Eurypteryx dianae Brechlin, 2006

Jiang, Zhuo-Heng & Wang, Cheng-Bin, 2020, Review of the genus Eurypteryx C. Felder & R. Felder, 1874 from China, with a first description of the male E. dianae (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae), Zootaxa 4878 (2), pp. 375-384 : 378-380

Eurypteryx dianae Brechlin, 2006 [OiȐȒŖRǿ]

( Figs. 3 a–d, 4a–c, 7b)

Eurypteryx dianae Brechlin, 2006 . In: Brechlin & Melichar, 2006, Nachr. ent. Ver. Apollo (N.F.) 27 (4): 211. TL: ‘Jinxiu, Guangxi [S. China]’.

Material examined. Type material. Holotype: 1♀, Guangxi, Jinxiu, Mt. Dayaoshan , 1200 m, 15–30.III.2005, V. Sinjaev leg. ( CTWM).

Additional material. CHINA: 1♂, Guizhou, Libo, Maolan Nature Reserve , 845 m, 17.IV.2018, Shao-Yu Qin leg. ( JZHC) .

Description. Male ( Figs. 3 a–b): Head, thorax, and abdomen brown with a greyish overtone; head and thorax light brown; antennae filiform, brownish yellow, apically hooked. Labial palpus protruding, greyish. Abdomen ending in a triangular tuft ( Fig. 7b ). FWL: 31 mm. FW elongate, apex sharply pointed, outer margin oblique, slightly excavated just below the apex and above the tornus, the latter clearly protruding outwards. Upperside ground colour brownish yellow, with greyish semicircular marginal area between the apex and vein M3. Underside of both wings predominantly greyish-brown, with a straight greyish submarginal line separating the lighter marginal area from the darker rest of the wing. A round yellowish discal spot near the base of M3. HW upperside dark brownish. Underside greyish-brown with a light grey postmedial line.

Female ( Figs. 3 c–d): FWL: 32 mm. Similar to male, but the round yellowish discal spot is visible on the forewing upperside and the submarginal line on the underside is dark brown. Abdomen ending in a narrow, brushshaped tuft.

Male genitalia ( Figs. 4 a–c): Uncus and gnathos form a typical macroglossine “bird-beak”structure. Uncus thin and slightly curved, with a tiny apical hook, sparsely hairy dorsally. Gnathos straight and only slightly thicker than uncus, apex blunt. Valva rounded, with basal part wider than terminal part, apex slightly blunt. Sacculus slightly constricted and markedly curved upward apically into a harpe. Phallus long and slightly curved, with a transverse process distally; anterior lobe of the process longer than the posterior, formed into a slender hook with spinules on two sides.

Differential diagnosis. Eurypteryx dianae is most similar to the Thai species, E. geoffreyi Cadiou & Kitching, 1990 ( Figs. 5 a–d). Both species have similar habitus characters, such as the brownish ground colour and yellowish discal spots on the forewings and hindwings. However, they can be separated by the different forewing shape, which is more elongated, the apex more pointed and the tornus more obviously protruding outwards in the male of E. dianae than in E. geoffreyi . The postmedial line on the undersides of the wings is totally missing in E. geoffreyi , but clearly visible in E. dianae . The ground colour of E. dianae is lighter compared with the brownish black of E. geoffreyi . The yellow discal spot of the female E. dianae is rather rounded compared to the half-moon-shape of E. geoffreyi . The male of E. geoffreyi also has a visible yellow discal spot on hindwing underside that is almost missing in the male of E. dianae . The apical abdominal tuft of the male E. geoffreyi ( Fig. 7c ) and male E. bhaga ( Fig. 7a ) appear more rounded than in E. dianae ( Fig. 7b ). The sacculus ( Fig. 4b ) of E. dianae is similar to E. geoffreyi , but lacks a semicircular tooth on the dorsal edge of the harpe, which is conspicuous in E. geoffreyi ( Fig. 6b ). The phallus ( Fig. 4c ) of E. dianae is longer and straighter than in E. geoffreyi and the transverse apical process has marginal spinules on two sides, whereas it is almost smooth in latter species ( Fig. 6c ).

Distribution. China (Guangxi, Guizhou) ( Fig. 8 ).

Biological notes. This species was collected in evergreen broad-leaf forest and observed visiting the flowers in daytime ( Fig. 10 ).

Figures

FIGURE 3. Habitus of Eurypteryx dianae Brechlin, 2006 in dorsal (a, c) and ventral (b, d) view. a–b. male (Guizhou, China); c–d. female, holotype (Guangxi, China), © Kitching (2020). Scale bar = 10 mm.

FIGURE 4. Male genitalia of Eurypteryx dianae Brechlin, 2006. a. ring with right valva, inner view; b. left valva, lateral view; c. phallus, lateral view. Scale bar = 1 mm.

FIGURE 5. Habitus of Eurypteryx geoffreyi Cadiou & Kitching, 1990 in dorsal (a, c) and ventral (b, d) view. a–b. male, holotype (Thailand); c–d. female (Thailand). © Kitching (2020).

FIGURE 6. Male genitalia of Eurypteryx geoffreyi Cadiou & Kitching, 1990. a. ring with right valva, inner view; b. left valva, lateral view; c. phallus, lateral view. © Kitching (2020).

FIGURE 7. Abdomen tufts of male Eurypteryx species in dorsal (a, b, c) view. a. E. bhaga (Yunnan, China); b. E. dianae (Guizhou, China); c. E. geoffreyi, holotype (Thailand), © Kitching (2020).

FIGURE 8.. Distribution map of Eurypteryx species from China. Solid red circles: E. dianae; solid green square: E. bhaga.

FIGURE 9–10. Habitats of Eurypteryx species from China. 9. E. bhaga, altitude 950 m, Mengla County, S. Yunnan. 10. E. dianae, altitude 845 m, Maolan, SE. Guizhou.