Elhamma grehani Simonsen, 2015, sp. n.
Creators: name: Simonsen, Thomas J.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Hepialidae
Elhamma
Elhamma grehani

description: Elhamma grehani, sp. n.
(Figs 7–8, 39–41, 77)
Type data: Holotype Male, Naturalis
Type locality: Abmisibil, Star Mountains, Papua, Indonesia
Etymology. The species is named in honour of the New Zealand / USA Hepialidae specialist John Grehan. The name is a noun in the genitive case.
Material examined. Holotype, male, (RMNH INS 910278—dissected, FW: 21.6mm) Abmisibil, Star Mountains, Papua, Indonesia, 4˚40’S–140˚34’E, 1970m, 29/1–9/2 2005, at light.
Paratype, male, (RMNH INS 910279—dissected, FW: 19.5mm) Abmisibil, Star Mountains, Papua, Indonesia, 4˚40’S–140˚34’E, 1970m, 29/1–9/2 2005, at light. Paratype, male, (RMNH INS 910280, FW: 20.8mm) Abmisibil, Star Mountains, Irian Jaya, 1850m, 11/3/1988, on light. Paratype, male (RMNH INS 910281, FW: 20.9mm) (abdomen missing, left FW damaged), Ok Sibil, Sterren Gebergte, Nieuw Guinea, 1260m, Ned. Exp. 1959, 1-31-V.
Distribution (Fig. 77): Found in the Abmisibil/River Sibil Area in the Star Mountains in the central highlands close to the border between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea (de Vos 2013).
Diagnosis. A rather variable species, but males can be recognised by the uniform olive brown-green FW (holotype and second paratype) sometimes with (first paratype) a broad pale-beige band running centrally from the base to the termen, in either case with a distinct, large blackish-brown dark spot basally in the cubital cell..
Description. Medium size (FW: HT 21.6mm; PT 19.5–20.8mm), the smallest known New Guinean Elhamma. Head with dark beige-brown, short, semi-rough vestiture dorsally, and protruding, rough grey-brown vestiture frontally (the aberrant paratype has yellow-beige vestiture on head and thorax); with dark-golden antennal scale tufts, and a broad circle of coffee-brown scales around the base of the antenna; scape scaled, antenna otherwise naked, length more than half the width of the thorax and slightly serrate, each flagellomere keel-shape; labial palpus short and pointed; eyes as described for genus; palps short with dark golden vestiture. Wing venation: Generally similar to E. australasiae, but HW with M3-CuA1 and CuA1-CuA2 cross veins present, and M1-M3 cross vein present in one specimen (not illustrated). Wing vestiure type-2 bi-layered; both scale types with parallel sides and rounded apical margin, but cover scales twice the size of ground scales; both types with stout primary ridges, large windows and cross-ribs on abwing surface, but windows on cover scales larger than on ground scales; adwing surface with primary ridges, windows and cross-ribs. Dorsal thorax and head either olive brown-green or pale-beige depending on wing pattern (essentially same colour as FW base). Basal antenna scale tufts dark. Ventral thorax and legs pale yellow-beige, but prothorax anteriorly dark grey. Legs normal; tarsal hooks short and stout with a clear basal point; arolium melanised and U-shape. Ventral abdomen and T2-6 pale yellow beige without dark spots; T7-8 dark-grey. Posterior edge of S3-6 smooth.
Genitalia: Sternum 8 (Fig. 41) small and rounded with a broadly protruded anterior margin; posterior margin with a strongly sclerotised trapezoid central projection, margin less sclerotised laterally; central hook present and similar to E. diakonoffi. Tergal lobe clearly bilobed and setose. Pseudoteguminal lobes broad and rounded, not very high; pseudoteguminal arms strongly sclerotised, both dorsal and ventral arms present; dorsal arms long and slender with a blunt tip, curved outwards (slightly recurved towards the tergal lobe in non-mounted specimens); ventral arms overall similar to E. diakonoffi, long and slender, but without with a well-defined outer margin, arms synclerotised ventrally terminating in two small, sclerotised tips. Intermediate plate small and narrow, synclerotised with dorso-basal corner of the pseudoteguminal lobe. Valva broad and rounded rectangular; sacculus short; a strong, sclerotised, inwards-downwards curved tooth present disto-dorsally on sacculus. Trulleum marginally bilobed at base, attached basally to the base of juxta by a very narrow, membranous connection; attached high on the ventral pseudoteguminal arms by a narrow membranous connection. Juxta deeply cup-shaped with a basal ridge. Phallus very long, approximately 4x the height of the genitalia (note: the phallus of the HT is damaged and appears shorter). Vinculum and saccus broad squarish U-shape with a dorsal flat cross-ridge and a Ushaped sulcus separating vinculum proper and the apodemal vinculum (sensu Nielsen & Kristensen 1989).
Female: Unknown.
Remarks. Females are unknown, and nothing is known about the biology of the species. But an additional label on the Holotype and the paratype with the same collecting data reads: “cultivated area/disturbed montane forest UNCEN-ZMA Expedition Papua Indonesia 2005”.
description: Published as part of Simonsen, Thomas J., 2015, Elhamma Walker (Lepidoptera: Hepialidae) revisited: adult morphology, assessment of recently proposed synonyms and descriptions of two species, pp. 301-328 in Zootaxa 3955 (3) on page 317, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3955.3.1, http://zenodo.org/record/234363