Afrasura dubitabilis Durante

Durante, Antonio, 2009, Revision of the Afrotropical species of Asura Walker, 1854 (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae, Lithosiinae), with the description of a new genus, Zootaxa 2280, pp. 27-52 : 42

Afrasura dubitabilis Durante sp. n.

(Figs. 13, 62)

Holotype. Ƥ. Nigeria, Rivers State, Port Harcourt, 1-12-1996, Durante leg. Genitalia prep. n. 432 MAD. In coll. MSNS.

Paratypes. 4 ƤƤ. Same locality as holotype; 7-12-1995, 29-1-1997, 13-2-1997, 19-2-1997. Durante leg. 2 in coll. MAD and 2 in MSNS.

Diagnosis. Similar to indecisa , but female genitalia with strong sclerotizations in the corpus bursae.

Description. Ƥ Wingspan 18–21 mm. Forewing upperside ground colour deep straw yellow; pattern violaceous-grey. One basal dot; two basal bands fragmented; median and postmedian band and submarginal series of dots, a discal dot between median and postmedian band. Hindwing upperside ground colour light straw yellow. Forewing underside with a light pink suffusion in the basal and median areas; a small proximal costal portion is pink. Bands less distinct than on upperside. Hindwing underside as in upperside. Fringes of all wings yellow. Head yellow with violaceous-grey dot on vertex; labial palpi yellow, short, slightly inclined downwards; antennae ciliated, yellow. Patagia yellow, tegulae yellow with two dots. Thorax yellow with two dots on mesoscutum. Legs yellow, with the last (distal) tarsomere and pretarsus deep violaceous-grey; fore- and midlegs with distal portion of tibiae violaceous-grey. Spurs 0, 2, 4. Abdomen yellow. A7 large, not strongly sclerotized; A8 small, interrupted by lamella postvaginalis. Female dorsal pheromone glands a bit longer than posterior apophyses. Male unknown. Female ostium large, without sclerotizations; membranous lamella postvaginalis. Ductus bursae cylindrical with conical sclerotized anterior end. Bursa copulatrix formed by a sub-conical cervix, from which the ductus seminalis arises, and by the corpus from whose posterior ending, laterally, a cone-shaped appendix arises. Distinct sclerotization at the appendix level: a subtriangular one, two irregular ribbon-like ones covered by small and strong thorns. Rest of corpus (anterior) globular and membranous, covered internally by small thorns and a small round dimple-shaped signum.

Etymology. Afrasura dubitabilis was initially thought by the author to be the female of the Nigerian males of Afrasura indecisa , but the evidence overall supports its status as a new species. The specific name reflects the doubt about the original association.