Teliphasa dodaki Ranjan, Singh & Kirti, 2022

Ranjan, Rahul, Singh, Navneet & Kirti, Jagbir Singh, 2022, On the taxonomy of genus Teliphasa Moore, 1888 (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae Epipaschiinae) with the description of two new species and two new species records from India, Zootaxa 5141 (1), pp. 60-70 : 63-64

Teliphasa dodaki Ranjan, Singh & Kirti , sp. nov.

( Figs 5, 6 , 16 )

Diagnosis: Morphologically, T. dodaki Ranjan, Singh & Kirti , sp. nov. ( Figs 5, 6 ) is very similar to T. orbiculifer , but is distinct in the forewing lacking a medial zigzag line, and in the pale fulvous hindwing with a fuscous postmedial line and the area beyond it concolorous except for the fuscous apex, whereas in T. orbiculifer the forewing exhibits a medial zigzag line, and the hindwing is pale yellowish–cinereous in male, with a slender, curved purplish–brown discal line and a broad marginal band ( Moore 1888: 201). Further, T. dodaki sp. nov. is distinct from another similar species, T. nubilosa , by the yellowish forewing ground colour, and the hindwing with a prominent postmedial line, with the area beyond it with faint traces of fuscous suffusion, and a prominent fuscous marginal band present, whereas in T. nubilosa the forewing ground colour is dark greyish–green and the hindwing is almost uniformly fuscous, except the basal costal area, with the hindwing marginal band diffused with fuscous ground colour ( Fig. 1 ). In the male genitalia of T. dodaki sp. nov. ( Fig. 16 ), the valva is shorter the vinculum is approximately half the length in comparison to that of T. nubilosa ( Fig. 15 ), and the aedeagus is cylindrical, while the distal half of the aedeagus is broader in T. nubilosa . Teliphasa dodaki sp. nov. is further distinct from the other two similar species T. amica and T. erythrina by the enlarged labial palpi reaching up and backwards to prothorax (whereas in both other species the labial palpi only reach up to the frons), the yellowish forewing ground colour and the hindwing with traces of postmedial line (whereas forewing ground colour is fuscous in the other two species except for the medial area of forewing and basal area of hindwing in T. amica ( Liu et al. 2016: Fig. 12 ) and the forewing with rusty brown scales and an absent postmedial line in the hindwing of T. erythrina ( Fig. 9 )).

Description: Adult with labial palpi upturned reaching up to prothorax. Antennae in male ciliated (female unknown). Forewing covered with olivaceous fulvous scales. Basal area fuscous. Postmedial line outwardly bent at middle, then obliquely running inward up to hind margin. A dark discal spot with white scales. Chequered fuscous spots from apex to tornus. Colour of ciliae alternating between fuscous and fulvous. Hindwing pale fulvous, faint traces of pale fulvous postmedial line; a fuscous patch at apex; outer margin with fuscous spot. Abdomen covered with alternating transverse bands of fuscous and white scales. Legs covered with fuscous scales accept tip on each joint.

Male genitalia with uncus short; a sclerotised membrane running parallel to the tegumen and joined at tegumen-vinculum junction; tegumen ribbon-shaped; vinculum U-shaped, saccus reduced; juxta split into two separate arms; transtilla membranous; gnathos arms heavily sclerotised, reaching up, then arching medio-ventrad; valva rounded fan-like, costa straight to slightly concave; aedeagus elongate, slightly bent at middle, vesica with a small cornutus.

Material examined. Holotype (♂). India, Sikkim, Dodak , 05.v.2014 ( R. Ranjan leg.) (NZCZSI).

Paratypes (2♂). India, Sikkim, Yaksum , 1♂, 02.v.2014 ; Uttarakhand, Chirbatiya , 1♂, 03.vi.2014 ( R. Ranjan leg.) (NZCZSI) .

Distribution: Indian record: Sikkim.

Etymology: The name of species refers to its type locality Dodak, Sikkim, India.

Figures

FIGURES 1–6. Imago of Teliphasa spp. 1, male & 2, female, T. nubilosa; 3, male & 4, female, T. hamata; 5, male, holotype & 6, male, paratype, T. dodaki sp. nov.;

FIGURES 14–19. Male genitalia of Teliphasa spp. 14, T. erythrina; 15, T. nubilosa; 16, T. dodaki sp. nov.; 17, T. similalbifusa; 18, T. hamata; 19, T. spinaejuxta sp. nov..

FIGURES 11–13. Female genitalia of Teliphasa spp. 11, T. nubilosa; 12, T. hamata; 13, T. spinaejuxta sp. nov.

FIGURES 7–10. Imago of Teliphasa spp. 7, male & 8, female, T. spinaejuxta sp. nov; 9, male, T. erythrina; 10, male, T. similalbifusa.