Phaselia sihvoneni Werner, Wanke, Rajaei 2023, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Werner, Maria Johanna
name: Hausmann, Axel
name: Kostjuk, Igor
name: Wanke, Dominic
name: Rajaei, Hossein
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Geometridae
Phaselia
Phaselia sihvoneni

description: Phaselia sihvoneni Werner, Wanke, Rajaei sp. nov.   
(Figs 43–46, 98–100, 136–137, 144).  
 Type material examined.   
Holotype, 1 ♀, “ India, J & K [Jammu and Kashmir], Ladakh, Kharbu, 2800 m, 13.viii.1984, leg. W. Thomas ”, g. prep (♀) 1213/2021 D. Wanke (in SMNS).  
Paratypes (7 ♁♁, 1 ♀): 1 ♁, “ Tajikistan, W. Pamir, Rushan distr. (border with Afghanistan), Jazgulemskiy range, Shipad vill, 2000 m, 29.vii.2014, Leg. Valentina Zurilina ”, g. prep. (♁) 0130/2021 M. Werner (in PCPS). 2 ♁♁, “N-Pakistan, Naltar, 2950 m, N36°08', E74°12', Nr. 19, 18.vi.1992, leg. M. Hreblay & G. Csorba ”, g. prep. (♁) 0158/2021 M. Werner; 3 ♁♁, “N-Pakistan, 8 km N of Sost, 2800 m, N36°74', E74°49', Nr. 17, 15.vi.1992, leg. M. Hreblay & G. Csorba ”, g. prep. (♁) 0159/2021 M. Werner (in PCMS). 1 ♀, “ Pakistan, Baltistan, Satpara lake N of Skardu, A. LT., 2620 m, 15.vii.1990, F. Aluombard & J. Plante leg.”, g. prep. (♀) 0165/2021 M. Werner (in NHMUK). 1 ♁, “N-Pakistan, 2 km N of Karimabad, 2900 m, N36°25', E74°40', Nr. 15, 13.vi.1992, leg. M. Hreblay & G. Csorba ”, g. prep. (♁) 0153/2021 M. Werner (in PCMS).  
 Description. Wingspan, males: 32–36 mm (average 32 mm, n = 5), females: 32.5–33 in females (average 32.6 mm, n = 3).   
 Forewing. Ground colour warm white, slightly speckled with very fine brown to pale grey dots; basal area and postmedial area darker than medial area; antemedial line darker than basal area, clearly zigzagged with rounded to acute tips, all three teeth are of similar length; medial line present as a diffuse darker brown shadow close to postmedial line; postmedial line thin, dark brown, strongly kinked inwards on costal area; subterminal line dark brown, either continuous, serrate with well-pronounced triangular spikes, or interrupted in the middle, serrate with weakly pronounced triangular spikes, distally accompanied by a white shadow; terminal line dark brown, wavy.   
 Hindwing. Ground colour white, speckled with brown towards terminal area; postmedial line brown, medially projected outwards; sometimes interrupted or even invisible; subterminal line barely visible as a light shadow.   
Discal spots usually visible as brown, short streaks or tiny dots on all wings, sometimes faded. Fringes in all wings white and brown, dark at the end of the veins. Ventral side generally paler than dorsal side, pattern of upper side shines through the wings, visible as a shadow (figs 43–46).  
 Male genitalia. Uncus triangular, tip incurved; gnathos well-sclerotized, medially not fused; valva trapezoidal; costal part of valva slightly sclerotized, distally finger-shaped, extended over the apex of valvula; sacculus small, oval, with a few equally distributed spines, not elongated at the ventral tip of sacculus; juxta formed as two ovals fused in the upper half; saccus wide, triangular, terminally curved. Aedeagus thick and short, straight or slightly curved, vesica with two separate, well-sclerotized cornuti: a claw-like curved cornutus and a more or less twisted, spinose plate-like cornutus (figs 98–100).   
 Female genitalia. Ovipositor large and wide; apophyses posteriores up to three times longer than apophyses anteriores; lamella antevaginalis wide, evenly sclerotized throughout its width, with slightly ruffle-like sclerotization; ductus bursae membranous, very large and round, wider than lamella antevaginalis, slightly tapered towards corpus bursae; corpus bursae membranous, ornamented with a small but well-sclerotized, round, stellate signum (figs 136–137).   
 Diagnosis. Phaselia sihvoneni sp. nov. can be confused with P. serrularia, P. erika and P. kasyi.   
 For differentiation of P. sihvoneni sp. nov. from P. serrularia and P. erika, see the diagnosis of the respective species above. Characters of the compared species are given in parentheses.   
 P. sihvoneni sp. nov. vs. (P. kasyi)   
 External characters (figs 43–49). No diagnostic characters.   
 Male genitalia (figs 98–102). Sacculus oval; ventral tip not elongated; spinose plate-like cornutus well-twisted, about as long as claw-like curved cornutus (sacculus triangular, ventral tip slightly elongated; spinose plate-like cornutus slightly twisted, clearly shorter than claw-like curved cornutus).   
 Female genitalia (136–139). Antrum very large, round and only slightly tapered towards corpus bursae (antrum spherical, ductus bursae formed from two semispherical lateral halfs fused together, strongly tapered towards corpus bursae).   
 Phenology. Possibly uni- or bivoltine. Investigated specimen collected from June to August.   
 Biology. Unknown.   
 Habitat. Investigated specimens have been collected at altitudes from 620 m up to 3600 m.   
 Distribution. Central Tajikistan, North Pakistan, and North India (fig. 144).   
 DNA barcoding. No data available.   
 Etymology. The name sihvoneni is dedicated to our friend and well-known Geometridae specialist, director of the Department of Zoology at Finnish Museum of Natural History, long-term cooperation partner Pasi Sihvonen.
description: Published as part of Werner, Maria Johanna, Hausmann, Axel, Kostjuk, Igor, Wanke, Dominic & Rajaei, Hossein, 2023, Integrative taxonomic revision of the genus Phaselia Guenée, [1858] (Geometridae: Ennominae) in the Middle East and Central Asia, pp. 1-66 in Zootaxa 5326 (1) on pages 21-22, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5326.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/8243811