Integrative taxonomic review of the genus Rhodostrophia Hübner, 1823 and its allied genus Tanaotrichia Warren, 1893 (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) from the Western Himalaya
Author
Kumari, Shabnam
Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani, Dehradun- 248001, Uttarakhand, India.
Author
Bandyopadhyay, Uttaran
Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani, Dehradun- 248001, Uttarakhand, India.
Author
Uniyal, Virendra Prasad
Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani, Dehradun- 248001, Uttarakhand, India. & Graphic Era (Deemed to be) University, Bell Road Clement Town, Dehradun- 248002, Uttarakhand, India.
Author
Chandra, Kailash
Zoological Survey of India, M-Block, New Alipore, Kolkata- 700053, West Bengal, India.
Author
Hausmann, Axel
Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns (SNSB) - Zoologische Staatssammlung München (ZSM), Münchhausenstrasse 21, D- 81247 Munich, Germany.
text
Zootaxa
2024
2024-10-07
5519
1
59
89
http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5519.1.3
journal article
304540
10.11646/zootaxa.5519.1.3
5f7ee7e6-9230-4051-92ef-208e26e13652
1175-5326
13915528
5F625E12-7F89-46BC-A7DF-2111180CEB87
Genus
Rhodostrophia
Hübner, 1823
Rhodostrophia
Hübner, 1823
,
Verzeichnis bekannter Schmetterlinge
: 300.
Type
species:
Phalaena calabra
Petagna, 1786
.
Pellonia
Duponchel, 1829
, in Godart & Duponchel,
Histoire naturelle des Lépidoptères ou Papillons de
France
, 7 (2): 109.
Type
species:
Phalaena vibicaria
Clerck, 1759
.
Delocharis
Butler, 1883
,
Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London
: 172.
Type
species:
Delocharis herbicolens
Butler, 1883
.
Apostates
Warren, 1897
,
Novitates zoologicae
, 4: 214.
Leptosidia
Hampson, 1903
,
Journal of the
Bombay
Natural History Society
, 14: 653.
Type
species:
Leptosidia araearia
Hampson, 1903
.
Genus description
(
Prout 1913
;
Hausmann 2004
;
Cui
et al.
2019
;
Rajaei
et al.
2022a
)
Adults are medium to large sized with
20–40 mm
wingspan; antennae filiform in female, quadripectinate in male with long branches gradually decreasing in length towards the tips [
Fig. 3a
: (i)]. Frons slightly convex or protruded. Labial palpi short, stout, forwardly or upwardly directed and hardly reaching the frons. Proboscis well developed. Foretibia with or without median epiphyses [
Fig. 3a
: (iv)]. Midtibia with paired terminal spurs. Hindtibia [
Fig. 3a
: (v)] with or without hair pencil (variable in length) at the femoro-tibial joint; a pair of terminal tibial spur and either a single or paired median spur in male while all the four spurs present in female; a single ‘pseudospur’ (of unknown function) is often present as a densely scaled, club or rod-shaped projection with rounded tip.
Forewing
with two areoles [except
R. solitaria
(Christoph, 1887)
], vein R1 originating from the apex of 1
st
areole at its junction with the 2
nd
areole, veins R2–R4 stalked, arising from the apex of the 2
nd
areole just above the origin of R5 (
Rajaei
et al.
2022a
); apex acute or falcate; outer margin obliquely straight or slightly curved; usually pale ochreous to yellow or ochreous-grey or brown with either darker, sometimes suffused or tinged with rose-red to deep rose-red transverse lines.
Hindwing
with Sc basally curved, Rs and M1 shortly stalked, M3 and CuA1 separate (
Rajaei
et al.
2022a
). Apex round; outer margin rounded, sometimes slightly protruded at M3; mostly paler than the forewing with markings more or less similar as of forewing.
Underside
paler and with rose-red to reddish or ochreous-grey to brown suffusion or irrorations with markings mostly similar to the upper side.
