Description of the female of Smerkata zolotuhini (Lepidoptera: Endromidae)
Author
Saldaitis, Aidas
Author
Volynkin, Anton V.
text
Zootaxa
2018
2018-06-07
4429
3
581
584
journal article
29939
10.11646/zootaxa.4429.3.9
8c601af0-d8d0-44f2-902b-e29e3fa2cc6a
1175-5326
1285120
F90823E9-7370-4D28-8D73-07DADDCD5C20
Smerkata zolotuhini
(
Saldaitis & Ivinskis, 2015
)
(
Figs 1–3, 6
)
Mustilia
(
Smerkata
)
zolotuhini
Saldaitis & Ivinskis, in
Saldaitis, Ivinskis & Rimsaite, 2015
,
Zootaxa
3915 (3): 439, figs. 1, 2, 11, 12.
(
Type
locality: “
China
, West
Sichuan
, road
Bamei
/
Danba
,
Taizangou valley
, h–
3700 m
,
N 30°28.693’’
,
E 101°38.863”
).
Material
examined:
in addition to the
13 male
specimens in the
type
series (see
Saldaitis
et al.
2015
), we examined the following specimens:
2 ♀
(
Figs. 1, 2
),
China
, W
Sichuan
, near
Kangding
, road to
Mugecuo lake
, H-
3500 m
,
N30°15’51’’
,
E102°48’50’’
,
13.IX.2007
,
Saldaitis
leg, gen. slide AV4317
♀
(
Colls
AFM
,
WIGJ
)
.
Diagnosis of female.
Like in other species of the genus
Smerkata
, in
S. zolotuhini
a sexual dimorphism is well developed: female (
Figs 1, 2
) is slightly larger than male (
Fig. 3
), with filiform antennae, has more robust body, more elongated forewing apex, and much darker, chocolate brown forewing coloration. At the moment, the genus
Smerkata
includes eight species (
Zolotuhin 2007
;
Saldaitis
et al.
2015
), but females of only two of them,
Smerkata fusca
(
Kishida, 1993
)
(
Fig. 4
) and
Smerkata craptalis
(
Zolotuhin, 2007
)
(
Fig. 5
) are known. Female of
S. zolotuhini
can be easily distinguished from females of the both species by its monotonous chocolate brown body and wing coloration; in addition, the female of
S. zolotuhini
differs from that of
S. craptalis
by the slightly larger size, and the more elongated forewing apex; from
S. fusca
it differs by the less falcate forewing apex. The female genitalia of
S. zolotuhini
(
Fig. 6
) are very similar to those of
S. fusca
(
Fig. 7
), and differ in the weaker sclerotized antrum, shorter twisted posterior section of corpus bursae, and larger sack-like anterior section of corpus bursae. The female genitalia of
S. craptalis
are unknown.
Length of wingspan of males
37–40 mm
(
holotype
39 mm
), forewing of males 16–19 (
holotype
19 mm
).
Description of female
.
Adult
(
Figs. 1, 2
) Length of wingspan
56 mm
, forewing 25. Antennae broadly filiform, whitish proximally, and brown distally. Body covered with chocolate brown hair-like scales. Forewing broad, with elongated apex and falcate costa at apex. Forewing ground color chocolate brown, basal and costal area slightly lighter. Discal spot small, semilunar, blackish brown. Subterminal line diffuse, as blackish brown suffusion. Cilia chocolate brown. Hindwing pale brownish anteriorly and chocolate brown posteriorly; discal spot small, dot-like, bark brown; cilia dark brown on outer margin and blackish on anal margin.
Female genitalia
(
Fig. 6
) Ovipositor elongated, conical. Papillae anales broad, rounded, covered with short, but robust setae; apophyses posteriores very long and thin; apophyses anteriores 4 times shorter than apophyses posteriores, thin. Ostium bursae narrow, antrum short, weakly sclerotized, with rounded medial posterior projection. Ductus bursae medium-broad, membranous; posterior section of corpus bursae narrow, twisted, weakly sclerotized; anterior section of corpus bursae sack-like, membranous.
FIGURES 1–
7.
Smerkata
spp., adults (1–5) and female genitalia (6–7), 1.
S. zolotuhini
, ♀, China, W Sichuan (Coll. AFM); 2.
S. zolotuhini
, ♀, China, W Sichuan (Coll. WIGJ); 3.
S. zolotuhini
, holotype ♂, China, W Sichuan (Coll. ASV /WIGJ); 4.
S. craptalis
, paratype ♀, China, Yunnan (ZFMK); 5.
S. fusca
, ♀, Taiwan (MWM/ZSM); 6.
S. zolotuhini
, China, W Sichuan, slide AV4317♀ Volynkin; 7.
S. fusca
, Taiwan (after Wang
et al.
2015).
FIGURES 8, 9.
China, W Sichuan, near Kangding, road to Mugecuo lake, H-3500 m, N30°15’51’’, E102°48’50’’ locality of
S. zolotuhini
(photo by A. Saldaitis).
Distribution and bionomics.
Two females were collected in middle of September at altitude ranging 3500 meters in Kangding area near Zheduo Pass of China's
Sichuan province
on the east edge of the Tibetan plateau in the shrubby transition between the mountain primary mixed forest and the alpine grassland zones (
Figs 8, 9
).