Amerila rosenfeldae, Spitsyn & Bolotov, 2020

Spitsyn, Vitaly M. & Bolotov, Ivan N., 2020, A review of the tiger moth genus Amerila Walker, 1855 from Flores Island, Indonesia, with a description of a new species (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae), Ecologica Montenegrina 33, pp. 1-7 : 3-6

Amerila rosenfeldae sp. nov.

Figs 1 A-D, 2A-C, 3, Table 1

https://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:06B657CF-1478-41B5-8E28-D70870E86DD2

Holotype. Male RMBH Sph 0835, INDONESIA: East Nusa Tenggara Islands , Flores Island , Bajawa , Manulalu Ecolodge , eucalyptus plantation with fragmented areas of natural vegetation, 8º51'45"S, 120º59'40"E, altitude 1100 m a.s.l., 01-02.ii.2020, V. Spitsyn & E. Spitsyna leg.

Paratypes. INDONESIA: the type locality, same date and collectors, 3♂, 1♀; East Nusa Tenggara Islands, Flores Island, Bajawa , Wolokoro Ecolodge , heavily disturbed monsoon forests and eucalyptus plantings, 8º49'02"S, 120º56'03"E, altitude 1010 m a.s.l., 28-31.i.2020, 2♂, V. Spitsyn & E. Spitsyna leg. [ RMBH Sph0836-Sph0841] .

Diagnosis. The novel species is similar to A. astreus but can be distinguished from it by having a larger size, broader wings, a pink edging on the patagium and tegula, and much smaller male coremata. Further, the new species can be separated from A. erythropus (Rothschild, 1917) [endemic to the Umboi Island between New Guinea and New Britain] by having a strait termen and acute apex of the hindwing. The male genitalia structure of the new species is similar to that of A. abdominalis (Rothschild, 1933) (type locality Malaysia) and A. omissa (Rothschild, 1910) (type locality India). However, the new species can be distinguished from these two taxa by having a sclerotized plate in the vesica near large cornuti and by a monochromatic dorsal side of the abdomen.

Description. Male. Wingspan 53-58 mm, forewing length 28-31 mm (N = 6). Eye olive. Antenna brown, with a pink color proximally. Frons white with a black central spot. Vertex white with a black central spot. Labial palpus short (approximately equal to 1.5 eye’s diameter), pink, with black stripes. Thorax whitish gray with six black spots on the dorsal side, two black dots from each side near the base of the forewings, and one black spot laterally. Patagium and tegula white with pink edging and black central spots. Patagium with one more spot anteriorly. Legs pink; inner side of the femur white; outer side of the foreleg and middle leg’s tibia pink with a brown stripe. The foreleg coxa large, pink, with a white base and black central dot. Forewing almost transparent, greyish basally and near the anal edge. Forewing apex and distal part of the costal margin (from the middle of the cell) light brown. The cell apex with a large light brown or black spot. Forewing base with two black dots, and a large, pink rectangular spot formed by elongated scales. Hindwings semitransparent, darkened at the apex and along the termen, with sparse pink scales at the base and along the termen. Underside of both wings follows pattern of the upper side, but without two dots and a pink spot at the base of the forewing. The base of the costal vein pink. Abdomen pink ventrally, and white with two rows of black dots dorsally.

Male genitalia. Tegumen large and broad. Uncus small, with acute apex. Saccus small, wide. Valva rounded, densely covered with long hairs. Coremata rather small, rounded. Ampulla is directed to the base of the valva (its direction to the outer margin of the valva on the slide is an artefact of preparation; see Fig. 2A ). Juxta broad. Aedeagus short and very broad. Vesica long, equipped with double strong cornuti and a sclerotized plate below the cornuti. Female. Wingspan 62 mm, forewing length 31 mm (N = 1). Externally, similar to the male but differs from it by having narrower and elongated wings. The rectangular pink spot near the base of the forewing, and the pink edging on the patagium and tegula are absent. Female genitalia. Ostium bursae large; ductus bursae broad. Bursa with one spike and double signum having long spines. Apophyses anteriores medium long; apophyses posterioris rather elongated. Papilla analis large, rectangular.

Distribution. This species is known to occur in two mid-altitude localities (altitude 1010-1100 m a.s.l.) south of the town of Bajawa at the foothill of the Inerie Mount on Flores.

Etymology. The novel species is dedicated to Dr. Sonia B. Rozenfeld (Moscow, Russia), a Russian ornithologist.

Figures

Figure 1. Amerila spp. from Flores Island, Indonesia. A-D A. rosenfeldae sp. nov.: A) male upperside (holotype); B) female upperside (paratype); C) male underside (holotype); D) female underside (paratype). E-F A. astreus: E) male upperside; F) female upperside. Scale bar = 10 mm. (Photos: Vitaly M. Spitsyn).

Figure 2. Male genitalia of Amerila spp. from Flores Island, Indonesia. A-C A. rosenfeldae sp. nov.: A) male genitalia (holotype); B) aedeagus (holotype); C) female genitalia (paratype). D-E A. astreus: D) male genitalia; E) aedeagus. (Photos: Vitaly M. Spitsyn).