Male genitalia
: Uncus elongated, slender, apically broader, setose, distal margin with a central concavity of varying depths, sometimes weekly sclerotised; the overall shape and characters diagnostic at the species level. Gnathos triangular, strongly sclerotised and medially elongated.Valva shape diagnostic, especially the characteristics of costal and distal margins; sacculus sclerotised, folded ventrad over the valva. Posterior margin of 8
th
abdominal sternite bilobed and diagnostic. Aedeagus thin, elongated and curved; vesica membranous without cornuti or sometimes with small sclerotised patch having minute scobinations.
Female genitalia
: Papillae anales either rounded or ovally-elongated; ductus bursae sclerotised, sometimes strongly curved or bent, length (in comparison to corpus bursae) and shape diagnostic; corpus bursae rounded or oval, often with diagnostic signum; shape of the 7
th
sternite variable and diagnostic.
Immature stages:
Larvae
extremely long and slender; slightly tapered anteriorly with the face and sides of the head flattened; feed on low plants. Pupa slender, broadened anteriorly, and with elongated cremaster; a terminal pair of long and stout setae (D2) and three pairs of smaller and recurved setae before it (
Prout 1913
;
Patočka 2003
).
Distribution:
Palearctic (chiefly), Oriental and Neotropical regions (
Prout 1913
;
Suludere 1988
; Ramos-González
et al.
2018;
Cui
et al.
2019
;
Sihvonen
et al.
2020
;
Rajaei
et al.
2022a
)
Diagnosis:
Adults of
Rhodostrophia
and
Tanaotrichia
are easily distinguishable from other genera in the tribe
Cyllopodini Kirby, 1892
. Both genera possess quadripectinate antennae in males and filiform in females, and they share similar basic schemes of wing venation and markings (
Fig. 3b
: FW, HW) (
Prout 1913
,
1938
).
Rhodostrophia
has forewings with an acute or slightly falcate apex, vein R1 originating from the apex of 1
st
areole; and hindtibia [
Fig. 3a
: (v)] of male with either a single or paired median spur and a pair of terminal spurs. Whereas in
Tanaotrichia
, the forewing is comparatively broader, vein R1 originates before the apex of 2
nd
areole [
Fig. 3b
: FW]; hindtibia lacks median spurs altogether, bears a single functional terminal spur accompanied by a short, stout, scaly tuft and a long, well-developed hair pencil concealing all the spurs [
Fig. 3b
: (ii)].
Male genitalia in
Rhodostrophia
are characterised by a long, membranous, sometimes slightly sclerotised, apically dilated and bilobed uncus; costal margin of valva curved, strongly sclerotised and ventro-distal regions distinctly modified. Corpus bursae in female genitalia with a sclerotised signum, often shaped as paired elongated sclerites. However, in
Tanaotrichia
,
the uncus is sclerotised, somewhat flat, with a broad apex (
Fig. 40
), signum in the corpus bursae of female genitalia as a double-ridged, longitudinal band-like with sclerotised scobination (
Fig. 62
).
FIGURE 3.
Diagnostic features of the genus
Rhodostrophia
(
R. tristrigalis
) and
Tanaotrichia
(
T. prasonaria trilineata
, type species of the genus).
3a.
Head and leg features of the male of
R. tristrigalis
. i) Quadripectinate antennae, eye and labial palpi. ii) Lateral view of the antennae, ventral dentation. iii) Ventral view of the antenna. iv) Foretibia with an epiphysis. v) Hindtibia with a hair pencil arising from the femorotibial joint.
3b.
T. prasonaria trilineata
, type species of the genus
Tanaotrichia
. i) Foretibia with an epiphysis. ii) Hindtibial characteristics (hair pencil, a median ‘pseudo spur’ and terminal tibial spur accompanied with a small and compact hair tuft). FW) Forewing venation. HW) Hindwing venation.
Species account