Prasinocyma discipuncta, Hausmann, Axel, Sciarretta, Andrea & Parisi, Francesco, 2016

Hausmann, Axel, Sciarretta, Andrea & Parisi, Francesco, 2016, The Geometrinae of Ethiopia II: Tribus Hemistolini, genus Prasinocyma (Lepidoptera: Geometridae, Geometrinae), Zootaxa 4065 (1), pp. 1-63 : 37-38

Prasinocyma discipuncta sp. n.

( Figs 42 , 109 )

Holotype. 1♀, S. Ethiopia [Southern Nations], Sidamo, 16 km, SW Kibre Mengist, 1700m, 5.8107°N 38.8880°E, 25 – 26.III.2009, leg. R. Beck, M. Dietl ( BC ZSM Lep 85813; gen.prp. ZSM G 15901).

Description. Adult ( Fig. 42 ). Wingspan. Female 23 mm. Ground colour leaf green, without pale irroration. Forewing with very small white spot at 1/2 of the inner margin. Black discal dots conspicuous on all wings. White, triangular terminal dots at vein endings of all wings. Fringe darker, slightly chequered. Hindwing termen slightly angled at M3. Length of female palpi 2.1 times diameter of eye, length of last segment 0.7 mm, tip and upperside palpi pale brown, underside white. Frons pale brown. Antennae filiform in female. Female hindtibia with four spurs.

Female genitalia ( Fig. 109 ). Sterigma (lamella ante- and postvaginalis) fused to a round sclerite. Ductus bursae very narrow. Corpus bursae large, oval, membranous. Signa developed as conspicuous, paired, large, spinose crests.

Differential diagnosis. Smaller than P. gemmifera sp. n. From both P. gemmifera sp. n. and P. albisticta differing in the more conspicuous discal dots, moreover in P. discipuncta sp. n. the triangular terminal dots are not separated from the green ground colour by a dark line. In female genitalia P. gemmifera sp. n. differs from P. discipuncta sp. n. in the different shape of the sterigma and in the much stronger spinose corpus bursae. In habitus somewhat reminiscent of the examined type specimen of P. salutaria (Swinhoe, 1904) (described as Thalassodes from Uganda), but the latter with triangular terminal dots less conspicuous and in female genitalia without signa.

Genetic data. BIN: BOLD:ABA3724, one further specimen with identic sequence from Sierra Leone. Nearest neighbour in Ethiopia: P. gemmifera (4.4%). Genetically not far from P. salutaria (6.5%), distance from P. albisticta 7.8%, from P. niveisticta 8.5%.

Figures

FIGURES 37 – 42. Adults of Ethiopian Prasinocyma species. Scale Bar— 1 cm. In parantheses the ID-numbers of genitalia slides, and / or DNA barcoding, and / or nomenclatural status of the illustrated specimen are given. 37. Prasinocyma bifimbriata Prout, 1930; 38. Prasinocyma angulifera sp. n. (BC ZSM Lep 81482; Holotype); 39. Prasinocyma stefani sp. n. (gen. prp. ZSM G 16069; Paratype); 40. Prasinocyma albisticta (Warren, 1901) (BC ZSM Lep 85814); 41. Prasinocyma gemmifera sp. n. (BC ZSM Lep 78487; Holotype); 42. Prasinocyma discipuncta sp. n. (BC ZSM Lep 85813; Holotype).

FIGURES 104 – 109. Female genitalia of Ethiopian Prasinocyma species. Scale Bar (s) — 1 mm. In parantheses the ID-numbers of genitalia slides are given. 104. Prasinocyma bifimbriata Prout, 1930 (gen. prp. ZSM G 19412); 105. Prasinocyma angulifera sp. n. (gen. prp. DAEF GI 1); 106. Prasinocyma stefani sp. n. (gen. prp. ZSM G 16069); 107. Prasinocyma albisticta (Warren, 1901) (gen. prp. ZSM G 15902); 108. Prasinocyma gemmifera sp. n. (gen. prp. ZSM G 15908); 109. Prasinocyma discipuncta sp. n. (gen. prp. ZSM G 15901).