Irene Saldaitis & Benedek, 2017, gen. nov.
Creators: name: Saldaitis, Aidas
name: Benedek, Balázs
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Fungi
Ascomycota
Sordariomycetes
Meliolales
Meliolaceae
Irene

description: 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.
description: Published as part of Saldaitis, Aidas & Benedek, Balázs, 2017, Irene litanga, a new genus and new species in the Polia generic-complex from China (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Hadeninae, Hadenini), pp. 275-280 in Zootaxa 4238 (2) on page 275, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4238.2.9, http://zenodo.org/record/345273