Rhodostrophia vahabzadehi Rajaei & Hausmann & Trusch 2022, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Rajaei, Hossein
name: Hausmann, Axel
name: Trusch, Robert
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Geometridae
Rhodostrophia
Rhodostrophia vahabzadehi

description: Rhodostrophia vahabzadehi sp. nov.
(Figs 60–62, 77, 79, 94, Map 14)
Holotype ♂, Iran, Kerman, Jiroft NW, Gardaneh Sarbishan, Shingara vic., 2700–2900 m, 3.–4.vi.2002, leg. J.-U. Meineke, A. Hofmann & A. Kallies, in SMNK.
Paratypes: 4 ♂, 12 ♀, same as holotype, g.p. (♂) 602, 627, (♀) 603, 616/2005 R. Trusch, (♂) 2410/2021 H. Rajaei; barcode: BC ZSM Lep 33897, 33898; 1 ♂, 3 ♀, Kerman, Jiroft W, Shingera, 2800m, 22.–23.v.2004, barcode: BC ZSM Lep 33900.; 1 ♂, id., 26.–27.v.2004, barcode: BC ZSM Lep 33899. all leg. J.-U. Meineke et al.; in PCJM (will be deposited in SMNK).
1 ♂, 1 ♀, Iran, Kerman, Jiroft NW, Gardaneh Sarbishan, Shingara vic., 2700–2900 m, 3.–4.vi.2002, leg. J.-U. Meineke, A. Hofmann & A. Kallies, g.p. (♂) 2407, (♀) 2408/2021 H. Rajaei; Iran, Kerman, Sarbishan, Shingara vic., 2789 m, 32°17'26"N, 55°27'17"E, 28.04.2016, leg. Sh. Feizpour; all in SMNS.
2 ♂, 2 ♀, [Iran] Kerman, Baft, Ghanat-Marvan, 2800 m, 23.5.1977, [leg.] Safavi, Pazuki, Abai, g.p. (♂) 614/2005 R. Trusch, 2409/2021 H. Rajaei; in HMIM.
4 ♂, Iran, Fars, Kuhha-ye-Zagros, Kuh-e-Dinar, Komehr, E30.342, N51.955, 2892 m, 29.vi.2005, leg. G. Petranyi, in coll. Petranyi.
Description (Figs 60–62). Head and thorax: Antenna filiform in female; quadripectinate in male with long pectinations, ventrally dentate. Frons slightly protruding (about the same size as eye diameter), speckled with dark and light brown scales. Labial palpi brown, straight, narrow, slightly exceeding frons. Proboscis well-developed. Chaetosemata developed as two distinct lateral patches on vertex. Frons, thorax and abdomen dark brown, concolorous with wings. Tibial spur formula in male: 0–2–3; female: 0–2–4. Epiphysis of foretibia well developed (half length of tibia). Wingspan 30–33 mm (forewing length 15–18 mm). Forewing elongate, apex acutely angled, termen straight, tornus evenly rounded. Hindwing moderate in size, oval. Ground colour of wings dark grey-brown with little variation, medial fascia on forewing even darker. Ante- and postmedial lines of forewings and postmedial line of hindwings serrate, darker in colour and bordered by a light shadow. Discal spots present on all wings, larger on forewing. Underside of wings warm light brown, getting darker brown towards termen; postmedial line slightly visible; discal spots visible. Last abdominal sternite (A8) of male specimens bilobed (Fig. 77c), with short, wide octavals, terminally rounded.
Male genitalia (Figs 77, 79). Uncus elongated, thumb-shaped, its apical part setose, wider than at base (fig. 3). Gnathos well-developed, apically spatulate, laterally fused to the margins of tegumen. Valva triangular; its apical part slightly projected, curved inwards; costal part of valva submedially swollen; sacculus smooth, welldeveloped and curved inwards; juxta wide, laterally curved; saccus short. Aedeagus medially slightly curved; vesica membranous, cornuti develeoped as a large spine, dagger-shaped.
Female genitalia (Fig. 94). Corpus bursae spherical; signum developed as a, roughly dumbbell-shaped sclerite, covering less than half of corpus bursae. Ductus bursae short, cylindrical not membranous. Posterior apophyses twice length of anterior apophyses.
Differential diagnosis. The new species can be externally diagnosed from its sister species (R. peripheres) and also from R. cuprinaria, based on its greyish-brown colour. For a more confident determination the dissection of genitalia is recommended. Based on the dentated sacculus in R. cuprinaria (smooth in the new species and in R. peripheres) R. vahabzadehi sp. nov. can be differentiated from R. cuprinaria (Figs 75d–77d). Also the short cornutus in R. cuprinaria is clearly in contrast with the much larger one in R. vahabzadehi sp. nov. It is possible to distinguish the new species from R. peripheres by the following characters: the apical part of the valva is shorter and less curved (this character is visible only in ventral view and in natural position of the valva before embedding; see Figs 78c and 79c) In the new species the dorsal, subapical part of the valva is covered with fine setae (covered with short spines in R. peripheres, see Figs 78a and 79a); the cornutus is somewhat longer and stouter in the new species (Figs 78c, 79c). Also the female genitalia show clear diagnostic characters (cf. Figs 93 and 94): the ductus bursae is cylindrical in the new species (funnel-shaped in R. peripheres); the corpus bursae is spherical, the signum roughly dumbbell-shaped (the corpus bursae is oblique, the signum elongated as well in R. peripheres, see Figs 93b and 94b). The new species is characterized also by barcoding gap with regard to both R. peripheres and R. cuprinaria.
Genetic data. BIN: BOLD:ABZ5777. Genetically homogeneous. Nearest species: R. peripheres (2.4%) (Fig. 119, Table 1).
Distribution (Map 14). Known only from the type localities in Iran in southern Kerman).
Life history and habitat. The type locality of R. vahabzadehi sp. nov. is located at high altitude (2800 m) in the easternmost parts of Zagros mountains. The habitats are covered with plenty of annual plants, e.g. Astragalus ssp. (Fabaceae); Artemisia ssp. (Asteraceae); Eryngium ssp. (Apiaceae) and shrubs (e.g. Prunus and Amygdalus spp. (Rosaceae). This locality is the type locality of several other recently discovered species (e.g. Lithostege samandooki Rajaei, 2011; Nychiodes mirzayansi Wanke, Hausmann & Rajaei, 2020). Photos of the habitat are already published by Rajaei et al. (2011: 46).
Etymology. The name of the new species is dedicated to Abdolhossein Vahabzadeh (born 30.ix.1947, Sabzevar, Iran), well-known Iranian ecologist, teacher, author and translator. Vahabzadeh founded the innovative “School of Nature” in Iran, which is a great alternative of the classic kindergarten.
description: Published as part of Rajaei, Hossein, Hausmann, Axel & Trusch, Robert, 2022, Taxonomic review of the genus Rhodostrophia Hübner, 1823 (Geometridae: Sterrhinae) in Iran, pp. 1-64 in Zootaxa 5118 (1) on pages 43-44, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5118.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/6378566