Unciella Troubridge, 2008

Troubridge, J. T., 2008, A generic realignment of the Oncocnemidini sensu Hodges (1983) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Oncocnemidinae), with description of a new genus and 50 new species, Zootaxa 1903 (1), pp. 1-95 : 58-59

Unciella Troubridge gen. n. ( Psaphidinae : Triocnemidini )

Type species. Oncocnemis primula Barnes and McDunnough, 1918 (Fig H-19).

Gender. Feminine.

Diagnosis. Externally, Unciella is characterized by the creamy white color of the forewing with indistinct antemedial and postmedial lines and the entire wing basal to the subterminal line heavily mottled with gray. Internally, the male genitalia of Unciella species are characterized by the following: the lightly sclerotized sacculus forms a low ridge across the basal ¼ of the valve, the ampulla of the clasper points dorsally; the setae on the cucullus form a corona on outer margin of the cucullus; the digitus is absent; the vesica is tube-shaped, arcs downward, and is covered with spine-like cornuti, and the uncus is relatively broad, rounded apically, with a minute apical spine. In the female genitalia, the ductus bursae is relatively long, deeply furrowed, and attaches to the left side of the tear-shaped bursae copulatrix at about mid section. The corpus bursae is rounded anteriorly with a single signa, tapering into the deeply furrowed appendix bursae to a posterior point. The most closely related genera are Triocnemis Grote and Crimona Smith , both monotypic. Internally, the uncus is narrower in these genera, and there is a bulbous cornutus on the vesica, absent in Unciella . The ductus bursae is wider and not so deeply furrowed in Triocnemis and the appendix bursae is sac-like and more distinctly separated from the corpus bursae than in Unciella . In Crimona , a large, sclerotized pouch is present on the ductus bursae and the appendix bursae is reduced.

Description. Head: antenna filiform, ciliate ventrally; eye unlashed, smooth, round, without surface hair. Thorax: prothoracic collar smoothly scaled with spatulate scales; mesothorax and metathorax clothed with hair-like scales. Legs: foretibia with broad sclerotized spine; tarsi with three ventral rows of setae on each seg- ment. Abdomen: coremata with brushes, levers, and pockets absent from base of abdomen. Male genitalia: (Fig. O-12) uncus relatively wide, about 3x as wide as deep, clothed with long, hairlike setae; apex of uncus rounded with thin terminal spine; valve of uniform width, tapering through cucullus to blunt, dorsal point; sacculus forms a low ridge along basal ¼ of valve; cucullus not well differentiated from remainder of valve; a row of fine setae forms a corona along outer margin of cucullus; digitus absent; clasper projects dorsally near posterior end of sacculus; aedeagus 5– 6x as long as wide, downcurved posteriorly; apex of aedeagus granulose; vesica about as long as aedeagus, projecting downward from aedeagus, vesica tubular, without diverticulae, almost completely covered by a field of spine-like cornuti. Female genitalia: (Fig. U-5) bursae copulatrix unisaccate, teardrop shaped; corpus bursae rounded anteriorly with single signa, tapering posteriorly through deeply furrowed appendix bursae to a posterior point at junction of ductus seminalis; ductus bursae deeply furrowed, about as long as corpus bursae plus appendix bursae; ovipositor lobes somewhat squared off apically with scattered long and short setae.

Etymology. The gray and cream wing pattern of the two known species is like that of the snow leopard, Uncia uncia (Schreber) . With the Latin suffix, the name suggests a small snow leopard.

Discussion. I place Unciella in the Triocnemidini . The closest relative to Unciella is Triocnemis but differs from it in the characters cited above. Included in Unciella are Unciella primula (Barnes and McDunnough) comb. n. and Unciella flagrantis (Smith) comb. n., previously placed in Oncocnemis .