Nanna semigrisea, Durante & Apinda-Legnouo & Romano, 2013

Durante, Antonio, Apinda-Legnouo, Emelie Arlette & Romano, Chiara, 2013, Second contribution to the knowledge of the Lithosiini of Gabon: the genus Nanna Birket-Smith (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Arctiinae), European Journal of Taxonomy 65, pp. 1-15 : 10-12

Nanna semigrisea sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:0B5D4B5E-108E-4376-990C-ED2DADD56869

Figs 3I , 4C , 5C

Diagnosis

Species quite distinguishable in the genus thanks to the light grey forewings and the usually paler hindwings; it is, however, very similar to Nanna griseata . Male genitalia similar to those of Nanna collinsii and N. griseata , but the processus basalis plicae is longer and more falcate in N. semigrisea sp. nov.; moreover, N. collinsi has shorter valvae and a larger aedeagus, N. griseata a more slender aedeagus.

Etymology

The name originates from the combination of the Latin prefix semi - (meaning “half”) and the adjective griseus (meaning “grey”).

Type material

Holotype

♂, MSNS.

Paratypes

2 ♂♂, 5-10 Apr. 2010; 5 ♂♂, 1 ♀, 19 Feb.-11 Mar. 2011; 2 ♂♂, 16-28 Feb. 2012. Same locality as the holotype. MSNS and MAD.

Type locality

GABON: Makokou-Ipassa, 500 m, 0°30’43’’N, 12°48’13’’ E, 19 Feb.-11 Mar. 2011.

Description

Habitus

Wingspan: ♂ 36-41 mm; ♀ 31 mm. Forewing upper side ground colour light grey, slightly darkening distally; costa with the proximal two fifths greyish; pattern with two black dots on the median area, one on the costal margin, and another one between the CuA2 and the anal vein. Hindwing upper side ground colour white, sometimes shading to grey toward the apex and termen. Forewing underside ground colour darker grey than the upper side, gradually shading to creamy white toward the base and the inner margin. Hindwing underside as in the upper side. Fringes of the same colour as that wing’s ground colour.

Head ochreous yellow, labial palpi porrect, ochreous yellow male antennae ciliated, female filiform, ochreous yellow.

Patagia uniformly ochreous yellow, tegulae and notum ochreous yellow, shading posteriorly to greyish white. Thorax ventrally yellow.

Male legs light yellow with the distal end of the femur dark grey; forelegs with femur and tibia shading into light grey; in the female homogeneous light yellow. Praetarsi blackish. Spurs formula 0-2-4.

Abdomen greyish white, shading to ochreous yellow starting from about the sixth segment to the terminalia.

Genitalia

MALE. A8 medially membranous and laterally slightly sclerotized, length about one third that of the seventh segment.

Uncus slender, long, caudally bent, ending in a point; tegument pear-shaped (ventral view); vinculum semicircular, strong, with two ventral swellings if pressed under cover slide. Juxta great, upside down Y-shaped, well sclerotized.

Basis valvae ventrally sclerotized (a round bar-like sclerotization contiguous to the dorsal margin of the ala valvae, Fig. 4C , arrow a); medially membranous; dorsally well sclerotized, with a strong processus basalis plicae (tendon of Kühne 2007), deeply falcate, with its distal three fifths covered by dense tiny thorns, terminating with a strong spike ( Fig. 4C , arrow b).

Ala valvae sclerotized, distally tapering. The distal process strongly sclerotized, covered by thorns dorsally for all its length and completed only on its last fourth, ending in a point.

Supravalva more membranous, finger shaped, just a little shorter than ala valvae.

Aedeagus quite narrow, partially membranous (pseudaedoeagus of Birket-Smith 1965), with a distal narrow sclerotized bar terminating in a curl. Vesica small, membranous, with two proximal (numbered 1 and 2 in Fig. 4C ) and two distal (3 and 4) lobes covered by very small spines; opposite to the curl (arrow c), a moderate swelling (s).

