Acronicta (Viminia) nigricans Leech 1900, comb. n.
Creators: name: Volynkin, Anton V.
name: Stüning, Dieter
name: Matov, Alexej Yu.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Noctuidae
Acronicta
Acronicta nigricans

description: Acronicta (Viminia) nigricans (Leech, 1900), comb. n.
(Figs 8–10, 21, 22, 26, 27)
Acronycta nigricans Leech, 1900, Transactions of the Entomological Society of London, 1900: 104 (Type locality: W. China, Wa- Shan).
= Acronicta (Hyboma) regifica Draudt, 1937, Entomologische Rundschau, 54: 383, pl. 4, fig. 2b (Type locality: China, N Yunnan province, Likiang), syn. n.
Type material examined. syntypes of A. nigricans (Fig. 8): 1 male with abdomen in capsule on a pin under the
specimen, printed whitish label "Washan, 6000 ft., Pratt coll., July 1889 " / handwritten whitish label " Acronycta
nigricans sp. n. Type male" / printed whitish label "Leech Coll. 1900–64 " / printed round white label with red ring
"Type" / white printed label with QR-code "BMNH(E) 1377136"; 1 female, printed whitish label "Washan, 6000 ft., Pratt
coll., July 1889 " / handwritten whitish label " Acronycta nigricans sp. n. Type female" / printed whitish label "Leech Coll.
1900–64 " / printed round white label with red ring "Type" / white printed label with QR-code "NHMUK010604265" (preserved in coll. NHM); syntypes of A. regifica (Figs 9, 21): 1 male, [China] Likiang, ca. 3000 m, Prov. Nord- Yuennan, 10.vi.1935, H. Höne / Acr. regifica Dr., slide ZFMK-2300- DS Stüning; 1 female, same data, but 12.vi.1935; 1 female, same data, but 6.vi.1935, ca. 2000 m; 1 female, same data, but 14.vi.1935 (preserved in coll. ZFMK).
Other material examined: 3 females, Washan, 6000 ft., Pratt coll., July 1889 (Coll. NHM); 1 male, [China] Likiang, ca. 3000 m, Prov. Nord-Yuennan, 16.vi.1934, H. Höne, slide ZFMK-Kononenko 1762 (Coll. ZFMK); 1 female, same data, 6.vi.1934, slide ZFMK-2290- DS Stüning; 1 female, same data, but 29.v.1935, ca. 2000 m (Coll. ZFMK).
Notes. The syntypes of A. nigricans is externally identical to the syntypes of A. regifica, therefore the new synonymy is introduced. Han & Kononenko (2010) erroneously placed A. nigricans to the subgenus Hylonycta Sugi, 1979, but its male genitalia have all features of the subgenus Viminia (the manica has numerous teeth, the harpe is not strongly curved, the vesica has strong cornuti and not numerous small teeth as in Hylonycta), therefore the new combination is established.
Diagnosis. The species has an unmistakable appearance, but the genitalia (Figs 21, 22, 26, 27) are surprisingly close to those of A. lutea (Figs 17 –20, 25, 28) and differ only by the somewhat longer distal part of valva, the somewhat shorter saccular process, and the stronger medial cornuti in males, and by the larger appendix bursae, absence of sclerotized plate near connection of ductus bursae and corpus bursae, and larger digitus-like dorsal posterior diverticulum of corpus bursae in females.
Distribution. The species is known from southern part of China (Yunnan and Sichuan provinces).
description: Published as part of Volynkin, Anton V., Stüning, Dieter & Matov, Alexej Yu., 2016, On the taxonomy of the genus Acronicta (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae). III. Acronicta lutea species group, pp. 595-599 in Zootaxa 4193 (3) on pages 598-599, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4193.3.10, http://zenodo.org/record/167261