Spatulignatha hemichrysa ( Meyrick, 1910 )

Liu, Shurong & Wang, Shuxia, 2014, Taxonomic review of the genus Spatulignatha Gozmány, 1978 (Lepidoptera: Lecithocerinae), with descriptions of two new species in China, Zootaxa 3793 (3), pp. 361-370 : 367

Spatulignatha hemichrysa ( Meyrick, 1910)

( Figs. 1 c, 2c, 3c, 4b)

Lecithocera hemichrysa Meyrick, 1910: 447 . Type Locality: Assam, India. Type Depository: BMNH. Spatulignatha hemichrysa (Meyrick) : Gozmány, 1978: 147; Wu, 1997: 172.

Material examined. China: 1 ♂, 1 ♀, Hanmi, Motuo County (29°32'N, 95°33'E), Tibet, 2380 m, 9.viii.2003, coll. Xinpu Wang and Huaijun Xue; 1 ♀, Khasi Hills, Assam, India, iv.1906, coll. Meyrick.

Description. Adult ( Figs. 1 c, 2c) with wing expanse 18.0–20.0 mm.

Female genitalia (Fig. 4b): Apophyses posteriores about twice as long as apophyses anteriores, nearly extended to anterior 1/3 of abdominal sternite VIII. Lamella antevaginalis slightly sclerotized, crescent. Antrum infundibular. Ductus bursae with basal half tubular, weakly sclerotized, distal half slightly expanded, membranous; ductus seminalis arising from distal 1/4 of ductus bursae. Corpus bursae rounded, about half length of ductus bursae; signum placed at middle, small, irregularly rounded, with teeth.

Diagnosis. Spatulignatha hemichrysa is similar to S. olaxana superficially, but can be distinguished by the juxta with posterior half deeply concave in the middle and the postero-lateral lobes nearly triangular in the male genitalia ( Fig. 3 c), and the crescentic lamella antevaginalis in the female genitalia. In S. olaxana , the posterior 1/3 of the juxta is concave in the middle and the postero-lateral lobes are finger-like, and the lamella antevaginalis is nearly rectangular.

Distribution. China (Anhui, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Tibet, Zhejiang), India.

Remarks. Meyrick (1910) described this species from India (Assam) based on one male and one female, and Clarke (1965) provided image of its male genitalia. Gozmány (1978) examined two additional males and two females from China (Gansu, Sichuan, Zhejiang), and provided the image of its female genitalia. During our study of Spatulignatha , we found the female of S. olaxana is the same as that of S. hemichrysa provided by Gozmány (1978) from the result of a critical examination of S. olaxana that were collected from different parts of China with the same collection data. We dissected a female of S. hemichrysa that was identified by Meyrick, borrowed from the British Natural History Museum, and found that the previously described female of S. hemichrysa by Gozmány (1978) was identical to the female of S. olaxana . The female genitalia of S. hemichrysa is described for the first time herein.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Male adults of Spatulignatha spp. a, S. chrysopteryx; b, S. arcuata sp. nov.; c, S. hemichrysa; d, S. idiogena; e, S. longizonalis sp. nov.; f, S. olaxana. (Scales = 2.0 mm).

FIGURE 3. Male genitalia of Spatulignatha spp. a, S. chrysopteryx, slide No. LSR 13076; b, S. arcuata sp. nov., slide No. LSR 13057; c, S. hemichrysa, slide No. LSR 11007; d, S. idiogena, slide No. LSR 12089; e, S. longizonalis sp. nov., slide No. LSR 13039; f, S. olaxana, slide No. LSR 11204. (Scales = 0.5 mm).