Rhodambulyx xinyuae Xu, Melichar & He, 2022

Xu, Zhen-Bang, Melichar, Tomáš, He, Ji-Bai, Zhang, Chao, Zhang, Xin-Yu, Feng, Du & Hu, Shao-Ji, 2022, A new species of Rhodambulyx Mell, 1939 (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) from Southwest Chongqing, China, Zootaxa 5105 (1), pp. 48-62 : 53-56

Rhodambulyx xinyuae Xu, Melichar & He sp. nov. fi语红ḡ天蛾

HOLOTYPE: ♂, Dawopu (1,200–1,300 m), Simianshan , Jiangjin District, S. W. Chongqing, China, 2019–III–3, C. Zhang leg. [ KIZ 0136260 ] . PARATYPES: 2♂♂, the same data as the holotype, C. Zhang leg. [ ZBX][GenBank accession no.: MZ606150 and MZ606151 ]; to be transferred to KIZ at a later date] ; 1♂, the same collecting data, [ KIZ 0136261] ; 1♂, Tudiyan (1,100 m), Simianshan, Jiangjin District, S. W. Chongqing, China, 2021–II–22, C. Zhang leg. [ KIZ 0136262].

Description:

Male ( Figure 3 A–D ). Forewing length 39–42 mm, ground colour brownish,with some individuals more reddish. Body brownish. Antenna about one-third of forewing length, beige with brownish pectinations. Forewing upperside: Ground colour brownish-beige, with three transverse darker brown bands overlain by a faintly silvery sheen. Discal spot creamy yellow. Subapical patch paler, running from costa to vein M 3, crossed by the postdiscal band, immediately adjacent to which is a brownish apical patch. Terminal band inwardly wavy with silvery sheen. Forewing underside: Light buff-brown peppered with darker scales, basal half covered with reddish hair forming a patch. Discal band darker, running from costa into the basal reddish patch. Submarginal line rather thin, Y-shaped running from apex and costa to cell CuA 1, bifurcating in cell M 1. Hindwing upperside: Ground colour brownish-red. Darker postmedial line rather obscure. Narrow black outer margin fades inwardly. Hindwing underside: Postmedial and submarginal bands brownish-red, distinctly delineated. Cilia creamy yellow.

Female. Unknown.

Male genitalia. In total, five genitalia were dissected. Overall, heavily sclerotized. Tegumen and vinculum broad, the latter with a very short saccus ( Figure 4A and B ); uncus broadest at base, elongate, gradually narrowing towards a slightly bifurcate tip; apical third ventrally with a median ridge that bifurcates into two apical ridges ( Figure 7A ), and which is individually variable in shape (see Figure 7D ). Valve broad in basal half, nearly rectangular, elongate and more membranous in the distal half, covered with dense setae, harpe triangular, broad at base and gradually narrowed, then abruptly upturned into hooked tip ( Figure 7B and E ). Juxta thin, rising from base of valve. Phallus of moderate length, straight; basal half narrower, distal half approximately of equal width; tip pointed with smooth cornuti ( Figure 7C and F ).

Female genitalia. Unknown.

Voltinism: Univoltine, adults appearing from mid-February to early March. In the same area, no adults have been found in other months, and no other species of the same genus have been found.

Distribution: Currently known only from the Simianshan, S. W. Chongqing.

Derivatio nominis: The species is dedicated to Ms Xin-Yu Zhang (Chongqing, China), wife of Chao Zhang. Zhang decided to express his love for his wife and her unselfish companionship and support over the years.

Biology: The adults appear in February and March, flying in Subtropical Evergreen Broad-leaved Forest with foggy weather. Larval hostplants unknown.

Morphological comparison with similar species

Since R. xinyuae sp. nov. is readily distinguishable from R. hainanensis , R. haxairei , and R. schnitzleri ( Figure 6 ), the present study hereafter only compares it with the two most similar species, namely R. davidi and R. kitchingi .

Figures

FIGURE 3. Rhodambulyx xinyuae Xu, Melichar & He sp. nov. (A–D) and three similar taxa, R. kitchingi Brechlin, 2015 (E–H) R. davidi Mell, 1939 (I–J), and R. davidi ‘namvui’ (K–L).A–B: ♂, HOLOTYPE, Simianshan, Chongqing, China; C–D: ♂, PARA- TYPE, same locality as holotype; E–F: ♂, Da Nang, Lam Dong, Vietnam; G–H: ♂, Bach Ma, Thua Thien Hue, Vietnam; I–J: ♂, Dayao shan, Guangxi China; K–L: ♂, HOLOTYPE, Phia Den, Cao Bang, Vietnam, © Ulf Eitschberger. Scale bar = 10 mm.

FIGURE 4. Male genitalia of Rhodambulyx xinyuae Xu, Melichar & He sp. nov., Simianshan, Chongqing, China (A–B); R. kitchingi Brechlin, 2015, Thua Thien Hue, Vietnam (C–D); and R. davidi Mell, 1939, Dayao shan, Guangxi, China (E).

FIGURE 6. Photos of Rhodambulyx schnitzleri Cadiou, 1990 (A–B), R. hainanensis Brechlin, 2001 (C–D), and R. haxairei Melichar, Řezáč & Horecký, 2014 (E–F). A–B: ♂, Doi Pha Hom Pok, Chiang Mai, Thailand, © Ulf Eitschberger; C–D: ♂, HO- LOTYPE, Wuzhi Shan, Hainan, China, © The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London. https://sphingidae.myspecies. info/taxonomy/term/2493; E–F: ♂, Da Nang, Lam Dong, Vietnam.

FIGURE 7. Enlarged uncus, valve, and phallus of male genitalia of Rhodambulyx xinyuae Xu, Melichar & He sp. nov., Simianshan, Chongqing, China (A–F); R. kitchingi Brechlin, 2015, Thua Thien Hue, Vietnam (G–L); and R. davidi Mell, 1939, Dayao Shan, Guangxi, China (M–O). A, D, G, J, and M: ventral-lateral view of uncus; B, E, H, K, and N: posterior view of valve and harpe; C, F, I, L, and O: lateral view of phallus.