Apisa (Dufraneella) atrovenosa, Przystałkowska, 2022

Przystałkowska, Anna, 2022, A new species of Apisa Walker, 1855 (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae) from Uganda with remarks on the apomorphies of the genus, Zootaxa 5128 (1), pp. 91-106 : 94-97

Apisa (Dufraneella) atrovenosa sp. n.

http://zoobank.org/ F9D99276-1628-4D27-9CCF-687033184C9A

( Figs 1–3 , 7 )

Material examined

Type material. Holotype: ♂, Uganda 4 km W of Mpigi Mpanga Forest Camp 1250m, 27.10.201 4 (at light), 0 o 12’23’’N 32 o 18’06’’E leg. Łukasz Przybyłowicz; GS UG8_22_04_2016, ISEZ_13 [ ISEA PAS].

Paratypes (11♂♂): ♂, Uganda, Central Region Mpigi District, 4km west of Mpigi, Mpanga Forest, 0 o 12’23.19’’N, 32 o 18’8.5’’E 1216 m, light attraction October 26 th, 2014 leg. Michael Ochse; GS 01_07_06_2019, OM523165 ; ♂, as above but October 18 th, 2015; GS 02_12_02_2019, OM523166 ; ♂, as above but October 30 th, 2015; GS 03_07_06_ 2019, OM523168 ; ♂, as above but January 27 th, 2015; GS 03_12_02_2019, OM523169 ; ♂, Uganda, Western Regin Kasese Province, Kibale National Park, Makerere Field Station, Kanyawara Camp 0 o 33’53.69’’N, 30 o 21’22.21’’E 1557 m, light attraction October 24 th, 2014, leg. Michael Ochse; GS 02_07_06_2019, OM523167 ; ♂ Gabun, Provinz Ogooué Ivindo, 43km SW Makokou, Wasserfälle, 473m, 00 17’ 24,649”N, 120 34’ 21,664”E, 22.11.201 7, Lichtfang, leg. Michael Ochse; GS 07_12_02_2019, OM523170 [ISEA PAS]; ♂, Gabon, Mikongo (Rougier), Monts de Cristal (Secondary forest), 430m 0 o 29’47’’N, 11 o 10’42’’E, 28.vii-12.viii.2019 Actinic Light, Albert, J-L,. Aristophanous, M., Bie Mba, J., Dérozier, V., Moretto, P. Leg. ANHRT:2019.17; ANHRTUK 00204595, OM523178 ; ♂, as above but ANHRTUK 00137937, OM523175 ; ♂, as above but ANHRTUK 00208616, OM523174 ; ♂, as above but ANHRTUK 00137938, OM523176 ; GS 03_21_12_2021; ♂, as above but ANHRTUK 00137939, OM523177 ; GS 03_15_12_2021

Diagnosis. The new taxon is easily distinguishable externally from all other Apisa species by the unique pattern of the wings with veins strongly marked by much darker scales whereas other congeners have uniform dark or pale ochraceous wings with a darker forewing costa. The male genitalia provide additional discrete characters. The pointed uncus and presence of short and apically blunt process located on the ventral portion of valva excludes A. atrovenosa sp. n. from the subgenera Apisa (pointed uncus, elongate process) and Parapisa (bifid uncus, short process) and places it in the subgenus Dufraneella . Within the subgenus, A. atrovenosa sp. n. differs from A. subcanescens and A. hildae in the lack of a distinctive, short, spine-like sclerotisation at the distal termination of aedeagus. The remaining three species of the subgenus differ from A. atrovenosa sp. n. in the shape of the process of the valva which is atrophied in A. rendalii , reduced to small tubercle in A. grisescens , and narrow, needle-like and apically pointed in A. fontainei , whereas the process of A. atrovenosa sp. n. is finger-like with wide, blunt apex. The female genitalia remain unknown.

