Tactusa similis Fibiger, 2010

FIBIGER, MICHAEL, 2010, Revision of the Micronoctuidae (Lepidoptera: Noctuoidea) Part 3, Taxonomy of the Tactusinae, Zootaxa 2583 (1), pp. 1-119 : 30-31

Tactusa similis Fibiger , new species

( Plate 4 , figure 1; female genit. plate 23, figure 1)

Material examined. Holotype: female, Thailand NW, Chiang Mai, 750 m, 11.xii.1985, leg. M.G. Allen, BM 1986-74 , genit. prep. 3200 M. Fibiger, coll. BMNH.

Diagnosis. Imago (external). Wingspan: 10 mm.

Forewing: relatively short and narrow; ground colour yellowish white, with basal-costal patch and dorsomedial triangular patch; white between basal and antemedial lines, and narrowly white between triangular patch and subterminal line; subterminal and terminal areas, including fringes blackish brown, except for two small beige areas near costa (apo.).

Crosslines: absent, except weakly marked subterminal and terminal lines (apo.).

Reniform stigma: invisible (apo.).

Hindwing: whitish, with indistinct discal spot.

Underside: unicolorous grey.

Abdomen: whitish, with black crest dorsally on first segment.

Posterior apophyses: slightly longer than anterior apophyses and ovipositor.

Anterior apophyses: slightly longer than 8 th abdominal segment.

Ostium: displaced to left; positioned prominently posterior on 8 th segment (apo.).

Antrum: cylindrical, very short, 1.5 times longer than wide (apo.).

Ductus bursae: membranous; narrow; coiled; very long, 3 times longer than diameter of corpus bursae.

Appendix bursae: arising anteriorly from ductus bursae, immediately after antrum.

Corpus bursae: globular.

Signum: cross shaped.

Differential diagnosis. T. similis differs from other Micronoctuidae from SE Asian and Oriental regions in shape of large patch of forewing, weak subterminal and terminal lines; in female genitalia, posteriorly positioned ostium, very short antrum and very long, coiled ductus bursae.

Distribution. Known from one specimen from N Thailand.

Figures

PLATE 4. Figures 1–8. Tactusa, Conspica, and Tumula species, adults. 1, T. similis, female holotype, Thailand, Chiang Mai; 2, T. constrictor, male holotype, Laos, Vientiane; 3, T. assamia, male holotype, India NE, Assam; 4, T. discrepans, male holotype, Thailand, Chiang Mai; 5, T. spadix, male holotype, Laos, Vientiane; 6, T. pars, male holotype, Thailand W, Kanchannaburi; 7, Conspica inconspicua, male holotype, Thailand, near Ban Nam Lee Pattana; 8, C. parainconspicua, male holotype, Thailand, Chiang Mai.