Morondavania, Lehmann & Dalsgaard, 2023

Lehmann, Ingo & Dalsgaard, Thure, 2023, Revision of Saalmulleria Mabille, 1891 (Lepidoptera, Metarbelidae) from Madagascar with the description of three new genera and fifteen new species, Evolutionary Systematics 7 (1), pp. 133-182 : 133

Morondavania gen. nov.

Type species of genus.

Morondavania mineti sp. nov. is designated as the type species.

Autapomorphies diagnosis.

The genus is defined by the following combination of characters (cf. Lehmann 2019b, 102-105): Antennae bipectinate with very long branches, up to 7.0 × longer than width of shaft, suddenly the branches become much shorter at ca. half of antennae and are up to 3.0 × longer than width of shaft. Additionally, triangular-shaped forewings and triangular-shaped hindwings with straight termen, and hence, the termen of hindwing is not bent inwards as in Morondavania dubiefi ( Viette 1974; cf. Morondavania Saalmulleria below). Wings of species of Morondavania are largely without a transparent appearance in male (in contrast to Morondavania dubiefi where forewings and hindwings are largely transparent); a small thorn-like lower gnathal arm has 15-20% the size of valva, and is connected to the base of uncus by a long and broad weakly sclerotized band that has 40-50% the width of the dorsal length of the thorn-like structure; the phallus is at present the largest among Metarbelidae and with a unique shape, namely banana-like and strongly bent on whole length, with 50-60% as broad as basal width of valva on ca. 80% of its length, very narrow distally, and 30-40% longer than dorsal edge of valva.

Synapomorphies differential diagnosis shared with Shimbania gen. nov. from the African mainland

(cf. Shimbania gen. nov. above).

Diagnostic characters in males of Morondavania gen. nov.

In forewing, the basal point of the fork of R 1+R 2 is much closer to the anterior angle of median cell than the basal point of the fork of R 3+R 4. This is a potential synapomorphy with dubiefi ( Viette 1974, cf. note to this species in Saalmulleria ). This forewing venation is in contrast to species of Saalmulleria and Eberhardfischeria gen. nov. (cf. below).

Cilia of forewing and hindwing extremely short with ca. 0.2 mm length and among the shortest in Metarbelidae from the Afrotropical and Oriental Region with a similar wingspan.

The discocellular cell on the hindwing is similar in shape like a fish-tail, with the upper and lower tip in opposite position but with both tips not strongly pointed (in contrast cf. species of Saalmulleria ).

Description.

Head (Figs 4a, b , 5b , 7d , 11A, B , 12b , 16A ): Rough-scaled; medium long hair-like scales of dark chestnut and brownish-olive with an olive glint on fronto-clypeus; eyes black; a pair of pits absent on lower fronto-clypeus, a pair of conical projections absent, slits or small oval holes behind labial palpi absent; labial palpi brownish-olive, short, less than half of eye- diameter, narrow, consisting of two segments; 2nd segment longest, elongated oval, ca. 6.0 × longer than 1st (basal) segment that is very short, apical palpomere absent. Antennae bipectinate, basal half of antennae with narrow and very long branches up 7.0 × longer than width of shaft, suddenly the branches become much shorter at ca. half of antennae and are up to 3.0 × longer than width of shaft, branches are widely separated at base with 2.0 × width of branch, dorsal and lateral sides of branches not scaled, but with many setae in pairs ventrally and laterally, dorsal and lateral sides of flagellum scaled brownish-olive.

