Siccia evrys, 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 : 28

Siccia evrys sp. n.

https://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:FF7BEE46-1759-42CE-8CB1-0ED7B0B95CF2

( Figs 45, 46 , 307, 308 , 469 )

Type material. Holotype ( Figs 45 , 307 ): male, “ Gabon 185m | Dilo ANPN camp, Ivindo | (Secondary forest) | 0˚14'1''S, 12˚17'49''E | 14–19.viii.2019 LepiLED | Light Trap. Albert, J-L., | Aristophanous, M., | Bie Mba, J., Dérozier, V., | Moretto, P. Leg. | ANHRT:2019.17” / “ANHRTUK | 00105910” (DNA barcode iD) / “Slide | AV5776 ♂ | A. Volynkin ” ( ANHRT).

Paratypes. GABON: 1 male, 3 females, the same data as holotype, MV Light Trap, gen. prep. Nos.: AV6547, AV6603, AV6604 ( ANHRT) ; 4 males, 1 female, 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.: AV5915, AV6546 (males) ( ANHRT) .

Diagnosis. The forewing length is 8.0–9.0 mm in males and 9.5–11.0 mm in females. Siccia evrys is externally indistinguishable from the sympatric S. mikongo and the allopatric S. kuehnei , and identifiaction requires the examination of the genitalia structures. The male genitalia of S. evrys are largely reminiscent of S. kuehnei but in the former species, the uncus is narrower, the phallus is somewhat longer and broader, and the vesica is considerably broader than in the corresponding structures of the congener. The female genitalia of the new species differ from S. kuehnei in the somewhat wider ductus bursae, and the posteriorly broader corpus bursae.

Molecular data. The intraspecific divergence of COI-5P sequences calculated from eight sampled specimens is in the range of 0.00–1.24%. The new species diverges from the morphologically most similar S. kuehnei by 4.97–6.93%, and from S. mikongo and S. araios by 6.16–7.02% and 6.85–7.37%, respectively.

Distribution. The new species is currently known from two localities in Gabon.

Etymology. The specific epithet is derived from the Greek ‘ευρύς’ meaning ‘broad’ and refers to the broad vesica and phallus, which distinguish the new species from the similar S. kuehnei . The name is a noun in the nominative singular in apposition.

Figures

Figures 45–62. Siccia spp., adults. Depositories of the specimens: 45–52, 54–60 and 62 in ANHRT; 53 and 61 in NHMUK (©The Trustees of NHMUK).

Figures 305–308. Siccia spp., male genitalia. The specimens dissected are deposited in ANHRT.

Figures 464–469. Siccia spp., female genitalia. Depositories of the specimens dissected: 464 in AKW; 465 in MWM/ZSM; 466, 468 and 469 in ANHRT; 467 after Kühne (2007).