Euphyia vallantinaria ( Oberthuer , 1890)

Guerrero, Juan J., Hausmann, Axel, Rubio, Rosa M., Garre, Manuel & Ortiz, Antonio S., 2022, First description of the male and DNA barcode of Euphyia vallantinaria (Oberthuer, 1890) from the Iberian Peninsula (Lepidoptera, Geometridae, Larentiinae), Nota Lepidopterologica 45, pp. 33-39 : 33

Euphyia vallantinaria ( Oberthuer, 1890)

Cidaria vallantinaria Oberthür, 1890: Études ent. 13: 31, pl. 7, fig. 49 (type locality: eastern Algeria: near Bône).

Type material.

Syntype by type illustration in Oberthür (1890) allowing attribution to the genus Euphyia , confirmed by Claude Herbulot after study of the type material and by Prout (1938).

Specimens examined.

Spain. 1♂, Andalusia, Tarifa, Llanos del Juncal ( Cádiz), 770 m, (36.103, -5.541), 04.IX.2019, leg. JM Gaona, coll. RCBA-UMU, Barcode IBLAO1527-20 (Fig. 1A ) ; 1♂, Andalusia, Tarifa, Llanos del Juncal ( Cádiz), 770 m, (36.103, -5.541), 04.IX.2019; leg. JM Gaona, coll. RCBA-UMU, Barcode IBLAO1528-20 (Fig. 1B ) .

For comparison six females from El Tarf, Algeria (coll. Herbulot in ZSM), one male and three females from southern Andalusia in ZSM, all DNA barcoded (cf. Hausmann and Viidalepp 2012): GWORA2606-09, GWOSF937-10, GWOTL724-13, GWOTA860-13 .

Description.

Adult (Fig. 1A, B ). Male wingspan (25.4 mm), smaller than female (28-32 mm). Forewing with basal area divided by the basal line which is brownish towards the base and with a greenish area between the basal line and the antemedial line. Costa with slight reddish tinge. Medial area dark olive green with dark brown on the inner margin of the antemedial and postmedial lines, distally with bidentate projection towards the termen in the central zone, with some lobulation towards the anal margin and with an angled insertion towards the costa. Postmedial fascia, narrow, with shadows of a dividing line. Terminal area, less dark than in females, therefore it has a less marked wavy line and only slightly dark spots around this line in, and just below, a subapical position and sometimes lower. Hindwing dark grey to brownish, with a barely contracted postmedial fascia.

Male genitalia (Fig. 1C ) well matching genus characteristics with uncus, broad, rounded, dome-shaped. Sclerotised costa of valva with bifurcated projection dorsally with two projections with truncated tips, one narrower dorsally and one wider laterally, apex of the valva, rounded bent and with a slight dorso-subapical concavity. Bases of sacculi long. Saccus broad. Manica spinose on a plate located between juxta and distal part of the aedeagus, which during the dissection process may adhere to the aedeagus or remain adjacent to the juxta. Aedeagus length about 1.4 mm with a very small keel basally at coecum, vesica lobulated with a narrow elongated plate sclerotised with small spines basally (Fig. 1D ). Tergum and sternum A8 sclerotised to a continuous ring with a sclerotised plate ventrally with bilobed and wider tip (Fig. 1E ).

Female genitalia. See Hausmann and Viidalepp (2012; p. 657, fig. 76).

Diagnosis.

Euphyia vallantinaria is similar to E. biangulata differing in narrower postmedial fascia of forewing with shadows of a dividing line, females with terminal area darker, wavy line conspicuous, hindwing darker with out well-marked white postmedial fascia and a large genetic distance (5.6%) ( Hausmann 2011). Can be easily confused with Colostygia olivata ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775), but the latter shows longer pectination of the male antennae, usually a wider medial area which is delimited by less straight lines. Diagnostic characters are found in the male genitalia which differ from E. biangulata in uncus sub-triangular and forked dorsal projections of costa, more pointed at tips, valvae straight dorsally, without dorsal cleft or concavity in subapical position and ventrally bilobous (Fig. 1F-H ).

Phenology.

Uni- or bivoltine: Scattered European data from early August to mid-September, in North Africa also recorded in April ( Hausmann and Viidalepp 2012).

Biology.

Larva unknown.

Habitat.

Silvicolous in mountain areas. Deciduous and mixed forests of different types, forest fringes, scrub and scattered Mediterranean evergreen oak forest from 300 m up to 1,200 m above sea-level.

Similar species.

E. biangulata (allopatric).

Distribution.

West-Mediterranean with populations in the Iberian Peninsula (southern Andalusia) and in North Africa, only recorded from the type locality Annaba (formerly Bône) and El Tarf (coll. Herbulot/ZSM), both in Algeria.

Molecular analysis.

Sequences of DNA barcode region were obtained from two male specimens and registered to Genbank (IBLAO1527-20: OK346332 and IBLAO1528-20: OK346331). No difference was found between the two fragments obtained from the males (658 bp) while a difference of two base pairs (0.3%) was found between male and earlier sequenced female from southern Spain (cf. Hausmann and Viiladepp 2012).

The species has an unique BIN BOLD:AAO2615 (n = 6; sequence length 658 bp in all six specimens). Mean intraspecific variation 0.26%. Maximum intraspecific distance 0.48%. The COI sequences indicated significant divergence with large mean distances to its nearest species in Europe: E. unangulata (n = 20; 4.9%), E. biangulata (n = 17; 5.3%), E. frustata fulvocinctata (n = 4; 5.7%), E. mesembrina (n = 6; 5.9%) and E. adumbraria (n = 12; 6.4%) (Table 1 ; Fig. 2 ).

Figures

Figure 1. A. Male specimen of Euphyia vallantinaria with Barcode IBLAO 1527 - 20; B. Male specimen of Euphyia vallantinaria with Barcode IBLAO 1528 - 20; C. Andropygium; D. Aedeagus; E. Sclerotised tergum and sternum A 8 detail. Male genitalia of Euphyia biangulata from Spain, Lugo, Robledo, 25. VI. 2011: F. Andropygium; G. Aedeagus; H. Sclerotised tergum and sternum A 8 detail.

Figure 2. Neighbour-Joining tree (K 2 P; constructed with MEGA 6; COI 5 '> 600 bp) including 65 sequences of selected Euphyia species, rooted with Epirrhoe sandosaria as outgroup. The depth of each branch shows divergence between lineages. The scale bar represents 0.005 genetic difference.