Sesquiluna Forbes, 1955

Wang, Xing, Wang, Min, Zolotuhin, Vadim V., Hirowatari, Toshiya, Wu, Shipher & Huang, Guo-Hua, 2015, The fauna of the family Bombycidae sensu lato (Insecta, Lepidoptera, Bombycoidea) from Mainland China, Taiwan and Hainan Islands, Zootaxa 3989 (1), pp. 1-138 : 111-114

XXIV. Sesquiluna Forbes, 1955 ( FIGURE 45 )

Sesquiluna Forbes, 1955 , Tijdschr. Ent. 98: 121. Type species: Andraca albilunata Hampson, 1910 , by original designation.

Diagnosis. Characterized by the following features: small to medium sized with ash grey to dark cream-grey ground color; forewings short and broad with festooned outer margin; hindwings without distinct pattern except for two dark spots on inner margin, outer margin broadly rounded or crenulate with distinct tornal emargination; tegumen swollen; uncus short and flattened; gnathos and socii absent; valvae very large and divided on two lobes by a huge emargination; juxta small with caudal emargination; aedeagus long, tubular with a distinct coecum; vesica without cornuti; sternum 8 in males slightly modified, posterior margin with a pair of short, medio-caudal hooks placed close together.

Distribution. Very few specimens are known from NE India, S China, N Thailand, N Vietnam, and Java so far. This here is the first record from China.

Remarks. Zolotuhin & Witt (2009) considered that this genus had been erroneously synonymized with Theophoba Fletcher & Nye, 1982 (incorrectly attributed to Mell, 1958; see below) by Kishida (1993). In fact, Sesquiluna does not appear to be closely related to Theophoba based on the unique characters of the male genitalia that are very quite different from all hitherto known bombycid genera. Nässig & Oberprieler (2008) gave a short discussion on its systematic position, but we temporarily consider that it is a bombycid. However, this taxonomic status should be confirmed by genetic data, although it does form a cluster with Theophoba based on COI barcode data (unpublished). At present, three Sesquiluna species are known, of which only one is recorded from China (Map 24).

Map 24. Distribution of Sesquiluna forbesi Zolotuhin & Witt, 2009 mainly in China.

Figures

FIGURE 45. Adults and male genitalia of Sesquiluna forbesi Zolotuhin & Witt, 2009. A. Male (Vietnam), holotype; B. Female (Yunnan); C. Male genitalia (Sichuan).