Prasinocyma leveneorum, 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 : 23-24

Prasinocyma leveneorum sp. n.

( Figs 21 , 62 )

Holotype. 1♂, C. Ethiopia, Oromia, Southern Bale Mts, Harenna Forest, Katcha clearing, 1810m, 6.6167°N – 39.7782°E, 21.II. – 7.III.2014, leg. Levene & D. Wiersbowsky ( BC ZSM Lep 84634 (failure), 85808; gen.prp. ZSM G 19652).

Description. Adult ( Fig. 21 ). Wingspan. Male 34 mm. Ground colour pale bluish green, irrorated with white strigulae. Forewing without spot at the inner termen. On fore- and hindwings, black discal dots barely visible, terminal dots absent. Hindwing termen slightly angled at M3. Length of male palpi 1.0 times diameter of eye, tip and upperside brown, underside whitish. Frons green. Antennae bipectinate in male, antennal branches pale ochre, at base slightly darker. Male frenulum present.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 62 ). Uncus long and narrow. Socii barely visible. Valva elongate, costa with dorsobasal rounded process (cf. preceding species). Subapical ventral lobe of valva narrowly elongated, ventral part of valva corrugate, towards centre of valva with a short, spinulose crest, reminiscent of the equivalent in the preceding species. Sacculus ending in a long, straight, stoutly sclerotized, laterally spinulose process. Aedeagus with very short basal stalk, length of aedeagus 2.1 mm. Sternum A8 widely bilobous.

Differential diagnosis. In size and habitus very similar to P. amharensis sp. n., but in male genitalia and DNA barcode (distance 7.2%) clearly different. P. leveneorum sp. n. is the only known Prasinocyma species with a huge, long, straight, sclerotized sacculus and the only showing a dorsobasal rounded process at the costa of valva. In habitus also reminiscent of P. aquamarina sp. n., for genetic divergence see below.

Genetic data. So far, only short COI fragments (164bp) were obtained, without assignation of BIN. Nearest neighbours in Ethiopia: P. aquamarina sp. n. (1.9%), P. monikae sp. n. (2.5%), the short distances perhaps biased by the short-fragement condition of the sequence of P. leveneorum sp. n. The close genetic relationship with P. aquamarina suggests them to be a pair of sibling species.

Etymology. The name refers to Mr. and Mrs. Guy and Yvonne Levene and their sons William and Max, for strongly supporting the EIP (Ethiopian Insects Project) and for collecting the holotype.

Figures

FIGURES 19 – 24. 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. 19. Prasinocyma corrugata Fletcher, 1958 (gen. prp. ZSM G 19653); 20. Prasinocyma fusca sp. n. (BC ZSM Lep 81820; Holotype); 21. Prasinocyma leveneorum sp. n. (BC ZSM Lep 85808 - 84634; Holotype); 22. Prasinocyma germinaria (Guenée, 1858) (BC ZSM Lep 83222); 23. Prasinocyma magica sp. n. (gen. prp. ZSM G 16065; Paratype); 24. Prasinocyma batesi distans subsp. n. (BC ZSM Lep 85806 - 83224).

FIGURES 60 – 63. Male genitalia of Ethiopian Prasinocyma species. Scale Bar (s) — 1 mm. In parantheses the ID-numbers of genitalia slides are given. 60. Prasinocyma corrugata Fletcher, 1958 (gen. prp. DAEF GO 1); 61. Prasinocyma fusca sp. n. (gen. prp. DAEF GP 1); 62. Prasinocyma leveneorum sp. n. (gen. prp. ZSM G 19652); 63. Prasinocyma germinaria (Guenée, 1858) (gen. prp. ZSM G 19400).