Coladenia simianensis Xue, 2017

Xue, Guo-Xi, Li, Xiao-Juan & Li, Ding-Kai, 2017, Description of Coladenia simianensis sp. nov. (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) from China, with an annotated checklist of the genus Coladenia Moore, 1881, Zootaxa 4306 (1), pp. 121-129 : 122-124

Coladenia simianensis Xue sp. nov.

( Figs. 1–4 , 5–17 , 18 )

Type material. HOLOTYPE ♂: Simian Mountain , Jiangjin, Chongqing, China, 1100 m, 6. VII. 2015, G. X. Xue leg.

PARATYPES: 1 ♂, same data as Holotype ; 1 ♂, ditto, S. Y. Huang leg. ; 1 ♀, same locality as Holotype, early VIII. 2011, J. Y. Qiu leg.

Description. Male. ( Figs. 1–3 ) Antennae: 11 mm in length, dorsal side dark brown, ventral side checkered with gray; apiculus sharply pointed, nudum 13–14 in number. Labial palpi: ventral side of second segment covered with yellowish white scales, mixed with sparse black hairs; third segment porrect, thicker than shaft of antennae, dark brown, with a blunt point. Thorax and abdomen covered with brown scales and hairs on both dorsal and ventral sides; hind tibiae with a pale yellowish hair pencil. Forewing: 20 mm in length, dorsal side dark brown, basal half clothed with brown scales, spots white, hyaline; subapical spots in spaces R3–M2 arranged in S-shape, the one in R3 and R 5 in same size, bigger than those in R4, M1 and M2; spot in space Sc shorter than half length of widest portion of cell spot; cell spot located in middle of wing base and wing apex, rectangular, with outer lower angle protruding; spot in space M3 bigger than apical spots, closer to the one in Cu1 than to cell spot; spot in space Cu1 nearly equidistant from spot in M3 and cell spot, much bigger than the former but smaller than the latter, overlapping with outer lower angle of cell spot; under spot in Cu1 there are two separated tiny dots in space Cu2, of which the lower one moved inwards and almost invisible; ventral side of forewing dark brown, wing base covered with sparse brown scales and hairs, spots as in dorsal side except for two pale patches beyond tiny dots in space Cu2. Hindwing: dorsal side brown, basal area covered with hairs, marginal area darker; discal area with a series of black spots from space Sc+R1 to Cu2, of which the two in spaces M1–M2 longer, and the two in Cu2 blurred; cell with a very indistinct black discoidal spot, sometimes completely invisible; ventral side dark brown, overlaid with brown scales, slightly greenish near dorsum; spots as in dorsal side. Cilia dark brown, with yellowish-white at apex of forewing and before end of vein M1 of hindwing.

Male genitalia ( Figs. 5–17 ): Tegumen humpy in lateral view, conspicuously higher than uncus. In dorsal view, basal half of uncus tapered, with a small triangular process on each side; distal half finger-like, with a round tip. In lateral view, uncus nearly 2/3 times as long as tegumen, falcate, with a pointed tip. Gnathos arm-like in lateral view, ventral side connected and very broad, as wide as base of uncus, densely covered with tiny teeth. Saccus very short. Valva elongate, with its distal portion bifid into two strongly curved and sharply pointed long branches, of which the dorsal one thin and smooth, evenly tapered, and the distal one much more robust, with its apical area outwardly serrated. Aedeagus a little longer than ventral margin of valva; in lateral view, middle of dorsal margin concave before a serrated ridge, ventral margin sinuolate; coecum short, slender and curved upwards. Juxta cordiform.

Female ( Fig. 4 ): Forewing 21 mm in length; wing pattern similar to male, but spot in space Sc half length of widest portion of cell spot; spot in space Cu1 obviously longer than male; end of abdomen with a gray anal tuft.

Female genitalia ( Fig. 18 ): Papillae anales reniform, covered with short hairs and thorns. Lamella postvaginalis very wide, middle portion of distal edge shallowly concaved and higher than shoulders on each side. Lamella antevaginalis shovel-like, basal portion tapered, medial concavity of distal edge shallow V-shaped with a round bottom. Ductus bursae twisted; bursa copulatrix bursiform, membranous, without signum.

Distribution. Only known from the type locality.

Bionomics. The adult flies rapidly along forest paths on sunny days ( Fig. 19 ), and it is very alert. The three male specimens in the type series were captured after seven days of rain.

Etymology. The new species is named after the type locality.

Diagnosis. Judged by appearance, the new species is similar to Coladenia agnioides Elwes & Edwards, 1897 and C. agni sundae de Jong & Treadaway, 1992 in having narrow and separated discal spots on the forewing, but it can be immediately distinguished from the latter two by the remarkable long and curved branches of the valva (for figures of the male genitalia of C. agnioides and C. agni sundae , see Devyatkin 2002 and de Jong & Treadaway 1992 respectively).

Structures of the male genitalia of Coladenia simianensis are similar to those of C. tanya Devyatkin, 2002 , C. uemurai Huang, 2003 and C. motuoa Huang & Li, 2006 . However, the new taxon differs from these species in the following characters (based on the male): discal spots on the forewing are separated, spots in spaces Sc, Cu1 and the cell are narrow (in C. tanya , C. uemurai and C. motuoa , the discal spots are contiguous, the spots in spaces Sc, Cu1 and the cell are conspicuously wider); the uncus is nearly 2/3 times the length of the tegumen (it is less than half of the tegumen in C. tanya ); the dorsal branch of the valva is long and strongly curved (it is markedly shorter and erect in C. tanya , and relatively shorter and not curved that much in C. uemurai and C. motuoa ); the distal branch of the valva is long and strongly curved, with its apical area outwardly serrated (in C. motuoa and C. tanya the distal branch is much shorter, erect and smooth); the distal edge of the valva is smooth (in C. tanya it is serrated to the base of the erect branch); the coecum of the aedeagus is curved 45 degrees upwards (it is curved nearly 90 degrees in C. uemurai ); in lateral view, the ventral margin in opposite of the serrate ridge of the aedeagus is slightly concaved (it is more or less convex in C. uemurai ). (For figures of the male genitalia of C. tanya , C. uemurai and C. motuoa , see Devyatkin 2002, Huang 2003, Huang & Li, 2006 and Huang & Wu 2016 respectively; distribution of these species are shown in fig. 20.)

Figures

FIGURE 18. Female genitalia of Coladenia simianensis, ventral view (bursa copulatrix broken). Scale bar = 1 mm.

FIGURE 19. Habitat of Coladenia simianensis. Photo by Guo-xi Xue.

FIGURES 1 – 4. Adults of Coladenia simianensis. a. dorsal view; b. ventral view. 1. male, holotype; 2 – 3. male, paratypes; 4. female, paratype. Scale bar = 1 cm.

FIGURES 5 – 17. Male genitalia of Coladenia simianensis. 5. genital capsule, lateral view, with the left valva and aedeagus removed; 6. ditto, oblique view; 7. tegumen and uncus, dorsal view; 8. ditto, ventral view; 9. gnathos, oblique view; 10. uncus and gnathos, posterior view; 11. left valva, inner side; 12. ditto, dorsal view; 13. ditto, outer side; 14. aedeagus, lateral view; 15. ditto, dorsal view; 16. juxta, lateral view; 17. juxta. Scale bar = 1 mm.