Abantiades concordia Moore and Beaver 2022, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Moore, Michael D.
name: Beaver, Ethan P.
name: Bradford, Tessa
name: Hutchinson, Paul M.
name: Kay, Paul
name: Temby, Nick
name: Hamon, Howard
name: Stevens, Mark I.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Hepialidae
Abantiades
Abantiades concordia

description: Abantiades concordia Moore and Beaver sp. nov.
Figs 6, 7, 8
Material Examined: Holotype ♂. (Fig. 6a) In ANIC: 31.01S 120.51E, 2 km WbyS of Bullabulling W.A. 6 May 1984, E.S. Nielsen, E.D. Edwards. / 420() / Barcode of Life, DNA Voucher specimen, Sample ID 10ANIC-09739, BOLD Proc ID ANICM742-10. [No text in brackets after 420.]
Paratypes. 1♂, in ANIC: 32°53’56.4”S 121°11’01.0”E, AUSTRALIA WA, Peak Charles NP. 16 APR 2007, MV-lamp & UV-lt., A. Zwick & G. Cocking. / Barcode of Life, DNA Voucher specimen, Sample ID 10ANIC-09740, BOLD Proc ID ANICM743-10. / Dissection ID, EPB-ANIC-027.
1♀, (Fig. 6b) In SAMA: WA, Widgiemooltha, 28 April 1994, P. Hutchinson.
Diagnosis: Ochre yellow biforked rami combined with the plain grey-brown wings distinguish the males of this species from any other species of Abantiades. The female can be distinguished by, yellowish biforked cylindrical rami and the orange-brown colour of its body and wings. In all currently described Abantiades species each has uniquely shaped pieces that make up its genitalia (see Fig. 3a–d) and a uniquely shaped Sternite VIII (Fig. 3d) and this species follows that trend. The mtDNA COI corroborates the morphological distinction from all other Abantiades species, and as a diagnostic tool can be used to identify this species (see Fig. 1). For comparison with similar or co-habiting species see the Remarks section below.
Description.
Male.
Head: Compound eyes slightly smaller than head capsule. Labial palps porrect, three segmented. First palpomere short and thick; second palpomere six times longer than the first, bent laterally midway to bring the palps parallel distally, swollen at terminal end; third palpomere spherical and similar in size to first segment. Palps densely covered in elongate and blunt ended, buff/brown coloured scales, lighter on terminal segment. Antennae (Fig. 8a, b), 20 mm long, about half the length of the costa, ochre yellow, 75 segments; monopectinate, each short pectination dividing into two cylindrical forks, nine times longer than wide, set at an angle of about 25 degrees. Covered by thin colourless setae. Outer setae perpendicular to fork and longer than the width of the fork. Inner setae short and erect. Frons densely clothed in buff coloured spatulate scales. Fronto-clypeal region covered in similar light brown coloured scales.
Thorax: Densely covered in light brown/grey piliform scales. Forewing; 42–45 mm long, membrane transparent, veins hyaline. Dorsal surface; costa densely covered in short red-brown lanceolate scales. Space between costa and Sc densely packed with longer spathulate grey scales. Outer wing covered in shorter lanceolate brown/grey scales that are gradually wider and squarer towards wing base then graduate to piliform scales of the same colour in the basal half of the wing and along the dorsum. Ventral surface; costa covered in short lanceolate light brown scales, remainder thinly covered in straw coloured piliform scales that are longer and denser at wing base. Hindwing; dorsal surface; costa densely covered in darker brown lanceolate scales, remainder covered by straw coloured piliform scales longer at wing base. Ventral surface; slightly redder than dorsal surface. Anterior portion of wing with long spindle-shaped scales, replaced by piliform scales at base. Legs; forelegs light red-brown, epiphysis triangular and sheath-like. Mid-legs straw coloured. Hindlegs densely covered in brown/straw piliform scales. Arolium present and horseshoe shaped on all legs.
Abdomen: All sternites and tergites densely covered in long piliform scales. Dorsally, tergites I and II brown, rest yellower. Ventrally yellow-brown. Sternite VIII; (Fig. 7d) contiguous with posterior margin of saccus where a sclerotised lip folds over onto ventral surface (blue arrow), with a narrow membrane separating two sclerotised areas. Posterior margin short, heavily sclerotised and with two acute points (blue arrow, Fig. 7d) lateral margins diverge from midline, straight for eighty percent of their length except for pronounced acutely pointed, triangularly shaped, lateral projections about midway. Distal ends of the lateral margins convexly curvaceous. Anterior margin sinuous with shallow concavity lateral to median and slightly angled convex hump on midline.
Genitalia: (Fig. 7a–c). Vincular arms long approximately 3.2 mm, curved antero-medially, proximal ends broadly joined, distal ends thinner, one third apodemal thickness, truncate. Saccus “V” shaped with narrow and rounded anterior margin. Posterior margin of ventral surface curves down on to overlying sternite forming a tenuous but heavily sclerotised, long and thin rectangular lip which underneath connects to more substantial moderately sclerotised posterior margin of the saccus, steeply angled sides and distinct central cleavage. Dorsal surface of saccus a thin, flat, membranous structure with a well-formed central concavity. Twin tergal processes, near vertical and ventrally projected when pseudotegumen in the closed position, 0.8 mm subcylindrical with rounded vertices. Pseudotegumen conical when closed. Basal rim rounded. Pseudoteguminal lobes wider basally than high, ventrally heavily sclerotised. Dorso-posterior margin short, deeply concave; disto-posterior margin long and continuously convex. Disto-posterior process a low rounded hummock with flattened top. Ventro-posterior margin subconvex with shallow concavity where ventral-pseudoteguminal arms join. Laterally pseudoteguminal arms parallel sided with a slightly curved anterior cutaway, producing a strong beak-like appearance. Dorso-ventral margin long, straight and angled posteriorly. Valva small for Abantiades species, club shaped, sacculus subtrapezoid, 1 mm at longest, anterior edge convex and heavily sclerotised. Harpes set well to rear of sacculus, long relative to width (1 mm x 0.4 mm), lateral edges subparallel with broad, rounded apices, sparsely setose.
