Sonitha libera (Aurivillius, 1915)

Friend, Herman L., Prozorov, Alexey M., Yakovlev, Roman V., Prozorova, Tatiana A., Saldaitis, Aidas, Sulak, Harald, Volkova, Julia S., Lamah, Simon Pierre, Revay, Edita E. & Müller, Günter C., 2024, Four new species close to Sonitha libera and Sonitha myoctona from the Congolian lowland forests (Lepidoptera, Lasiocampidae), Ecologica Montenegrina 72, pp. 99-116 : 102

Sonitha libera (Aurivillius, 1915)

https://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:34ACED57-D96A-4CC9-97B4-E1CEC96DE837

( Figs 2 , 17–18 , 23–24 , 32 )

New records: 2♂, Guinea, Macenta Prefecture , Ziama Forest, 550 m, XI.2010, leg. G. Petranyi, V. Kravchenko & G. Müller ( CGM / USTTB) .

Distribution ( Fig. 32 ). Guinean montane forests in Guinea (new record) and Liberia, western Guinean lowland forests in Liberia and Ivory Coast.

Biology. Adults were collected in VII–VIII, X, XI, XII–I from altitudes up to 600 meters a.s.l. Preimaginal stages remain unknown.

Note. The species was mistakenly considered widely spread from Liberia eastwards to DRC ( Zolotuhin & Prozorov, 2010) but below we show that the population east of the Dahomey Gap is a sister species S. adedapo sp. n. Whereas male genitalia of S. libera , especially the shape of dorsal socii, remind very much S. lapa (compare Figs 17, 18 and 19 ), S. libera has lighter wing coloration, convex outer margin of the hindwing ( Fig. 2 ), and spread west of the Dahomey Gap ( Fig. 32 ); whereas S. lapa has darker wing coloration, concave outer margin of the hindwing ( Fig. 3 ), and is known only from Gabon, east of the Dahomey Gap. Takano and Laszlo (2022) have already shown that the Dahomey Gap may be a barrier dividing sister species.

Figures

Figures 2–8. ♂ of Sonitha spp. from DRC, Ekongo (except Fig. 3). 2. S. libera, GS 0890 (CGM/USTTB). 3. S. lapa, HT, Gabon, GS 2011-005 (MNHN). 4–6. S. adedapo sp. n., (CGM/USTTB). 4. HT, GS 1414. 5–6. PT. 7. S. bekombo sp. n., HT, GS 1142 (CGM/USTTB). 8. S. bekombo sp. n., HT, GS 1141 (CGM/USTTB). Scale bar – 1 cm.

Figures 17–22. ♂ genitalia of Sonitha spp. 17–18. S. libera. 17. HT, “West Africa,” GS 460 (NHMUK). 18. DRC, Ekongo, GS 1413 (CGM/USTTB). 19. S. lapa, HT, Gabon, GS 2011-005 (MNHN). 20. S. adedapo sp. n., HT, DRC, Ekongo, GS 1414 (CGM/USTTB). 21. S. bekombo sp. n., HT, DRC, Ekongo, GS 1142 (CGM/USTTB). 22. S. ekongo sp. n., HT, DRC, Ekongo, GS 1141 (CGM/USTTB). Scale bar – 1 mm.

Figures 23–31. The 8th sternites and ♂ genitalia of Sonitha spp. 23–24. S. libera. 23. HT, “West Africa,” GS 460 (NHMUK). 24. DRC, Ekongo, GS 1413 (CGM/USTTB). 25. S. lapa, HT, Gabon, GS 2011-005 (MNHN). 26. S. adedapo sp. n., HT, DRC, Ekongo, GS 1414 (CGM/USTTB). 27. S. bekombo sp. n., HT, DRC, Ekongo, GS 1142 (CGM/USTTB). 28. S. ekongo sp. n., HT, DRC, Ekongo, GS 1141 (CGM/USTTB). 29. S. myctona, DRC, Ekongo, GS 1024 (CGM/USTTB). 30–31. S. olanrewaju sp. n., DRC, Ekongo (CGM/USTTB). 30. PT, GS 1021. 31. HT, GS 1021. Scale bar – 1 mm.

Figures 32–35. Maps with collecting sites for Sonitha spp.