Gnathodes fiscinella Whalley, 1971

Elliott, Imogen R., 2024, Five new species in the Afrotropical genus Gnathodes Whalley (Lepidoptera: Thyrididae, Siculodinae) with the description of the female of Gnathodes fiscinella Whalley, Zootaxa 5555 (2), pp. 253-268 : 257

Gnathodes fiscinella Whalley, 1971

(Figs 3–5, 13, 18, 23)

Gnathodes fiscinella Whalley, 1971 , Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Entomology, Supplement 17: 171.

Type Locality: “ Elisabethville ” [= Lubumbashi, D.R. Congo]

Name-bearing type material examined. Holotype, ♂, “Holo- / type” // “MUSÉE DU CONGO / Elisabethville / 26-3-1936 / Ch. Seydel ” // “HOLOTYPE / Gnathodes / fiscinella / Whalley / det. P.E.S. Whalley, 1969” ( RMCA; photograph examined).

Additional material examined. ANGOLA. 1 paratype, ♂, Mt. Moco, Luimbale , 16.iii.1934, leg. Dr. K. Jordan., slide No. 10548, QR code unique ID: NHMUK010292346 ( NHMUK) . ZAMBIA; 1 ♀, Mutinondo Wilderness Area, Mpika , Northern Province, 16-20.iii.2017, leg. Oram, D., Miles, W., Smith, L., unique ID: ANHRTUK 00196418, gen. slide. No. IE 80 ( ANHRT) ; 1 ♂, Senka Hill, Mukulizi Forest Reserve , Muchinga Province, 1–6.v.2019, leg. Derozier, V., Laszlo, G., Miles, W., unique ID: ANHRTUK 00082257, gen. slide. No. IE 90 ( ANHRT) .

Description of female (Fig. 5). External habitus as of male, except forewing length larger (11.0 mm, that of males 9.5–10.5 mm).

Female Genitalia ( Fig. 18 ). Papilla analis narrow, distally rounded; strongly sclerotized and densely setose. Eighth tergite moderately sclerotised, narrow. Apophyses relatively short; posterior apophysis marginally longer and thicker than anterior. Lamella antevaginalis weakly sclerotized with a dense coverage of spinules. Ostium bursae membranous, distal third of ductus bursae somewhat swollen, proximal two-thirds tubular, gradually dilating towards bursa. Corpus bursae spherical; signum bursae absent.

Notes. The external habitus of G. fiscinella (Figs 3–5) is unique compared to other species of Gnathodes , in that it is entirely grey, without obvious transverse bands across the forewing. There is some evidence of intraspecific variation in colour and examined specimens range from blackish to grey. Within the G. fiscinella species group, species with western distributions ( G. pallida sp. nov., G. smithi sp. nov. and G. whalleyi sp. nov., that are found in Liberia), all have pinkish hindwings.

Since the females of only three out of seven species in Gnathodes are currently known, it is not possible to comment with any certainty on the characters of the female genitalia in relation to the two respective species groups. However, the anal papillae appear somewhat longer and slender in G. helvella than in G. fiscinella ( Fig. 18 ) and G. whalleyi sp. nov. ( Fig. 20 ), both of which possesses a weakly sclerotized and densely spinulose lamella antevaginalis, a structure that is perhaps homologous to the sclerotized “shield” mentioned by Whalley (1971) in the original description of G. helvella ( Fig. 19 ), although both structures initially appear very different. However, more female specimens should be examined before any definitive conclusions are made.

Figures

FIGURES 18–20. Female genitalia. 18. Gnathodes fiscinella (female), Zambia, gen. slide No. IE 80 (ANHRT). 19. G. helvella, paratype female, BM Pyralidae slide No. 10595 (NHMUK). 20. G. whalleyi sp. nov., paratype female, Liberia, gen. slide No. IE 85 (ANHRT).