Description

Head. Frons and vertex covered with dense, protruding, elongate scales of uniformly pale beige colour. Antenna bipectinate, cilia pale creamy, scapus plain beige, concolorous with head. Labial palp elongate, straight with terminal segment directed downwards, colouration slightly darker than head. Palpi brown, straight, the lengths of head covered with hair. Proboscis absent Eye large, naked, convex.

Thorax. Uniformly pale greyish, entirely covered with long hair-like scales.

Wings. Wingspan 21.0–25.0 mm (n = 7). Forewing length about 12–14 mm. Wing colour and pattern of the new species resemble the other members of the genus. Ground colour solid beige, matt, slightly darker than body with strongly marked, darker costa. Postdiscal portion delicately suffused with sparse dark scales. All veins covered with distinctly darker blackish scales. Cilia beige. Hindwing paler than forewing, with contrast between pale background and dark veins less distinct (although always present). Underside of both wings paler than upper side but with same pattern. Retinaculum narrow, pointing towards the underside of front wing

Legs. Uniformly pale greyish. Epiphysis stout, reaching up to ¾ length of fore tibia. 3rd tibia with short terminal pair of spurs, of which outer one longer and narrower. Additional tooth on claw absent. Arolium absent.

Abdomen. Plain beige. Scales on abdomen long and hair-like. Terminal hair pencil absent.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 3 ). Genitalic capsule relatively small, similar in size to other members of the genus. Tegumen narrow with sparse, short erect setae, uncus sclerotised, elongate, subtriangular. Saccus wide at the base, blunt ended. Valva small, reduced, subsquare, sclerotised at the apical part with U-shaped notch, softly ended, equipped with a sparse, protruding setae along margin; distinctly, sclerotized, apically blunt process in basal, subcostal zone. Juxta plate-shaped, moderately sclerotised. Vinculum wide extended into elongate, subtriangular saccus.Aedeagus straight and short, well sclerotised. Vesica membranous, without sclerotisation and cornuti, dilated in the basal portion.

Female genitalia. Unknown.

Etymology. The name atrovenosa is a combination of a Latin adjective atro meaning “black” and venosa meaning “full of veins” and reflects the characteristic dark suffusion of veins contrasting with a much paler background.

Distribution ( Fig. 7 ). Until now, A. atrovenosa sp. n. is known only from Uganda and Gabon.

Host plant. The host plant remains unknown.

Remarks. The intensity of the blackish vein lines may vary slightly among individuals of A. atrovenosa . To the contrary, the darker expression of wing veins visible on specimens of other Apisa species depicted in Przybyłowicz (2009) cannot be interpreted as the presence of blackish scales along veins. This is just an artificial colouration of chitinous veins magnified by the light used while taking photos. The scale covering wings of all species except the new one is almost uniformly monochromatic.

Individuals of A. atrovenosa from Gabon display neither external, morphological nor genitalic differences from the Ugandean specimens therefore they are confidently included in the type series of a single taxon. Specimens representing Ugandean and Gabonese localities show no genetic differences within the population. However, the small differences in the COI barcode region (1.1-1.2%) are observed between Ugandean and Gabonese populations. The only exception is a single specimen from SW of Makoku ( Gabon) differing by 1.2% and 1.1% from Ugandean and Gabonese populations respectively. It can be hypothesized that it represents a separate population as this locality is about 230 km apart from the collecting place of the remaining specimens from Gabon. It is highly probable that the large gap between eastern and central African populations is the result of underexploration of this region of continent but not a natural break in the range of newly described taxon.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Apisa atrovenosa sp. n., holotype upperside, underside with labels.

FIGURE 2. Apisa atrovenosa sp. n., paratypes upperside, underside with labels. Upper row represents specimens from Uganda while lower row specimens from Gabon.

FIGURE 3. Apisa atrovenosa sp. n., holotype (A) and one of paratypes (B). Male genitalia, aedeagus with everted vesica. The arrows marks the process located on the valva.

FIGURE 7. Distribution of the new species. Red dots represent Ugandean specimens, yellow one paratypes from Gabon.