Thorax: Densely covered with hair-like scales of brownish-olive on patagia, often these scales have a light grey or pale olive tip, scales on patagia form no collar ring, scales on tegulae long hair-like, dark chestnut with a light lilac glint; scale crest on metathorax dark chestnut. Fore and mid legs brownish-olive with long dense hair-like scales with a light lilac glint. Epiphyses present, long, up to 2.1 mm, broad and flat. Hind legs brownish-olive, on lower part of tarsus without any darker patch, with two pairs of narrow tibial spurs, lower pair longer, up to 1.3 mm long, upper pair up to 1.0 mm long, all spurs with thorn-like tip. Wingspan is between 47.0 mm up to 49.5 mm. Forewing narrow triangular with a rounded apex, a strongly S-shaped dorsum with extremely short scales, upperside Dresden brown and brownish-olive towards termen with a light golden glint, scale pattern is weak, usually with very narrow lines of sepia from costa towards dorsum, between costa and CuA1 a weak sepia band (sometimes absent), at base of M2 and M3 a small sepia patch, CuA2 and other veins not distinctly marked, termen without lunules, a dark chestnut patch is present below base of 1A+2A, sometimes faded, sometimes up to 40% length of 1A+2A. Hindwing triangular, termen not bent inwards, largely with extremely short scales of Dresden brown with brownish-olive towards termen, some with a light lilac glint, sometimes with a patch at centre that has a slightly vitreous appearance but is still covered with short light brown scales with a light golden glint and is edged towards discal cell by a small sepia spot. Underside with extremely short scales of Dresden brown. Cilia extremely short with ca. 0.2 mm length, brownish-olive with a glint. Forewing venation (Fig. 5b ) with 1A+2A only slightly forked at base, or fork absent; CuP absent, represented by a fold on 2/3 of its original length; CuA2 originating from near hind margin of posterior cell; CuA1, M3 and M2 separate and originating from apical angle of posterior cell; M1 originating from distal margin of median cell and near its anterior angle; areole absent; R1+R2 originating from a medium long well visible stalk (the stalk has the length of 25-30% of R3) and initiating from anterior angle of median cell; R3+R4+R5 are very long stalked and originating from anterior angle of median cell; Sc more or less parallel to R1. Hindwing venation with 3A present, 1A+2A present, with or without a small fork at base, CuP represented by a not sclerotized fold on 2/3 of its original length; CuA2 originating from near hind margin of posterior cell; CuA1, M3 and M2 originating from apical angle of posterior cell, separated; M1 and Rs originating from anterior cell, broadly separated, with M1 near ventral end of distal margin of anterior cell; in holotype with a short bar from near base of Rs to Sc+R1 (Fig. 5b ), a vein in discocellular cell on both fore- and hindwing is weak or absent. The discocellular cell on the hindwing is similar in shape like a fish-tail, but with the upper and lower tip not strongly pointed. Fringe scales extremely short, 0.2 mm, brownish-olive with a glint. Retinaculum and frenulum absent.

Abdomen: With dense hair-like scales of brownish-olive mixed with sepia and short abdominal tuft, ca. 20% of abdomen length. Male genitalia (Figs 11A, B , 12b ) with tegumen and vinculum fused, forming a firm narrow ring, with tegumen ca. 2.0-3.0 × broader than vinculum, the latter forms a narrow ring ventrally. Saccus present but strongly reduced with a broadly rounded or almost rectangular distal end. Uncus with heavy appearance, narrow elongated, well sclerotized, up to 30-40% of length of whole gnathos, flat dorsally, without a graben-like surface ventrally, not bifurcated at tip, with few tiny setae ventrally and dorsally, tip rounded. Basal edge of uncus well developed, slightly bent towards tip at center. Gnathos has gnathos arms that are medium large, one arm 25-30% the size of valva: upper part of the gnathos arm is a long, broad, weakly sclerotized band, as long as 70-80% of basal width of valva, that is attached to the basal part of uncus, the lower part of the gnathal arm is strongly sclerotized, of triangular shape with a pronounced thorn-like structure and with its ventral base in length ca. 50% of the basal width of valva, smaller thorns absent, strong horizontal folds are present; the triangular-shaped gnathos is hollow; the gnathal arms are connected ventrally by a sclerotized long, narrow band that is as broad as 25-30% of the transtilla. The Gnathos is short and ends well above the costa of valva. The valva is strongly bent upwards in lateral view (if not below glass), large, broad at base, elongated and almost triangular-shaped, tip narrowly rounded; sacculus broad, weakly sclerotized, 40-60% of length of ventral edge of valva, costal margin weakly sclerotized towards base of valva; largely the valva is thinly membranous with many soft setae on inner side, but no other structures are present. Juxta well developed, with two broadly almost rectangular lobes and a deep V-shaped emargination in between lobes, the tips of lobes are broadly rounded. Phallus simple, tube-like, at present the largest among Metarbelidae and with a unique shape, namely banana-like and strongly bent on whole length, with 50-60% as broad as basal width of valva on ca. 80% of its entire length, very narrow distally, and 30-40% longer than costal width of valva.

Female: unknown.

Species richness.

Currently, this new genus is monotypic including one species new to science.

Distribution.

The only species of Morondavania occurs on Madagascar in the "Western region" sensu Humbert (1955, 1965) (cf. distribution map in Lehmann 2019b, fig. 49). Species of this new genus are most probably restricted to the highly threatened primary dry deciduous forest and woodland patches within the "Madagascar Succulent Woodlands" ecoregion sensu Crowley (2004) as well as to the "Madagascar Dry Deciduous Forests" ecoregion sensu Crowley (2004). Due to the definitions of both ecoregions, the distribution range of species of the new genus extends within lowland areas below an altitude of 800 m of the "West Malagasy regional centre of endemism" sensu White (1983) and might include riverine forests. Both ecoregions are very rich in species of woody Leguminosae , comprising often locally endemic species, e.g. species of the genera Albizia Durazz. ( Mimosoideae ), Bauhinia L., Cynometra L., Delonix Raf. ( Caesalpinioideae ), Dalbergia L. and Millettia Wight & Arn. ( Papilionoideae ) with Tamarindus indica L. ( Caesalpinioideae ) in riverine forests ( Labat and Moat 2003).

