Metarctia (Metarhodia) sangha László & Volynkin, 2024, sp. n.
Creators: name: László, Gyula M.
name: Volynkin, Anton V.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Erebidae
Metarctia
Metarctia sangha

description: Metarctia (Metarhodia) sangha sp. n.
https://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 7BA98D31-215F-4D1C-BFEB-2129A36986A9
(Figs 7–10, 17–18, 22)
Holotype. ♂, “ REPUBLIC OF CONGO 365m / Nouabale- Ndoki National Park, / Mondika camp / 02°21'50.63"N, 16°16'25.82"E / 07-14.ii.2023, actinic light trap / Bakala N., M., Dérozier, V., / Kirk-Spriggs, A., László, G. leg. / ANHRT:2023.3” // unique id.: ANHRTUK 00314775, gen. slide No.: LG 6451 (ANHRT).
Paratypes. Republic of Congo. 4 ♂♂, 1 ♀, with the same data as the holotype; 9 ♂♂, same site, 27.iv.– 06.v.2023, actinic, LepiLED and MV light trap, leg. Dérozier, V., Kirk-Spriggs, A., László, G., Mvouende, S., gen. slide No.: LG 6455; 3 ♂♂, Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park, Makao forest, 349m, 02°36'42.5"N, 17°09'23.8"E, 15–21.v.2023, actinic and LepiLED light trap, Dérozier, V., Kirk-Spriggs, A., László, G., Mvouende, S. leg. ANHRT:2023.6; 7 ♂♂, Nouabale-Ndoki National Park, Mbeli camp, 372m, 02°14'23.8"N, 16°23'52.1"E, 14–20.ii.2023, actinic light trap, Bakala N., M., Dérozier, V., Kirk-Spriggs, A., László, G. leg., ANHRT:2023.3; 1 ♂, Nouabale-Ndoki National Park, Bomassa camp, 341m, 02°12'36.9"N, 16°11'30.2"E, 06–14.v.2023, MV light trap, Dérozier, V., Kirk-Spriggs, A., László, G., Mvouende, S. leg. ANHRT:2023.6; 2 ♂♂, Nouabale-Ndoki National Park, Mombongo camp, 352m, 02°10'30.7"N, 16°8'37.7"E, 2–7.ii.2023, actinic light trap, Bakala N., M., Dérozier, V., Kirk-Spriggs, A., László, G. leg., ANHRT:2023.3, gen. slide No.: LG 6453; 1 ♂, Nouabale-Ndoki National Park, Wali forest, 338m, 02°13'56.8"N, 16°12'13.9"E, 10–14.v.2023, actinic light trap, Dérozier, V., Kirk-Spriggs, A., László, G., Mvouende, S. leg., ANHRT: 2023.6, gen. slide No.: LG 6454 (ANHRT).
Description.
External morphology of adult (Figs 7–10).
Forewing length 17–19 mm in male, 23 mm in female. Antenna pale cream, bipectinate in both sexes, rami twice as long as diameter of antenna shaft in male, rami in female half as long as in male. Head small, compound eyes relatively large. Proboscis absent, labial palps short, porrect. Labial palps, frons, vertex, collar, uniformly dark brown, tegulae, mesothorax and legs somewhat paler; index of very short spurs 0-2-2. Forewing elongate, costal and anal margin straight, termen evenly arcuate, apex rounded; ground colour orange-brown to red-brown with variable extent of reddish or orange patches, distal end of cell with round red blotch. Transverse lines indiscernible except for very thin, continuous, grey terminal line and in some specimens a broad, diffuse, interrupted postmedial line may be observed; fringe brownish-grey. Forewing underside rufous-brown with dark brown costal margin. Hindwing short and narrow, elongate with rounded apex and anal margin; uniformly orange-red without transverse lines and discal spot, intensity of red varying; fringe pale ochreous in male, pale grey in female. Hindwing underside as of upperside with dark greyish-brown dorsal area. Abdomen uniformly reddish-brown without marking.