FEMALE. Seventh segment slightly sclerotized, one and a half times longer than the sixth segment. Eighth segment about half as long as the sixth one, membranous. Anterior apophyses as short as the eight segment; posterior apophyses three times longer than the anterior ones. Dorsal pheromone glands a little longer than posterior apophyses.

Lamella postvaginalis present as a strong shield inserting cephalad in the seventh sternum, which surrounds the lamella with two lateral well evident folds.

Ostium membranous, with two small anterior swellings, which cannot be interpreted as lamellae antevaginalis.

Ductus bursae short, membranous with the dorsal wall strongly sclerified, triangularish.

Corpus bursae ovoid, internally covered by small slender thorns except around the signum, with a small dome-shaped posterior appendix; ductus seminalis arising from the appendix. Signum concave, oblong, covered by very tiny spines.

Figures

Fig. 3.Adults. A. Nanna ceratopygia Birket-Smith, 1965, ♂, Gabon, Makokou-Ipassa, 500 m, 0°30’43’’N 12°48’13’’E, 19 Feb.-11 Mar. 2011. B. Nanna ceratopygia, ♀ allotype. C. Nanna eningae (Plötz, 1880), ♀ holotype. D. Nanna eningae, ♂, Gabon, Makokou-Ipassa, 500 m, 0°30’43’’N 12°48’13’’E, 19 Feb.- 11 Mar. 2011, gen. prep. n. 697/12 MAD. E. Nanna eningae, ♂, Gabon, Makokou-Ipassa, 500 m, 0°30’43’’N 12°48’13’’E, 16-28 Feb. 2012, gen. prep. n. 705/12 MAD. F. Nanna eningae, ♀, Gabon, Makokou-Ipassa, 500 m, 0°30’43’’N 12°48’13’’E, 5-10 Apr. 2010. G. Nanna semigrisea sp. nov., ♂ paratype, gen. prep. n. 709/12 MAD. H. Nanna semigrisea sp. nov., ♂ paratype, gen. prep. n. 708/12 MAD. I. Nanna semigrisea sp. nov., ♀ paratype, gen. prep. n. 699/12 MAD. J. Nanna molouba sp. nov., ♂ holotype.

Fig. 4. Male genitalia. Figures are not in equal proportion; the aedeagus, on the right, is enlarged. A. Nanna ceratopygia Birket-Smith, 1965, ♂, Gabon, Makokou-Ipassa, 500 m, 0°30’43’’N 12°48’13’’E, 19 Feb.-11 Mar. 2011, gen. prep. nov. 729/13 MAD. B. Nanna eningae (Plötz, 1880), ♂, Gabon, Makokou-Ipassa, 500 m, 0°30’43’’N 12°48’13’’E, 19 Feb.-11 Mar. 2011, gen. prep. n. 697/12 MAD. C. Nanna semigrisea sp. nov., ♂ paratype, Gabon, Makokou-Ipassa, 500 m, 0°30’43’’N 12°48’13’’E, 19 Feb.-11 Mar. 2011., gen. prep. n. 698/12 MAD. Arrows: a = ventral sclerotization of the basis valvae; b = processus basalis plicae; c = distal sclerotized bar. s = tha moderate swelling in the vesica. 1-4 = lobes of the vesica. D. Nanna molouba sp. nov., ♂ paratype, Gabon, Makokou-Ipassa, 500 m, 0°30’43’’N 12°48’13’’E, 5-10 Apr. 2010, gen. prep. n. 562/10 MAD.

Fig. 5. Female genitalia. Figures are not in equal proportion. A. Nanna ceratopygia Birket-Smith, 1965, ♀ allotype. B. Nanna eningae (Plötz, 1880), ♀, Gabon, Makokou-Ipassa, 500 m, 0°30’43’’N 12°48’13’’E, 5-10 Apr. 2010, gen. prep. n. 558/10 MAD. C. Nanna semigrisea sp. nov., ♀ paratype