Review of the Central Asian species of Phthorarcha Meyrick (Geometridae Alsophilinae) with description of a new species
Author
Kostjuk, Igor
Zoological museum, Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University, Volodymyrska st 60, Kyiv, Ukraine.
Author
Mironov, Vladimir G.
Zoological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya nab. 1, St. Petersburg, Russia.
Author
Viidalepp, Jaan
Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 5 D, EE- 51006 Estonia.
text
Zootaxa
2020
2020-10-16
4861
2
232
240
journal article
8241
10.11646/zootaxa.4861.2.4
aed68073-9741-4a8b-9b72-c15376ad5e0b
1175-5326
4414789
A81FE9AC-F2A9-48A0-8631-AA85A29D4D79
Genus
Phthorarcha
Meyrick, 1892
Phthorarcha
Meyrick, 1892: 80
;
Phthorarcha primigena
:
Staudinger, 1895: 291
;
Prout 1910: 18
, pl. 2, 9; 1912: 3, pl. 1b;
Inoue, 1944: 40
; Degtjareva, 1973;
Viidalepp, 1986: 62
;
1987: 72
;
1988: 30
;
Scoble, 1999: 752
.
Type
species:
Anisopteryx primigena
Staudinger 1895: 291–292
, TL: [
Uzbekistan
] “
Samarkand
”
.
FIGURES 16–19.
Male genitalia of some
Phthorarcha
species: 14,
P. primigena
, Lectotype, Prov. Samarkand (Gen. pr. 324); 15,
P. haberhaueri
,
sp. n.
, Holotype, [Prov. Samarkand] (Gen. pr. 323); 16,
P. ishkovi
, Novonikolajevka
(Gen. pr. 445); 17,
P. chaoticaria
, Holotype, “Nian Schian” (photo of gen.pr. from E. Beljaev)
Differential diagnosis:
The species are similar to
Alsophila aescularia
(Denis & Schiffermüller)
in their wing markings but larger (wingspan
30–41 mm
,
Figs 1–12
). Hind tibia without medial spurs or with one short spur present (two medial spurs present in
Alsophila
Hübner
and
Inurois
Butler
). Tympanalia small in both sexes, haustellum absent. Females apterous (
Figs 13–15
). Male antennae dentate ventrally, with lateral tufts of straight or slightly curved bristles (
Figs 20–24
) (longer than curled bristles in
Alsophiloides
and
Alsophila
). Wings slenderer, hindwing veins R and M1 on a longer stalk than in
Alsophila
. See also
Table 1
for differences against
Alsophiloides
and
Chimaphila
. The new species was delimited visually by the markedly curved postmedial fascia on the forewings, the presence of discal spots on hind wings which are slightly angulated at the middle of their distal margins.
Description:
The uncus is cupola shaped triangular, longer than wide at base, with distal tip. The ring of the ninth segment is relatively stout, the gnathos and transtilla are lacking. Valvae are flat plates without a sclerite of costa and without any ornamentation except two or three processes on the dorsal edge. The juxta is small and leaf- or Y shaped, connected to basal dorsal or saccular corners of valvae. Hair pencil on the hind tibia and androconial hair tufts are missing.
Distribution.
Tian Shan Mts. in
Kazakhstan
and Kirghizstan, Zeravshan and Ferghana valley in
Uzbekistan
, Hissar Mts. in
Tadjikistan
, Nanshan Mts. in
China
.
Remark.
Meyrick (1892)
published a morphological description for the genus
Phthorarcha
, mentioning
primigena
Staudinger
as the
type
species. We accept the first revisor (
Prout, 1910
) attributing the genus description to Edward Meyrick and the subsequent species description to Staudinger’s publication (1895).
Fletcher (1979)
stated: “
Phthorarcha
was nomenclaturally available from 1892, but the sole species included by Meyrick was a nomen nudum until described by Staudinger in 1895”.