–9) and female (10) genitalia. 7, E. ngai, holotype, Kenya, slide NHMUK010315783 Volynkin (©NHMUK); 8, E. smithi, holotype, Liberia, slide AV5111 Volynkin; 9, E. bipuncta, lectotype, S Africa, slide BMNH(E) Arct. 494 (©NHMUK); 10, E. smithi, paratype, Liberia, slide AV5145 Volynkin.