Cherokeea Quinter & Sullivan

Quinter, Eric L. & Sullivan, J. Bolling, 2014, A new apameine genus and species from the southern Appalachian Mountains, USA (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Noctuinae), ZooKeys 421, pp. 181-191 : 183-185

Taxon classification Animalia Lepidoptera Noctuidae

Cherokeea Quinter & Sullivan gen. n.

Gender.

Masculine.

Type species.

Cherokeea attakullakulla Sullivan & Quinter, 2014

Etymology.

Cherokeea is derived from Cherokee, a Nation of Native American people who occupied the southern Appalachians and were exemplary stewards of the habitats and resources of the region.

Diagnosis.

This genus exhibits most but not all of the primary characteristics of the tribe Apameini , i.e., ovipositor heavily sclerotized and dorsoventrally flattened, rugose sclerotized appendix bursae, and medially corrugated ductus bursae in the female; pleural sclerite a double helix in the male. It is distinguished from all known Nearctic and western Palearctic apameine genera by the conspicuous asymmetry of the saccular lobes of the male genitalia. This condition appears to be a uniquely derived synapomorphy shared with other as yet undescribed apameine genera restricted to southeastern United States. A sclerotized medial protrusion arising caudally from the basal margin of the male juxta appears to be autapomorphic. Additionally, the left valve bears a minute setose projection at the base of the sacculus, resembling a miniature clavus, which may be autapomorphic. The sole included species, Cherokeea attakullakulla , is a small, dull-colored moth bearing a superficial resemblance to some species of Neoligia .

Cherokeea is immediately distinguishable from Neoligia , Oligia Hübner, Mesoligia Boursin, and Mesapamea Heinicke by quite different genitalic morphology given in the description below. Troubridge and Lafontaine (2002) characterized the genera related to Neoligia . Oligia is differentiated by an elongated pollex (spatulate and setose) that projects from the base of the cucullus, a prominent digitus, a uniquely bent uncus and unarmed vesica in the aedeagus. Mesapamea has a paddle-like cucullus, no pollex, and an embedded digitus; the vesica has a basal cornutus. Mesoligia combines characters of the first two genera by lacking a distinct pollex, the digitus is embedded but more sclerotized, the uncus is similar to that of Oligia and the vesica contains a field of cornuti near the apex. Neoligia has a smooth pollex, a plate-like digitus fused to the inner surface of the valve but not projecting over the anal edge, and the vesica has both a basal cornutus and an apical field of small cornuti. None of these characters aptly fits the rarely-collected apameine of the southern Appalachians, described herein.

Description.

