Siculodes Guenee 1858
Creators: name: Queiroz-Santos, Luziany
name: Casagrande, Mirna Martins
name: Mielke, Olaf Hermann Hendrik
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Thyrididae
Siculodes

description: Siculodes Guenée, 1858
(Figs 1 – 6, 12 – 14, 18 – 23, 28 – 33)
Type species: Siculodes aurorula Guenée, 1858, by subsequent designation by Whalley (1964).
Siculodes Guenée, 1858, in Boisduval & Guenée. Histoire naturelle des Insectes: species général des Lépidoptères,Atlas, Uranides,Phalénites, Siculides, Siculides,Atlas,plate 1; species included: Siculodes nervicula Guenée, 1858, S. nubecula Guenée, 1858, S. aurorula Guenée, 1858, S. reticula Guenée, 1858, S. perlula Guenée, 1858, S. tigridula Guenée, 1858. — Guenée, 1877. Annales de la Société entomologique de France, (5) 7: 289; syn.: Aziba.— Meyrick, 1886. Transactions of the Entomological Society of London 1886: 215.— Pagenstecher, 1892. Deutsche entomologische Zeitschrift “Iris”, 5: 59, 82; syn.: Risama, Aziba, Morova, Belenoptera [sic], Draconia, Vadata, Pharambara, Iza.— H. Druce, 1895, in Godman & Salvin. Biologia Centrali—Americana. Insecta. Lepidoptera —Heterocera, 2: 187; as a junior synonym of Aziba. — Whalley, 1964. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, (13) 7 (74): 125.— Whalley & Heppner, 1995, Thyridoidea, in Becker et al. Checklist: Part 2, Hyblaeoidea—Pyraloidea—Tortricoidea, in Heppner (ed.). Atlas of Neotropical Lepidoptera 3: 31; syn.: Risama, Aziba.
Risama Walker, 1865. List of the specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum, 32: 519; only one species included: Risama picta Walker, 1865. — Hampson, 1897. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, (1): 629.— Gaede, 1936, in Seitz. Die Gross -Schmetterlinge des Amerikanischen Faunengebietes. Die amerikanischen Spinner und Schwärmer 6: 1207.— Dalla Torre, 1914. Lepidopterorum Catalogus 20: 41.— Forbes, 1942. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy, 90 (2): 349.— Whalley, 1964. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, (13) 7 (74): 126.
Type species: Risama picta Walker, 1865, by monotypy.
Taxonomic history. Siculodes was originally described based on figures of males and females of S. nervicula, S. nubecula, S. aurorula, S. reticula, S. perlula, and S. tigridula. Siculodes nervicula was transferred by Hampson (1897) and S. reticula by Gaede (1936) to Belonoptera Herrich-Schäffer, [1858]. Hampson (1897) transferred S. perlula and S. tigridula to Rhodoneura Guenée, 1858 and S. nubecula was transferred by Druce (1895) to Iza Walker, 1865. Whalley (1964) designated Siculodes aurorula as the type species of Siculodes.
Risama was originally described based on one female of R. picta without illustration, consequently, its type species; the genus was later synonymized with Siculodes by Pagenstecher (1892).
Diagnosis. Siculodes differs from the other genera of Siculodini by the forewing with apex truncate and hindwing with costal margin biconcave in Hepialodes Guenée (in Siculodes apex pointed and hindwing with costal margin straight); wings dark brown ground color, as the tegula, with irregular beige patches and valva with spiniform process in Isa Walker (in Siculodes colors are more vivid as the bands and spots and valva is simple); valva with editum small with thin and long setae and fultura superior sclerotized, with two arms converging posteriorly, forming an inverted V-shape with numerous spines in Loxiorhiza Warren (valva simple as the fultura superior in Siculodes); hindwings lanceolate and abdomen in both sexes subequal in length to the forewing in Meskea Grote (in Siculodes hindwing triangular and shorter than abdomen); hindwings triangular and fultura inferior with the aspect of two thin stick in Zeuzerodes Pagenstecher (hindwing also triangular but fultura inferior U or S-shaped in Siculodes); forewing and/ or hindwing with outer margin crenulate and hindwing with apex pointed in Draconia Hübner (in Siculodes outer margin not crenulate on both wings and the hindwing with apex rounded); hindwing with outer margin rounded and scaphium present in Belonoptera Herrich-Schäffer (hindwing with outer margin also rounded but scaphium absent in Siculodes). It is morphologically most similar to Aziba gen. rev., but it differs in the more vivid color pattern that ranges from pink, yellow to brown (in Aziba gen. rev. the coloration is duller, such as ochre and brown, which could be confused in nature with dry leaves). Peculiarly, labial palps smaller than width of thorax (while in Aziba gen. rev. the palps are larger), males with one and females with two bristles on the frenulum (in Aziba absent, but in A. mediula and A. falcata the number of bristles varies in female, between two and three), forewing with R vein separating into R 1 and Rs upon reaching 2/5 of Sc and half of the disc cell, Rs divided into the following veins: R 2, R 3, R 4 and R 5 (veins R 2 +R 3 start together from Rs and bifurcate at different distances in Aziba gen. rev.), apex pointed (in addition to pointed in Aziba gen. rev. the apex is similar to a half moon). The male genitalia have the gnathos pronounced (narrow in Aziba gen. rev.) and the valva with costa slightly concave (straight in Aziba gen. rev.) while the female genitalia are similar in the lamella antevaginal membranous (sclerotized in S. avicula) and in the anal papilla with short and fine bristles (long bristles in Aziba gen. rev.).
Redescription. Thorax: spots or lines defined on ventral surface of both wings; male with one and female with two bristles in frenulum; forewing with vein R parallel and close to Sc, separating into R 1 and Rs upon reaching 2/5 of Sc and half of disc cell, Rs divided into following veins: R 2, R 3, R 4 and R 5; R 2, R 3 reaching costal margin, R 4 reaching apex; R 5 ending at outer margin, apex pointed; metathoracic tibia with four spurs.
Male genitalia: uncus triangular with pointed apex directed ventrally and just after base covered with short, fine bristles; gnathos sclerotized, projected postero-ventrally; valva longer than wide, narrowing obliquely from distal half, with bristles on entire inner face, costa slightly concave, apex rounded, sacculus rectangular; fultura inferior with short bristles; aedeagus cylindrical with dorsal opening for ductus ejaculatorius.
Female genitalia: tergite VIII sclerotized, square or rectangular in lateral view; lamella antevaginal and ostium membranous; bursa copulatrix with antrum sclerotized or slightly sclerotized and ductus bursae in different formats, sometimes long and of same thickness until dilating in corpus bursae, or progressively widening, and remaining portion of ductus and corpus bursae entirely membranous; signum with spinules in different shapes; papilla analis covered with short, fine bristles.
description: Published as part of Queiroz-Santos, Luziany, Casagrande, Mirna Martins & Mielke, Olaf Hermann Hendrik, 2024, Taxonomic revision of Siculodes Guenée and revalidation of Aziba Walker (Lepidoptera, Thyrididae, Siculodinae, Siculodini), pp. 501-538 in Zootaxa 5543 (4) on pages 503-506, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5543.4.2, http://zenodo.org/record/14386579