Miogeometrida chunjenshihi Zhang, Shih & Shih, 2020

Zhang, Weiting, Shih, Chungkun, Shih, YuHong & Ren, Dong, 2020, A new macrolepidopteran moth (Insecta, Lepidoptera, Geometridae) in Miocene Dominican amber, ZooKeys 965, pp. 73-84 : 73

Miogeometrida chunjenshihi Zhang, Shih & Shih sp. nov. Figures 1 , 2

Material.

Holotype: LEP-DA-2019001, male. Mouthparts, mid- and hind legs, abdominal sternum missing.

Etymology.

The specific name is dedicated to Chun Jen Shih, father of YuHong Shih, for his discovery of the type specimen and his efforts and dedication in collecting and promoting Dominican amber, especially his classification system for Dominican blue amber with the best quality known as Sky Blue Amber.

Locality and horizon.

La Búcara mine, Cordilliera Septentrional, Dominican Republic. La Toca Formation; late Early Miocene to early Middle Miocene.

Diagnosis.

As for the genus (see above), by monotypy.

Description.

Body slender, length 5.7 mm; wingspan ca 20 mm. Forewing length 8.9 mm; hind wing length 6.2 mm.

Head densely scaled; antenna filiform, partly preserved; compound eyes oval; chaetosemata unidentifiable; ocelli absent.

Mesoscutum large, with median suture. Mesoscutellum rhomboid, smaller than mesoscutum. Metascutum triangular. A comb-like epiphysis with setae on its inner side, arising from the inner wall of the foretibia (Fig. 1D ); tarsus with five tarsomeres, pretarsus with a pair of claws and a median arolium.

Scales covering both fore- and hind wings, hair-like scales visible on the base of wings (Fig. 1C, E ). Forewing elongate-triangular with the termen slightly sinuous; forewing index 0.37; fovea absent. Forewing with eleven veins (Figs 1C , 2A ); discal cell approximately half as long as forewing; Sc not anastomosing with R1; no areole formed by R1 and Rs; R1 and Rs1 completely coincident; Rs2 and Rs3 with common stem; M 3-branched; M1 continuous with stem of R; M2 arising midway between M1 and M3; CuA bifurcating, CuA1 originating near the end of discal cell, CuA2 originating beyond the middle of discal cell; CuP absent; 1A and 2A fused for their entire lengths. Hind wing broad (Figs 1C , 2B ), with outer margin concave between veins, apical angle rounded; hind wing index 0.66; Sc+R1 strongly bent at its base; Rs approximated to Sc+R1 at the base; M2 absent; M1 and M3 almost parallel; CuA1 and CuA2 as in forewing; anal veins 1A+2A and 3A present. Wing coupling present, one strong frenular bristle on the anterior margin of the hind wing, retinaculum of the forewing indistinct.

Male genitalia (Fig. 1F ) with valva simple; uncus reduced; socii long, slender, with bristles on the inner side.

Figures

Figure 1. Miogeometrida chunjenshihi gen. et sp. nov., holotype, LEP-DA- 2019001 A dorsal view B ventral view C forewing D foreleg E basal part of fore- and hind wings with scales F male genitalia, dorsal view. Scale bars: 2 mm (A, B); 1 mm (C); 0.5 mm (D, F); 0.2 mm (E).

Figure 2. Miogeometrida chunjenshihi gen. et sp. nov., line drawings of LEP-DA- 2019001 A forewing B hind wing. Scale bars: 1 mm.