Fignya brachygnatha Wu & Han 2024, comb. nov.
Creators: name: Wu, Jun
name: Han, Huilin
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Limacodidae
Fignya
Fignya brachygnatha

description: Fignya brachygnatha (Wu & Fang, 2008) comb. nov.
Figs 6, 15
Kitanola brachygnatha Wu & Fang, 2008, Acta Entomol. Sinica 51 (8): 866. Type locality: China, Yunnan, Xishuangbanna. Holotype: male, in IZCAS.
Material examined.
China • ♂, Yunnan Province, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Jinghong City, Mengyang Town, Yexianggu, 4–5. viii. 2018, HL Han & MR Li leg., genit. prep. WuJ-243-1, in NEFU.
Diagnosis.
The external characters of F. brachygnatha (Wu & Fang, 2008) comb. nov. (Fig. 6) are characterized by: the forewing with a grayish-brown ground color, scattered with ochre scales; the antemedial line is ochre-yellow, zigzag; the postmedial line is reddish-brown; at the end of the discal cell, there is a round white spot, below which is a larger white spot surrounded by dark brown scales; and the terminal area is triangular, grayish-white. Hindwings grayish-white, with a slightly darker coloration at the apex.
In the male genitalia (Fig. 15), the uncus is triangular with a small apical spine; the gnathos is short and broad, with a rounded tip; the valva is narrow and elongated, with a broad and rounded cucullus; the juxta is shield-shaped, with a pair of weakly sclerotized finger-like lateral process apically. The phallus is slender and bifurcate at the apex.
Distribution.
China (Yunnan).
Remarks.
Wu and Fang (2008) placed this species in the genus Kitanola Matsumura, 1925, based on its similarity to K. speciosa Inoue, 1956 [currently Mediocampa speciosa (Inoue, 1956), see Solovyev 2008: 23]. However, both the forewing pattern and the male genitalia of F. brachygnatha comb. nov. show significant differences from those of Kitanola species and are more closely aligned with the genus Fignya.
F. brachygnatha comb. nov. can be distinguished from the type species of the genus Kitanola, K. sachalinensis Matsumura, 1925 [currently a synonym of K. uncula (Staudinger, 1887)], by several morphological features. The newly combined species displays a grayish-brown forewing coloration, characterized by two distinct white circular spots near the end of the discal cell, which are surrounded by dark brown scales. The male genitalia are marked by a spoon-shaped gnathos, an absence of any processes in the valva, and a well-developed saccus. The aedeagus is stout and long, apical half forked, with a pointed apex.
In contrast, K. uncula exhibits highly variable forewing coloration, typically presenting 1–2 irregular discal spots. The male genitalia of K. uncula are distinguished by a large, hook-shaped gnathos, a valva with a fairly large fold on its inner surface, an inconspicuous saccus, and a curved aedeagus with a large, hook-shaped apical process.
Despite some discrepancies in the male genitalia characteristics compared to typical Fignya species, such as a rounded gnathos apex instead of comb-like, and the absence of a basal hairy process on the valva, F. brachygnatha shares several key characters with Fignya: (1) similar forewing patterns; (2) short uncus with a small apical spine; (3) juxta with a pair of finger-like lateral process at the apex; and (4) the saccus is long. Therefore, we formally transfer this species to the genus Fignya.
The newly combined species, as well as F. samkosa sp. nov., exhibit some differences in appearance and male genitalia from the rest of the genus as follows (the corresponding characters of the rest of the genus are in brackets): (1) the antemedial line and fringe of the forewing are golden (mostly grayish-brown to reddish-brown); (2) the gnathos is spoon-shaped, with the apical part nearly membranous and rough in surface (the gnathos is fishtail-shaped, with a comb-like tip); (3) the bristled process at the base of the valva is reduced to a small triangular flap or absent (the basal process of valva is well developed and bears laterally large bristles); and (4) the phallus is slender and bifurcated apically (the phallus is relatively short and thick, containing cornuti of varying sizes and numbers in the vesica).
We hypothesize that F. brachygnatha comb. nov. and F. samkosa sp. nov. may represent a lineage within the genus Fignya and might form a sister-group relationship with other congeners in this genus. However, this hypothesis requires further confirmation through molecular analysis.
description: Published as part of Wu, Jun & Han, Huilin, 2024, A taxonomic review of the genus Fignya Solovyev & Witt, 2009 (Lepidoptera, Limacodidae) with descriptions of three new species and one new combination, pp. 225-235 in ZooKeys 1213 on pages 225-235, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1213.132318