Male genitalia (Figs 17–18).
Uncus stout, proximal half slightly bulged dorsad, setose, distal half dilated dorsoventrally into a longitudinal dorsal crest with margin distally curved ventrad, ventrally with two short longitudinal lateral lobes, apex truncate. Tegumen moderately long and narrow. Juxta rather large, somewhat Xshaped with short, broad apically truncate anterolateral, and larger, triangular posterolateral lobes enclosing a V- or U-shaped medial incision with heavily sclerotised, rugged ridge-like margin. Vinculum short, saccus short and narrow, rounded. Valva moderately broad basally, split into three elongate processes: costal process elongate-triangular, medially constricted, bearing a cluster of long, needle-like setae apically; cucullus (medial process) ca. 2.5 times longer than costal process, relatively broad at base, gradually tapered distally, slightly arched postmedially, distal quarter slightly clubbed, apex rounded with dense group of fine, long, acute setae, gradually shortening proximad on ventral margin; saccular process almost as long as cucullus, narrow digitiform with rounded apex; ventral side covered in fine setae. Phallus short and narrow, straight; coecum with elongate-quadrangular process, taking up ca. one-third the length of entire phallus with two short rounded lobes apically; carina absent. Vesica with short, slightly inflated basal section possessing a very short pocket-like ventral diverticulum, and two small, sack-like dorsolateral diverticula, area around base of vesica ejaculatorius with a small grain-like cornutus and a weakly sclerotised area continued in proximal section of vesica ejaculatorius.
Female genitalia (Fig. 22).
Ovipositor very short, moderately broad, papilla analis rounded-quadrangular, very weakly setose, pseudopapillae short and narrow, triangular; apophysis posterioris short, as long as papilla analis, thin, apically rounded. Eighth tergite very short, narrow belt-like, apophysis anterioris very short (ca. one-quarter the length of posterior one), triangular with slightly dilated distal section and rounded apex. Sterigma highly modified and heavily sclerotised, dorsoventrally swollen, somewhat U-shaped pointing craniad, continued in ribbon-like, slightly wrinkled lateral sclerotisation connecting distal end of postvaginal plate with ventral margin of narrow ostium bursae. Antevaginal plate divided into a pair of large rounded-triangular lateral plates connected to anterior margin of sterigma. Ductus bursae moderately thick, short tubular (ca. one-third the length of corpus bursae) projecting caudad from ostium bursae then bent craniad; corpus bursae ovoid, membranous with very fine scobination dorsally; signum bursae absent.
Diagnosis. The northern Congolese M. (M.) sangha sp. n. is distinguished from the northwest Zambian M. (M.) lunda sp. n. by its somewhat larger size and the more extensive variably rufous or orange areas of the forewing and the more reddish hindwing colouration. In the male genitalia, M. (M.) sangha sp. n. has a markedly thicker cucullus (medial process of the valva) compared to that of M. (M.) lunda sp. n. In the female genitalia, the heavily sclerotised margin of the sterigma is somewhat narrower and the antevaginal lobes are markedly larger in M. (M.) sangha sp. n. than in M. (M.) lunda sp. n.
Etymology. This new species is dedicated to the Sangha people living along the Sangha River in the northern part of the Republic of Congo. The name is a noun in the nominative case.
Distribution (Fig. 23). Metarctia (Metarhodia) lunda sp. n. is known exclusively from Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park where it was collected in northwestern Congolian lowland rainforest habitats intermixed with Gilbertiodendron dewevrei stands.
description: Published as part of László, Gyula M. & Volynkin, Anton V., 2024, Three new species of the Metarctia Walker subgenus Metarhodia Kiriakoff from Zambia and Republic of Congo (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae: Syntomini), pp. 180-191 in Ecologica Montenegrina 77 on pages 184-186, DOI: 10.37828/em.2024.77.18, http://zenodo.org/record/14654700