Biological traits.

The biology of species of Morondavania is unknown at present. However, lowland tropical Metarbelidae species are strongly associated to habitats with woody legumes (cf. Shimbania above; Lehmann 2008, 2019b) of the Papilionoideae , Mimosoideae and Caesalpiniodeae that are most diverse in deciduous vegetation with a marked dry season as well as in lowland humid evergreen forest on western, southwestern and extreme northern Madagascar including many species reflecting a strong affinity with species on the African mainland ( Labat and Moat 2003).

Etymology.

The genus is named after the Morondava River that is located ca. 19 km to the South of the type locality and might represent with its riverine forest patches another habitat for species of this new genus extending further inland (0-334 m and ca. 20°18'S-20°47'S and 44°14'E-45°15'E).

Figures

Figure 4. a. Morondavania mineti sp. nov., holotype, male, Madagascar, Western Region, north of Morondava, Marofandilia Forest; b. M. mineti sp. nov., paratype, male, Madagascar, Western Region, north of Morondava, western part of Marofandilia Forest; c. Eberhardfischeria husemanni sp. nov., holotype, female, Madagascar, Western Region, Diego Suarez (today Antsira ṅana) or areas nearby; d. E. husemanni sp. nov., paratype, female, Madagascar, Western Region, Diego Suarez (today Antsira ṅana) or areas nearby; e. Saalmulleria stumpffi (Saalmueller, 1884), " Type ", female, Madagascar, Sambirano Region, Nosy Be Island, Lokobe; f. S. analameranaensis sp. nov., holotype, female, Madagascar, Western Region, Analamerana Forest, ca. 10 km to 40 km west of the Indian Ocean coastline; g. S. ampandrandavaensis sp. nov., holotype, female, Madagascar, Central Region, Ampandrandava, ca. 50 km northeast of Bekily.

Figure 5. Wing venation: a. Eberhardfischeria husemanni sp. nov., paratype, female; b. Morondavania mineti sp. nov., holotype, male; c. Saalmulleria stumpffi (Saalmueller, 1884), " Type ", female.

Figure 7. Female postabdominal structures and male genitalia in a not pressed condition: a. Eberhardfischeria husemanni sp. nov., paratype, female; b. Saalmulleria stumpffi (Saalmueller, 1884), " Type ", female; c. Shimbania kerstinhempae sp. nov., holotype, female; d. Morondavania mineti sp. nov., paratype, male, with aedeagus below; e. S. wichgrafi (Gruenberg, 1910), " Type ", male, with aedeagus below (all drawings by I. L.).

Figure 11. A. Morondavania mineti sp. nov., holotype, male, with unique banana-like large phallus (a), Madagascar, Western Region, north of Morondava, Marofandilia Forest; B. M. mineti sp. nov., paratype, male, Madagascar, Western Region, north of Morondava, western part of Marofandilia Forest, with ventrally connected gnathal arms (b) and below, in horizontal position, with a broad, well sclerotized transtilla (c) that represents a synapomorphy shared with species of Shimbania gen. nov. The transtilla is rarely present among Metarbelidae and if so, it is narrow and often only thinly sclerotized.

Figure 12. Aedeagus (phallus) of a. Shimbania tanaensis sp. nov., paratype, male, Kenya, Tana River County, Mchelelo Camp close to the Tana River; b. Morondavania mineti sp. nov., paratype, male, Madagascar, Western Region, north of Morondava, western part of Marofandilia Forest. The size of the aedeagus of the species of these sister-genera is among the largest in Metarbelidae.

Figure 16. SEM pictures of diagnostic head structures of Metarbelidae from Madagascar: A. The lower fronto-clypeus of Morondavania mineti sp. nov., holotype, male, is narrow and without a pair of pits as well as without a pair of projections; B, D. The lower fronto-clypeus of Eberhardfischeria husemanni sp. nov., paratype, female, is broad with a strongly sclerotized plate-like structure (a) with a well-defined dorsal ridge (b) and a pair of rudimentary pits (c); C, E, F. The very broad and smooth lower fronto-clypeus of Saalmulleria ampandrandavaensis sp. nov., holotype, female, is without any plate-like structure, but with a pair of well-developed pits (d), a variable character in species of Saalmulleria that is sometimes entirely absent. A pair of pits on the lower fronto-clypeus is a homoplasy among Metarbelidae in both sexes (cf. Lehmann 2019 b) and it is in species of various genera a variable character (SEM pictures taken by Karin Ulmen, ZFMK, Bonn 2013).