Prometopidia arenosa, Wiltshire, 1961

Dey, Pritha, Uniyal, Virendra Prasad, Hausmann, Axel & Stüning, Dieter, 2021, Revision of the genus Prometopidia Hampson, 1902, with description of the new species P. joshimathensis sp. nov. from West-Himalaya and its subspecies P. j yazakii ssp. nov. from Nepal (Lepidoptera: Geometridae, Ennominae), Zootaxa 4980 (1), pp. 28-44 : 37-38

Prometopidia arenosa Wiltshire

Figs 3 a, b, c, d, f , 6f

Prometopidia arenosa Wiltshire, 1961 , Beitr. Naturk. Forsch. SW-Dtl. 19 (3): 358, pl. 4, fig. 45; holotype ♀, Afghanistan, Nuristan, Bashgul-valley , 1500 m, 26.iv.1953, leg. Klapperich (in coll. Klapperich); coll. SMNK, examined. For type-locality compare Fig. 1 (a).

Original description. “Wingspan 27 mm. Frons a brown naked blunt cone. Vertex whitish. Antenna (female) minutely setose. Thorax with sandy-white and grey-brown scales mixed. Abdomen with concolorous (sandy-brown) floricomus (female), bifurcate ventrally, not black-scaled as in P. conisaria . Fore-wing pale sandy brown sparsely speckled with sooty scales. Basal and ante-median fasciae lacking. Cell-spot a distinct blackish oval. Post-median fascia darker, faint, denticulate, with a pale outer edging, beginning nearer the apex than its termination lies from the tornus. Termen marked with a series of black, inter-neural spots. Fringes concolorous. Hind-wing similar, but with cell-spot less conspicuous, post-median fascia less denticulate, straight, rather faint. Under-side duller, with cell-spots equally distinct on both wings, and post-median fascia clearer on hind-wing. Remarks. This new species is at once distinguishable from P. conisaria with which it flies in Nuristan, by its broader wings, fewer fainter fasciae, and pale sandy almost pink colouring.”

Additional characters revealed by present studies. Head. Frons with conus not naked, but covered with tight, small, brown scales.

Thorax. Venation of forewings agreeing with type-species, with slight differences only (e. g. common stem of veins R 2 –R 5 arising from upper vein of cell at a wider distance from upper angle of cell). Underside of wings with only forewing duller, only traces of postmedial fascia visible; hindwing lighter, greyish-white, speckled with contrasting, dark grey scales and prominent marginal spots and streaks; cell-spots weaker, elongate in forewing, round and more distinct in hindwing; on hindwings base of vein Sc swollen, but not very conspicuous, as in females of the other species.

Pregenital abdomen. The “bifurcate ventral part of floricomus” is in fact the distal, sclerotized process on 7 th sternite (see fig. 3d); it is the biggest process of this kind of all included species and subspecies. The process of P. joshimathensis yazakii is similar, but smaller and rather bilobed. Modified (strongly sclerotized, ring-shaped) 8 th segment similar to other species of Prometopidia .

Female genitalia. Papillae anales a typical Prometopidia -floricomus, the hooked setae even stronger with broadened (oval in lateral view) bases ( Figs 3f , 6f ). Ductus bursae with colliculum; posterior part of corpus bursae fluted, a narrow, longitudinal band more strongly sclerotized, transitional part not widened, but extended into the lumen of the anterior part of corpus bursae, these and surrounding parts strongly scobinate. Anterior part of corpus bursae membranous, small, oval; the signum rather small, oval, with strong teeth covering only three fourths of the sclerotized ring.

Although P. arenosa is only known by the unique female holotype, the so far unpublished morphological features mentioned here, especially the spatulate, abdominal process and the new type of floricomus in the female genitalia, described in the present paper, confirm the affiliation of arenosa to the genus Prometopidia .

Figures

FIGURE 1. (a) Previous and new records and the type-localities of Prometopidia conisaria, P. joshimathensis joshimathensis, its subspecies yazakii and P. arenosa within Indian territory and the neighbouring countries Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nepal; (b–d) habitats of P. joshimathensis with dominant vegetation as b: Blue Pine (Pinus wallichiana), Joshimath, c: Banj Oak (Quercus leucotrichophora) and Moru Oak (Quercus floribunda), Sunil and d: Kharsu Oak (Quercus semecarpifolia), Auli.

FIGURE 3. Adult, abdominal details, female genitalia of Prometopidia arenosa and P. joshimathensis yazakii. a: P. arenosa, female holotype, upperside, b: P. arenosa, underside (NE.Afghanistan; SMNK); c: P. arenosa, labels of holotype; d: P. arenosa, process on 7th sternite; e: P. joshimathensis yazakii, process on 7th sternite; f: P. arenosa, 8th segment and papillae anales (“Prometopidia-floricomus”).

FIGURE 6. Prometopidia spp., female genitalia. a: P. conisaria (Pakistan); b: P. conisaria (Punjab); c: P. conisaria (Uttarakhand); d: P. joshimathensis joshimathensis (Punjab); e: P. j. yazakii (E.Nepal); f: P. arenosa (NE Afghanistan).