Head. Male and female antennae simple, setose-ciliate; 54 segments. Eye smooth, round. Labial palpus of both sexes laterally flattened, upcurved; first segment swollen basally, arching slightly upward and somewhat more than half as long as second segment, which is straight; second segment about as long as eye width, broadly scaled; third segment 1/3 × length of second, narrowly scaled, and projecting slightly anteriorly. Frons convex, unmodified; with a central dense tuft of converging spatulate hairs. Thorax. Vestiture a mixture of coarse spatulate scales, spatulate hairs and simple hairs; mesoscutellar crest prominent, metascutellar tuft, less so. Wings. Forewings elongated and acutely rounded at apex. Venation typical apameine, as figured in Mikkola et al. (2009) except that R3 and R4 are stalked for half the distance from the areole to the margin. Legs. Normal apameine; tibia devoid of spiniform setae, but with the usual pair of spurs on the mesothoracic leg and two pairs on the metathoracic leg. Epiphysis on prothoracic leg 0.5 × length of tibia; prothoracic tibia 1.3 × length of first tarsomere. Tarsus with three rows of spiniform setae on first two proximal tarsomeres; four irregular rows on distal three tarsomeres. Abdomen. First segment lacking paired, lateral coremata; eighth sternite with deciduous, non-eversible brush. A prominent mid-dorsal tuft on A1; no tufts on remaining segments. Male genitalia (Figs 5, 6). Uncus long, slender and downcurved to sharp apex; fine, long setae on outer half of dorsal surface. Tegumen broad at base of uncus, then flaring laterally, forming broad peniculi before narrowing sharply at pleural sclerite to meet U-shaped vinculum; distal edges of peniculi covered with fine setae. Saccus short, blunt, broadly V-shaped. Juxta an elongated trapezoidal shield, 2 x as long as basal width; a medial protrusion with a keyhole-like center extending caudally from the basal margin. Anellar arms not fused. Valve with subapical “neck” defining cucullus; ventral margin of valve slightly convex to ¾ from base, then abruptly angled dorsally into deep notch at anteroventral edge of cucullus; dorsal margin of valve evenly concave to ¾ from base, then abruptly angled dorsally to form rounded process at anterodorsal edge of cucullus. Cucullus triangular, apically slightly spatulate, with corona reduced to one or two apical setae; outer margin of cucullus bearing several larger spines, including two prominent anal spines; inner face of cucullus with a patch of fine hairs, denser apically. Valves bilaterally asymmetrical with respect to shape of sacculus. Left valve bearing a minute setose projection at base of sacculus, resembling a miniature clavus, which appears autapomorphic; otherwise, costal lobe of left sacculus normal, rounded; costal lobe of right sacculus greatly expanded dorsally into a free, flattened process that extends distally half length of entire valve; saccular lobe attached at its distal base to more heavily sclerotized basal sclerite of clasper. Basal sclerite of clasper a narrow, sclerotized bar subparallel to ventral margin of valve, terminating in a point that fuses indistinguishably with digitus. A slender, setose ampulla projects posterodorsally from dorsal arm of clasper; ampulla 7-10 × as long as wide. Costal margin of valve heavily sclerotized, becoming free from surface of valve toward cucullus to form digitus. Digitus abruptly angled near neck of cucullus to project posteroventrally along anteroventral margin of cucullus, dorsal arm shorter, projecting in opposition; dorsal arm fused with rounded process at anterodorsal edge of cucullus; free, curved, ventral arm extended length of cucullus. Aedeagus (1.6 mm; n = 7, 1.5-1.8 mm) curved ventrally, 5-6 × as long as wide, with sclerotized band extending onto basal 1/4 of vesica on left. Vesica (3.5 mm; n = 6, 3.4-3.7 mm) kidney shaped, about 2 × as long as aedeagus, curving to right through 180° to project anteriorly; without basal or subbasal cornuti, but with two basal sclerotized straps projecting on to base of vesica, and a single spine-like bundle of smaller subparallel spines projecting distally near apex of vesica.

Female genitalia (Fig. 7). Posterior tip of papillae anales to anterior end of corpus bursae 7.2 mm; n = 2, 6.6-7.8 mm. Corpus bursae membranous, elongate, 2 × as long as wide, ovoid, slightly constricted posterior to middle, without signa. Appendix bursae corrugated, arising posteriorly on left, more heavily sclerotized distally, 0.8 × length corpus bursae. Ductus bursae long, narrow, 12 × as long as wide, 0.8 x length corpus bursae, heavily sclerotized in longitudinal ridges, wider anteriorly than posteriorly, entering at their junction on right side 1/3 distance from posterior end of appendix bursae to anterior end corpus bursae. Lamella antevaginalis quadrate with W-shaped outline, sclerotized, strongly indented anteriorly at juncture with ostium, somewhat concave posteriorly; dorsal wall of ostium membranous, lacking any discernible lamella. Anterior and posterior apophyses 1.5 × length A8, slender with paddle-like terminations. Papillae anales dorsoventrally flattened, evenly tapered, acutely pointed cones with dorsal surface densely spinulose, ventral surface minutely setose. The two sclerotized rods between the anal papillae characteristic of Apameini apparently secondarily lost in the very small adults.