Tumicla parvipunctata Durante, 2020

Durante, Antonio & Apinda-Legnouo, Emelie Arlette, 2020, Report on species of the genus Tumicla Wallengren, 1863 in Gabon (Lepidoptera Erebidae: Arctiinae: Lithosiini), Zootaxa 4868 (1), pp. 90-116 : 110-111

Tumicla parvipunctata Durante n. sp.

( Figs. 10G , 17 )

Holotype: GABON • ♂; Makokou , Ipassa, 500 m; 0°30’43”N 12°48’13”E; 14/ 24-3-2015, Durante leg.; Gen. sl. n. 879 MAD. In coll. MSNS.

Paratypes: • 3♂♂; same locality as holotype; 19-2/ 11-3-2011; Durante leg. • 1♂; same locality; 24/ 25-2-2011; Durante leg. All in the first author’s collection.

Diagnosis. Tumicla parvipunctata is easily distinguishable from all the other Gabonese species by the small size of the notal dots and the relatively large wingspan. The similar size of the anterior and posterior dots on the tegulae could also be considered diagnostic. Outside Gabon, T. atricraspeda , T. distyi and possibly T. arktos Volynkin & László, 2018 have similar habitus and size. However, arktos presents two small dots at the discal cell end instead of the normal angular dot, and atricraspeda and distyi present completely different genital morphology, particularly the uncus (stout in parvipunctata n. sp.; slender in distyi and atricraspeda ) the vesica and cornuti (conical, elongate vesica with cluster of small spines at the distal end, and aedeagus with a strong C-shaped cornutus in parvipunctata n. sp.; the vesical is bilobed and without cornuti, and the cornutus at the distal end of the aedeagus is C-shaped in atricraspeda , Fig. 19 in Durante 2008: 64; in distyi the vesica bears a strong long and straight cornutus, and the aedeagus is without cornuti Fig. 36 in Kühne 2007: 384).

Description. Wingspan 16-19 mm. Forewing upperside ground colour ochreous yellow; pattern grey-brown. Costa ochreous yellow, with a short grey-brown streak at the base and in the presence of the bands, except the submarginal, which never reaches the costal margin. One basal dot; basal band zigzagged, touching the median band at cell and anal vein level; median and postmedian band zigzagged and touching each other under the posterior vein of the cell; postmedian band with conspicuous proximal concavity at the end of the cell, inside which is the angled discal dot; submarginal series of seven streak-like dots (first two dots fused together). Fringes grey-brown. Forewing underside ground colour ochreous yellow with pinkish suffusion. Costa grey-brown in its proximal fifth, with faded grey-brown dots corresponding to the transversal bands on the upperside, not always present. The first three or four streaks of the submarginal band very faded. Hindwing upperside and underside ground colour straw yellow. No pattern. Fringes concolorous. Body concolorous with the wings, with pattern grey-brown. Head with a small dot on the vertex (one third the width of the vertex); antennae ciliated; labial palpi porrect, slender, not extending beyond the frons. Tegulae with two dots, the posterior one slightly bigger, and hairy scales reaching half of the length of the scutum. Mesoscutum with three small dots, two anterior and one posterior (mesoscutellar). Legs concolorous with the hindwings; fore- and mid-legs with praetarsi, distal portion of femur and tibia grey-brown; hindlegs lacking the grey-brown on the distal portion of the femur only. Abdomen with no pattern.

Genitalia ♂. Uncus quite large, curved backwards, distally pointed; tegumen triangular, nearly as long as the eighth tergite (dorsal view); tuba analis membranous; vinculum V-shaped (ventro-caudal view) with fairly robust arms; saccus not deep; juxta upside down and trapezium-shaped (longer base dorsal), often with a concavity at the dorsal base, giving it a heart-like shape; fultura superior double shield-shaped. Valva quite long (about two and half times longer than wide); costal margin slightly concave or undulate; apex about 90°; termen straight or slightly concave with broad indentations and a small number (less than ten) of small conical processes varying in height and unevenly distributed; tornus acute. Processus distalis plicae appearing as a small swelling at the start of the distal third of the valva, membranous, with about 10-12 small setae. Aedeagus quite long, with a distal concavity just before the distal end hosting a large C-shaped cornutus; coecum penis finger-like, as long as one fifth of the entire aedeagus. Vesica conical a bit longer than the aedeagus, with a cluster of minute spines at the distal end.

Etymology. The species name derives from the Latin parvus (small) and punctatus (dotted) and refers to the small dots on the head and thorax.

Figures

FIGURE 10. G. Tumicla parvipunctata n. sp. Right: enlarged thorax and wing base. H. Tumicla whitensis n. sp. Right: enlarged thorax and wing base. I. Tumicla eala (Kühne, 2007). Right: enlarged thorax and wing base.

FIGURE 19. Tumicla eala (Kühne, 2007). A. Genitalia, lateral view. B. Genitalia, ventral view. C. Uncus. D. Valva. E. Aedeagus. F. Fultura superior, dorsal view. G. Juxta. All pictures from gen. sl. n. 612 MAD.

FIGURES 17–18. FIG 17. Tumicla parvipunctata n. sp. A. Genitalia, lateral view, gen. sl. n. 909 MAD. B. Genitalia, ventral view, gen. sl. n. 879 MAD. C. Uncus, gen. sl. n. 879 MAD. D. Valva, gen. sl. n. 879 MAD. D1. Termen of the right valva, gen. sl. n. 879 MAD. E. Aedeagus, gen. sl. n. 909 MAD. E1. Cornutus, gen. sl. n. 879 MAD. E2. Cornutus, gen. sl. n. 909 MAD. E3. Apical cluster of thorns, gen. sl. n. 909 MAD. E4. Apical cluster of thorns, gen. sl. n. 879 MAD. F. Fultura superior, dorsal view, gen. sl. n. 909 MAD. G. Juxta, gen. sl. n. 909 MAD. FIG 18. Tumicla whitensis n. sp. A. Genitalia, lateral view. B. Genitalia, ventral view. C. Uncus. D. Valva. E. Aedeagus. F. Fultura superior, dorsal view. G. Juxta. All pictures from gen. sl. n. 908 MAD.