Irene litanga, a new genus and new species in the Polia generic-complex from China (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Hadeninae, Hadenini)
Author
Saldaitis, Aidas
Author
Benedek, Balázs
text
Zootaxa
2017
4238
2
275
280
journal article
36351
10.11646/zootaxa.4238.2.9
0afb74a5-ce8b-4852-890b-0e2a14c25a42
1175-5326
345273
AACD836B-8B48-415D-BD59-B11B164EBB5A
Irene
gen. nov.
Type-species:
Irene litanga
Diagnosis.
The new and yet monotypical genus represents a separate phyletic-line within the Poliina, standing rather remote from all other known members of the subtribus. The external morphology of the new species resembles members of the genus
Kollariana
(e.g.
Kollariana scotochlora
(
Kollar & Redtenbacher, 1844
)
(
Figs 5, 6
,
17, 20
),
Kollariana albomixta
(
Draudt, 1950
)
and
Kollariana similissima
(Plante, 1982))
, but
I. litanga
sp. n.
has a more smoothly granulous wing-pattern with more diffuse patterns and a more contrasted dark medial and light subbasal and subterminal area. The olive-greenish ground colour mixed with a yellowish tint occurs in certain members of the genus
Bryopolia
Boursin, 1954
,
Bryoxena
Varga, Ronkay & Hacker, 1990
(
Bryoxena centralasiae
(
Staudinger, 1882
)
(
Figs 9
,
19, 22
), occasional similarity, following genus are members of the subfamily
Xyleninae
, tribe
Apameini
), or
Hada
Billberg, 1820
(
Hada fraterna
Gyulai & Ronkay, 1998
) (
Figs 10–12
,
14, 16
), but
I. litanga
is larger in size than all the aforementioned similar species (
52–54 mm
comparing to
45–50 mm
of the largest
K. scotochlora
) and the genitalia of
Bryopolia
,
Bryoxena
(
Figs 19, 22
) are significantly different. In the male genitalia of
I. litanga
, several specialized characters corroborate the separation on a generic level as no species from
Polia
genera group from the Palearctic region (
Hacker
et al.
, 2002
) nor the Nearctic (
McCabe, 1980
) are known to have such characters. While the male genitalia are similar in their general configuration to those of
H. fraterna
, the narrow, hook-like uncus, the well-developed corona and the strong saccular extension are instead common characters within
Polia
(
Polia nebulosa
(Hufnagel)
(
Figs 7, 8
,
18, 21
), the type-species of
Polia
). The shape of the cucullus is similar to that of
Kollariana
, but the configuration of the tegumen, the valva (nearly evenly broad, without anal spine), the clasper and harpe, the strongly sclerotised and elongated fultura and the very long and narrow, branch-like and apically rounded saccular extension are specialized characters of the new genus. The specific characters of the aedeagus are the presence of the sclerotised carinal bar on both the ventral and dorsal side, the medially broader, terminally curved vesica, the presence of the single strong cornuti on the first medial diverticulum and the narrow, dagger-like shaped second diverticulum. The female genitalia resemble
P. nebulosa
(
Fig. 21
) and
H. fraterna
(
Fig. 16
) in the heavily sclerotised antrum and ductus bursae, but the widely conical, large, tongue-shaped ostial plate, the broader, rounded distal part of the antrum, the presence of the two lateral lamias on the proximal half of the ductus (a common character in the
Polia costirufa
(
Draudt, 1950
)
—
Polia hofer
Saldaitis, Benedek & Behounek, 2016
speciespair!) and the characteristically constructed and sclerotised, broad, laminal coverage (“cloak”) of the appendix bursae with a rolled proximal edge are all unique characters of the new genus.