Siccia tsitsikamma Volynkin, 2023, sp. n.
Creators: name: Volynkin, Anton V.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Erebidae
Siccia
Siccia tsitsikamma

description: Siccia tsitsikamma sp. n.   
https://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 765DA98B-E53D-4DDF-8CDC-9EF97D4C31CD  
(Figs 276–278, 456, 528)  
 Type material. Holotype (Figs 276, 456): male, blue label “ RSA, West. Cape | Tsitsikamma N.P. / 31.3. – 1.4.2011 | leg. W. Mey ” / “MfN gen. prep. | A. Volynkin 2021 | N° 343 | ♂ ” (MfN).   
 Paratypes. REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA: 1 male, 3 females, Eastern Cape, Tsitsikamma Nature Sanctuary: Khoinania, 33°56.871'S, 23°31.272'E, 219m, 16–17.v.2006, A.J. Kingston, gen. prep. Nos.: AV6645 (male), AV6646 (female) (AKW); 1 male, 94m, Eastern Cape, Golden Route National Park, Tsitsikamma, 34°01'S, 23°53'E, 8–11.iii.2018, Kovtunovich, V., Yakovlev, R. leg., gen. prep. No.: AV5271 (ANHRT).   
 Diagnosis. The forewing length is 8.5–9.0 mm in males and 9.0– 9.5 mm in females. Siccia tsitsikamma externally differs from S. punctipennis in the larger size, the longer rami of the male antenna, the broader forewing with a creamy white ground colour (it varies from off-white to brown or dark brownish-grey in the congener), and the more distinct and larger, blackish forewing markings. The male genital capsule of S. tsitsikamma is distinguished from S. punctipennis by the longer vinculum, the shorter valva with a narrower and apically tapered cucullus (it is rounded with a short, dorsally directed spike-like tip in the congener), the thinner distal saccular process, and the more robust dentation of the lateral lobes of the juxta. The phallus of the new species is somewhat narrower than in S. punctipennis and bears thinner and slightly longer spines on the carinal plate. The vesica configurations of the two species are similar but in S. tsitsikamma, the dorsal diverticulum is narrower, has a shorter lateral lobe, and bears a narrower cluster of shorter cornuti. In the female genitalia, S. tsitsikamma differs from S. punctipennis in the narrower and more weakly sclerotised ductus bursae, the markedly shorter and narrower corpus bursae bearing weaker spinulose scobination, and the narrower appendix bursae situated more laterally (it is positioned postero-laterally in the congener.   
 Molecular data. As only a single specimen was sequenced in this study, the intraspecific variability of COI-5P sequences of this species could not be calculated. The morphologically similar S. punctipennis diverges genetically from the new species by 4.15–4.63%.   
 Distribution. The new species is currently known only from the coastal area in southwestern Eastern Cape Province, Republic of South Africa.   
 Etymology. The specific epithet is homonymic of Tsitsikamma National Park, where the new species was found. The name is a noun in the nominative singular in apposition.
description: Published as part of Volynkin, Anton V., 2023, Contribution to the knowledge of the genus Siccia Walker (= Aemene Walker, syn. n.) in the Afrotropics with descriptions of seventy-three new species, three new subspecies, and a check-list of Asiatic taxa of the genus (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae: Lithosiini), pp. 1-184 in Ecologica Montenegrina 64 on page 99, DOI: 10.37828/em.2023.64.1, http://zenodo.org/record/13248512