Caelestomorpha serratus, Wu & Solovyev & Han, 2022

Wu, Jun, Solovyev, Alexey V. & Han, Hui-Lin, 2022, Two new species and two unrecorded species of Limacodidae (Lepidoptera, Zygaenoidea) from Xizang, China, ZooKeys 1100, pp. 71-85 : 71

Caelestomorpha serratus sp. nov.

Figs 6 , 7 , 17 , 18

Material examined.

Holotype. ♂, China, Xizang Autonomous Region, Linzhi (= Nyingchi) City , Motuo (= Medog) County , Gedang Countryside , 25-30.V.2021, J. Wu and JJ. Fan legs., genit. prep. WuJ-530-1 (NEFU) . Paratypes. 10 ♂, China, same data as for holotype, genit. prep. WuJ-529-1 (NEFU) ; 14♂, China, Xizang Autonomous Region, Linzhi (= Nyingchi) City , Motuo (= Medog) County , Beibeng Countryside , Dergong Village , 25.V.-4.VI.2021, HL. Han leg., genit. prep. WuJ-490-1 (NEFU) .

Diagnosis.

The new species is difficult to distinguish from its congener C. endodonta (Figs 8 , 19 ) in appearance, but it can be clearly distinguished from the latter by the following characters. In C. serratus sp. nov., the yellow colour pattern of the area near forewing apex is more defined (Figs 6 , 7 ); the aedeagus (Figs 17 , 18 ) is slightly curved, with a sawblade-shaped process at the apex; a row of bristle-shaped cornuti located at the terminal area of the aedeagus on the vesica. In C. endodonta , however, the yellow band in the apex area of forewing (Fig. 8 ) is blurry; the curvature of the aedeagus (Fig. 19 ) is markedly more curved than in the new species and the apex is without a process; C. endodonta has a number of cornuti but their position could not be compared with C. serratus because the vesica hasn’t been everted.

Description.

Adult (Figs 6 , 7 ). Forewing length 12-14 mm, wingspan 25-28 mm in male. Head covered with pale yellow scales; labial palpus slightly up-curved, black to brown at dorsal and lateral sides, pale yellow at ventral side; antenna filiform, brown. Thorax brown mixed with pale yellow; tegula pale yellow. Forewing rounded, ground colour pale yellow, with a whiteish apex; a series of dentate almost paralleled oblique fasciae and yellow bands on forewing surface, and a distinct brown patch along with the inner margin near wing base; terminal line conspicuous, broken, brown; fringe pale brown. Hindwing pale yellow. Legs pale yellow to whitish. Tibial spurs 0-2-4. Abdomen brown to pale brown dorsally; pale yellow ventrally.

Male genitalia (Figs 17 , 18 ). Uncus slender, finger-shaped, blunt and strongly sclerotized apically. Gnathos short, hook-shaped. Valve short and broad, basal part smooth, slightly sclerotized; medial part densely covered with setae, outer margin bearing a large tuft of long hairs; sacculus arc-curved, slightly sclerotized, with a slender, setaceous, nearly membranous sacculus processes; costa extremely shorter than sacculus, strongly recurved; cucullus highly modified, densely covered by short hairs and with a row of very long hairs. Juxta horseshoe-shaped, with a pair of membranous lateral processes. Vinculum thick, slightly sclerotized. Aedeagus tube-shaped, slightly curved; it bears a strongly sclerotized, sawblade-shaped process at terminus, which with 5-6 small tooths; vesica contains a row of strongly sclerotized, bristle-shaped cornuti.

Female genitalia. Unknown.

Bionomics.

The specimens were collected with a light trap at altitudes of 1840-2120 m a.s.l. in May to June, close to a subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest with massive shrubs, ferns and patches of grassland growing in the ground cover layer of the forest (Figs 25-27 ).

Distribution.

China (Xizang: Motuo).

Etymology.

The species name is from the Latin “serratus”, which means serrated, notched, alluding to the aedeagus bears a distinct sawblade-shaped process apically.

Figures

Figures 1 - 11. Adults: 1 Iragoides peiwangi sp. nov., male, holotype, Xizang, China (NEFU) 2 I. peiwangi sp. nov., male, paratype, Xizang, China (NEFU) 3 I. elongata Hering, 1931, male, Chongqing, China (NEFU) 4 I. elongata Hering, 1931, male, Yunnan, China (NEFU) 5 I. elongata Hering, 1931, female, Chongqing, China (NEFU) 6 Caelestomorpha serratus sp. nov., male, holotype, Xizang, China (NEFU) 7 C. serratus sp. nov., male, paratype, Xizang, China (NEFU) 8 C. endodonta (Hampson, 1987), male, N. W. India (MWM / ZSM) 9 Euphlyctina phaeopasta (Hampson, 1906), male, Xizang, China (NEFU) 10 E. phaeopasta (Hampson, 1906), female, Xizang, China (NEFU) 11 Mummu aerata Solovyev & Witt, 2009, male, Xizang, China (NEFU). Scale bar: 1 cm.

Figures 17 - 23. Genitalia and sternite VIII 17 Caelestomorpha serratus sp. nov., male, holotype (NEFU) 18 C. serratus sp. nov., male, paratype (NEFU) 19 C. endodonta (Hampson, 1987), male, N. W. India (MWM / ZSM) 20 Mummu aerata Solovyev & Witt, 2009, male, Xizang, China, genit. prep. WuJ- 551 - 1 (NEFU) 21 - 23 Euphlyctina phaeopasta (Hampson, 1906): 21 sternite VIII of male, ventral view in left and dorsal view in right (NEFU) 22 male, Xizang, China, genit. prep. WuJ- 499 - 1 (NEFU) 23 female, Xizang, China, genit. prep. WuJ- 498 - 2 (NEFU). Scale bars: 1 mm.

Figures 24 - 27. Biotopes: 24 China, Chongqing Municipality, Mt. Simian, biotope of Iragoides elongata Hering, 1931, photo by J. Wu 25 - 27 China, SE Xizang, Linzhi City, Motuo County: 25 Beibeng Countryside, Dergong Village, biotope of Iragoides peiwangi sp. nov., Caelestomorpha serratus sp. nov., Euphlyctina phaeopasta (Hampson, 1906) and Mummu aerata Solovyev & Witt, 2009, photo by H. L. Han 26, 27 two different collecting sites in Gedang Countryside, biotope of Caelestomorpha serratus sp. nov. and Euphlyctina phaeopasta (Hampson, 1906), photo by J. Wu.