Siccia megista, Volynkin, 2023

Volynkin, Anton V., 2023, Contribution to the knowledge of the genus Siccia Walker (= Aemene Walker, syn. n.) in the Afrotropics with descriptions of seventy-three new species, three new subspecies, and a check-list of Asiatic taxa of the genus (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae: Lithosiini), Ecologica Montenegrina 64, pp. 1-184 : 55-56

Siccia megista sp. n.

https://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:5BDCD902-4BAD-4958-8A65-F582EB196A3C

( Figs 125–129 , 369, 370 , 491 )

Type material. Holotype ( Figs 125 , 369 ): male, “ Liberia 103m | Sinoe County, 6.5km NW | of Jacksonville, Forest near | Solve Problem Village | 5°26'25''N, 9°7'39.9''W | 23–27.i.2018 MV Light Trap | Geiser, M., Sáfián, Sz., | Simonics, G. Leg. | ANHRT:2017.33” / “ANHRTUK | 00098917” (DNA barcode iD) / “Slide | AV5656 ♂ | A. Volynkin ” ( ANHRT).

Paratypes. LIBERIA: 2 females, 585m, Lofa County, Wologizi Mts, Rosewood Camp , 8˚06'14.9''N, 9˚58'27.3''W, 18.xi.–1.xii.2018, MV Light Trap, Sáfián, Sz., Simonics, G. leg., gen. prep. No.: AV5276 ( ANHRT) ; 1 male, 883m, Lofa County, Wologizi Mts., Ridge Camp 2, 8˚7'20.79''N, 9˚56'50.75''W, 22–31.xi.2018, Light Trap Blended Bulb (250W), Sáfián, Sz., Simonics, G. leg., gen. prep. No.: AV5275 ( ANHRT) ; 4 males, 611m, Lofa County, Wologizi Mts , base camp forest, 8˚07'17''N, 9˚57'42''W, 20.xi.– 01.xii.2017, MV Light Trap (125w), Aristophanous, M., Sáfián, Sz., Simonics, G. & Smith, L. leg., gen. prep. Nos.: AV4460, AV4472 ( ANHRT) ; 4 males, 530m, Lofa County, Foya Proposed Protected Area , 7˚56'36''N, 10˚16'36''W, 10–19.xi.2017, MV Light Trap (125w), Aristophanous, M., Sáfián, Sz., Simonics, G., & Smith, L., leg., gen. prep. Nos.: AV4536, AV4538, AV4605, AV4608 ( ANHRT) ; 1 male, 494m, Nimba County, Nimba Mts., ENNR, Grassfield FDA Field Station , 7˚29'32.45''N, 34˚34'54.05''W, 22.xi.2018, Light Trap, Blended Bulb (250W), Sáfián, Sz., Simonics, G. leg. ( ANHRT) ; IVORY COAST: 1 male, 174m, Taï NP, Taï Research Station ( SRET) , 05˚50'00''N, 07˚20'32.0''W, 25.iii.–17.iv.2017, MV light, Aristophanous, A., Aristophanous, M., Geiser, M., Moretto, P. leg., gen. prep. No.: AV4491 ( ANHRT) ; 2 males, the same locality as previous but 14–23.xi.[20]15, Light Trap , Aristophanous, M., Moretto, P., Ruzzier, E. leg., gen. prep. Nos.: AV3182, AV3319 ( ANHRT) ; 1 male, the same locality as previous but 5– 10.vii.2015, Light Trap, Aristophanous, M., Moretto, P., Ruzzier, E. leg., gen. prep. No.: AV5652 ( ANHRT) ; 1 male, 59m, Azagny NP, 05˚14'33.7''N, 04˚48'06.2''W, 26.xi.–1.xii.[20]15, Light Trap, Aristophanous, M., Moretto, P., Ruzzier, E. leg., gen. prep. No.: AV3318 ( ANHRT) ; GABON: 6 males, 430m, Mikongo (Rougier) , Monts de Cristal ( Secondary Forest ), 0˚29'47''N, 11˚10'42''E, 28.vii.– 12.viii.2019, MV, Actinic & LepiLED Light Traps, Albert, J.-L., Aristophanous, M., Bie Mba, J., Dérozier, V., Moretto, P. leg., gen. prep. Nos.: AV5712, AV6571, AV6572, AV6609, AV6612 ( ANHRT) ; REPUBLIC OF CONGO: 4 males, 349m, Likouala Prov., Nouabale-Ndoki National Park, Makao forest ( Secondary forest ), 02°36'42.5''N 17°09'23.8''E, 24–29.ix.2022, Actinic Light Trap, Dérozier, V., Fouka, B., Kirk-Spriggs, A., Takano, H. leg. ( ANHRT) ; 1 male, 372m, Nouabale-Ndoki National Park, Mbeli camp, 02°14'23.8''N, 16°23'52.1''E, 14–20.ii.2023, MV light trap, Bakala, N., M., Dérozier, V., Kirk-Spriggs, A., László, G. leg. ( ANHRT) ; DRC: 1 male, 1 female, Salonga National Park, 02°45'22.79''S 20°18'55.56''E, Ekongo Camp , December 2016, V.D. Kravchenko & G.C. Müler ( GMF-B) ; 3 males, the same data as previous but January 2017 ( GMF-B) .

