Prasinocyma oblita Prout, 1930

Hausmann, Axel, Sciarretta, Andrea & Parisi, Francesco, 2016, The Geometrinae of Ethiopia II: Tribus Hemistolini, genus Prasinocyma (Lepidoptera: Geometridae, Geometrinae), Zootaxa 4065 (1), pp. 1-63 : 16-17

Prasinocyma oblita Prout, 1930

( Figs 9 , 50 )

Prasinocyma oblita Prout (1930) : 23. Locus typicus: Ivory Coast: Bingerville (Syntypes 1♂ 4♀, NHM, examined).

Material. Southern Nations: 1♂, Wushwush (locality no. 94; BC ZSM Lep 84756; gen.prp. ZSM G 16001).

Redescription. Adult ( Fig. 9 ). Wingspan. Male 29 mm. Ground colour comparatively dark green, irrorated by pale strigulae. Forewing of the Ethiopian male with a very small whitish dot at the inner termen (absent from the types from the Ivory Coast). Discal and terminal dots absent from fore- and hindwings, but hindwing with elongate, oblique, diffusely dark green streak in the discal cell. Hindwing termen very slightly angled at M3 (more rounded in the type series). Length of male palpi 1.1 times diameter of eye, upperside and tip red brown, underside white. Frons comparatively dark brown. Antennae bipectinate in male, antennal branches ochre, with red tinge. Male frenulum present but weak.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 50 ). Uncus narrow, stout. Socii developed as triangular, setose patches. Valva simple, with subapical ventral lobe at ½ ventral margin of valva. Sacculus membranous, furrowed. Saccus very long and slender. Aedeagus extremely narrow and long (length 2.8 mm). Sternum A8 narrower at centre, posteriorly with paired, curved, long and narrow projections.

Differential diagnosis. Differing from all other Prasinocyma species in the extremely long male aedeagus. Prout (1930) states this species to be "near gemmatimargo , but larger, irroration less developed, female palpi longer, fringe dots lacking". Comparison of the type specimens of P. gemmatimargo Prout, 1915 and P. oblita does not reveal any similarity, the white terminal dots are absent from the latter.

Genetic data. BIN: BOLD:ACS6184. Nearest neighbours in Ethiopia: P. baumgaertneri sp. n. (3.6%), P. angolica pseudopedicata subsp. n. (3.9%).

Remarks. In Prout (1930) P. oblita is generally mentioned for " Abyssinia ". The genitalia of a male syntype of P. oblita in the NHM are exactly matching those of our Fig. 50 , but the conspecifity of all five syntypes from the Ivory coast still needs to be examined. The female genitalia of an examined female syntype are somewhat reminiscent of those of P. baumgaertneri sp. n. If the syntype series reveals to involve different species, we recommend to chose the male as lectotype, as it offers clear differential features in genitalia.

Figures

FIGURES 7 – 12. Adults of Ethiopian Prasinocyma species. Scale Bar— 1 cm. In parantheses the ID-numbers of genitalia slides, and / or DNA barcoding, and / or nomenclatural status of the illustrated specimen are given. 7. Prasinocyma getachewi sp. n. (BC ZSM Lep 13169; Holotype); 8. Prasinocyma baumgaertneri sp. n. (BC ZSM Lep 81479; Holotype); 9. Prasinocyma oblita Prout, 1930 (gen. prp. ZSM G 16002); 10. Prasinocyma hailei Debauche, 1937 (BC ZSM Lep 85812 - 83226); 11. Prasinocyma loveridgei Prout, 1926 (cf. perpulverata Prout, 1916); 12. Prasinocyma nereis Townsend, 1952 (comb. n.) (BC ZSM Lep 83221).

FIGURES 47 – 50. Male genitalia of Ethiopian Prasinocyma species. Scale Bar (s) — 1 mm. In parantheses the ID – numbers of genitalia slides are given. 47. Prasinocyma tranquilla Prout, 1917 (gen. prp. ZSM G 19642); 48. Prasinocyma getachewi sp. n. (gen. prp. ZSM G 19398); 49. Prasinocyma baumgaertneri sp. n. (gen. prp. DAEF GP); 50. Prasinocyma oblita Prout, 1930 (gen. prp. ZSM G 16001).