Cicinnus Blanchard, 1852

Laurent, Ryan A. St & Kawahara, Akito Y., 2019, Reclassification of the Sack-bearer Moths (Lepidoptera, Mimallonoidea, Mimallonidae), ZooKeys 815, pp. 1-114 : 32-33

Cicinnus Blanchard, 1852 Figs 36, 71, 153, 154, 167-168, 169-171; Suppl. material 3: Plate 4

Type species.

Cicinnus orthane Blanchard, 1852.

Diagnosis.

See below in the checklist for specific information pertaining to different species-groups within Cicinnus , but in general Cicinnus can be recognized by their falcate forewings, moderate to relatively large size compared to most other Mimallonidae genera. Small, B-shaped hyaline patches, when present, are found on all four wings or forewings only. Species without hyaline patches are usually heavily marked with irregular blotches and speckles.

Apomorphies.

These apomorphies refer to those of Cicinnus sensu stricto in St Laurent et al. (2018c) and do not apply to Cicinnus s. l.: (1) Vincular arms may (e.g., C. melsheimeri (Harris) or may not (e.g., C. orthane Blanchard) be present; (2) Valvae mostly membranous, mesally more well-sclerotized, often with distinct “clasper” (Fig. 36a).

Remarks.

Annotations following the checklist are provided for each group of Cicinnus as we currently define them: Cicinnus s. s. ( Cicinnus Group 1) and Cicinnus s. l. (which includes Cicinnus s. l. Groups 2, 3, and some species of uncertain placement). The annotations include diagnostic characters which can be treated as apomorphic of these preliminary groupings of similar species, and may eventually be used to define formal genera (e.g., the available name Gonogramma Boisduval, see Annotation 98, may eventually be resurrected to include the species treated here as Cicinnus s. l.). The morphological phylogenetic analyses do not fully resolve the relationships of species within Cicinnus , with relatively low support values for the various groups within the genus. However, Cicinnus s. l. is consistently recovered within a broader Cicinnini clade, thus tribal placement of the included species is not in question. Additional molecular sampling of Cicinnus and related genera in order to better define the clades within Cicinnus s. l. will be a focus of our future molecular work.