Female.
Head: Densely covered in long thin upright scales. Vertex and frons chestnut, fronto-clypeus brown. Black compound eyes subequal to head capsule. Labial palps three segmented, covered in rigid and thin chestnut coloured scales, apex lighter. Basal palpomere broad as long, subcylindrical; second palpomere longest, cylindrical, linear and slightly flared distally; apical palpomere spherical. Antennae (Fig. 8c, d), 74 segments yellow buff, monopectinate; rami bifurcated, “Y” shaped, longest between segments 13 to 25 where ramus is about 2.5 times height of flagellum. Forks, four times height of monopectinate stem, and seven times longer than width, sparsely covered in colourless setae of variable length.
Thorax: Densely covered in long piliform scales, dorsally lighter than head, ventrally chestnut. Forewing 75 mm long, veins white, membrane transparent to pale white. Dorsally, costa to Rs1 densely covered in small orange chestnut scales; lanceolate along costa; spathulate to Rs1. Rest wing covered in pale orange scales; spatulate and denser nearer apex. Proportion of piliform scales increases posteriorly and basally. Ventrally, densely packed fine, chestnut coloured scales from costa to Rs, then thinly covered by long piliform orange-buff scales. Hindwing, 55 mm long, veins white, membrane semitransparent pale white. Costa and adjacent area densely covered in shorter, finer scales, remainder of wing thinly covered in piliform scales. Dorsally, coloured as for forewing. Ventrally similar to, but slightly lighter, than forewing. Legs; Dorsal densely clothed in longer thin, bright chestnut coloured scales. Ventrally densely clothed in short, buff blonde scales. Arolium tear shaped on all legs.
Abdomen: Densely covered in long piliform scales. Dorsally, segment I buff blonde, then gradually darker posteriorly. Ventrally red chestnut.
Genitalia: damaged when set, not dissected.
Distribution and biology: Recorded Localities: Bullabulling and Peak Charles, and Widgiemooltha (Fig. 13). Distance between locations 230 km.
Flight period: The specimens were collected from mid-April to early May.
Larval biology: Unknown.
Habitat: Open eucalypt woodland with an understory of mallee-form trees and a scattering of larger single trunked trees (Fig. 14).
Etymology: Derived from ‘ concordia ’ (Latin, literally ‘in agreement’ or ‘harmonious’) is in reference to its sister species Abantiades paradoxa where paradox is defined as self-contradiction or exhibiting a contradictory nature. As A. concordia sp. nov. is structurally similar to the sister species A. paradoxa, the term ‘concordia’ was chosen as an antonym to paradox.
Remarks: Compared to A. paradoxa, sternite VIII of A. concordia sp. nov., is broader (Fig. 7d), and differs by the short, triangular projections laterally and convex anterior margin (Fig. 11d). The ventro-posterior margin of the pseudotegumen is more convex in A. concordia sp. nov. (Fig. 7a–d), and the harpes and sacculus are shorter and broader than those of A. paradoxa (Fig. 11a, b).
The female genitalia and internal tissues of A. concordia sp. nov. were removed from collected specimens to stop the insect “greasing up”, as was the common practice at the time and are therefore not available for examination and not described here. The male and female of A. concordia sp. nov. have a very similar antennal structure, as do the males and females of its sister species Abantiades paradoxa (Figs 8a–d, 12a–d).
Both the mtDNA COI sequencing and the morphology indicate that A. concordia sp. nov. and A. paradoxa are sister species (Fig. 1). Uniquely shared features in support of this clade include: (1) a more intimate association between the eighth abdominal segment and the saccus than in other Abantiades species where the membrane is contiguous with the posterior membrane on the ventral face of the saccus producing a reversed fold that has small sclerotised plates at or near the fold, (2) heavier sclerotization on the dorso-anterior margin of sacculus, (3) the shape and form of sternite VIII particularly in the paired sclerotised posterior points (see Figs 7d, 11d but also 7a–c, 11a–c), and (4) in general exterior morphology, where A. concordia sp. nov. and A. paradoxa are both plain in appearance, though different in colour, and neither have a scrolling lines.
It is likely these two species are allopatric: A. paradoxa being found from the Darling Ranges near Mount Cooke, east to Lake Grace, north to Cunderdin and south to Dumbleyung, an area about 200 x 200 km, in the wetter (400–600 mm - Bureau of Meteorology 2020), sandier inland southwest of WA. Abantiades concordia sp. nov. occurs in drier (250–400 mm) and rockier habitat in central southern WA characteristic of Bullabulling, Peak Charles and Widgiemooltha. The distance between the known ranges of the two species is about 250 kms.
description: Published as part of Moore, Michael D., Beaver, Ethan P., Bradford, Tessa, Hutchinson, Paul M., Kay, Paul, Temby, Nick, Hamon, Howard & Stevens, Mark I., 2022, Two new species of WesternAustralian Abantiades Herrich-Schäffer (Lepidoptera Hepialidae) and a description of the female of Abantiades paradoxa (Tindale), pp. 201-225 in Zootaxa 5133 (2) on pages 214-218, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5133.2.3, http://zenodo.org/record/6521664