Diagnosis. The forewing length is 8.5–11.0 mm in males and 12.5–13.0 mm in females. Most specimens of the new species are somewhat larger in size than the other species in the species-group (except S. dentiloba , which has paler wings and smaller spots of the forewing pattern), but reliable identification requires the examination of the genitalia structures. The male genital capsule of S. megista is similar to S. rarita but distinguished by the shorter and proximally broader valva, the trapezoidal ventral process of the costa bearing a short triangular process directed distal-dorsally, and the shorter cucullus having a markedly broader ventral lobe and a shorter and apically pointed distal lobe (it is apically rounded in S. rarita ). The phallus of the new species is somewhat longer than in S. rarita (in proportion to the tegumen-vinculum complex length). Compared to S. rarita , the vesica of S. megista is somewhat broader and has a smaller subbasal diverticulum. Since the female of S. rarita is unknown, the female genitalia of S. megista were compared with S. cretata , from which they differ in the lack of the ventral subostial lobes, the shorter and narrower ductus bursae with a longer and anteriorly tapered medial sclerotised plate (it is rather rectangular in the congener), the shorter and narrower corpus bursae bearing more robust spinulose scobination posteriorly, and the proximally narrower appendix bursae. Additionally, the lateral subostial lobes of S. megista are shorter than in S. cretata and smooth whereas they are rugose and laterally curved posteriad in the congener.

Molecular data. The COI-5P sequences of the Gabonese and West African populations of S. megista largely diverge from each other by 6.29–6.64% and, additionally, have been recovered separately in both the phylogenetic trees. The intrapopulational divergences of COI-5P sequences calculated from three specimens from Gabon and eight specimens from Liberia and Ivory Coast are in the range of 0.15–0.77% and 0.00–0.62%, respectively. However, these populations display no recognisable morphological differences therefore it is impossible to separate them even at subspecific level. The pairwise distance between the Gabonese and West African populations of S. megista and the morphologically most similar S. rarita is in the range of 5.11–5.79% and 6.78–7.99%, respectively.

Distribution. The new species is currently known from Liberia, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, and Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Etymology. The specific epithet is derived from the Greek ‘μέγιστος’ meaning ‘largest’ and refers to the large size of the new species. The name is a noun in the nominative singular in apposition.

Figures

Figures 125–136. Siccia spp., adults. Depositories of the specimens: 125–131, 133–135 in ANHRT; 132 in NHMUK (©The Trustees of NHMUK); 136 in MfN.

Figures 369–372. Siccia spp., male genitalia. The specimens dissected are deposited in ANHRT.

Figures 488–491. Siccia spp., female genitalia. Depositories of the specimens dissected: 488, 489 and 491 in ANHRT; 490 in GMF-B.