Charissa (Pterygnophos) beljaevi Erlacher & Palma & Erlacher 2017, spec. nov.
Creators: name: Erlacher, Sven
name: Palma, Laura Marrero
name: Erlacher, Josepha
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Geometridae
Charissa
Charissa beljaevi

description: 2. Charissa (Pterygnophos) beljaevi spec. nov.
(adults Pl. 1, Figs 2a–2d; male gen. Pl. 2, Fig. 2e; female gen. Pl. 3, Fig. 2f)
Locus typicus: Mongolia, Selenge Province, Amarbayasgalant Monastery. Deposition of holotype: MNC.
Material examined. Type material. Holotype ♂ (Pl. 1, Fig. 2a; Pl. 2, Fig. 2e): ‘ Mongolia: Selenge | Amarbajasgalant Mo- | nastir (Felssteppe) | 49°56’N / 103°5715”E | 1060 m; 07.vii.2004 | leg. Karel Černý’, ‘barcode id. SE–MNC–Lep–01147’, [BIN BOLD:ABW0084], ‘JH–154 ♂ | gen. prep. | Harmeling, 2013’, <red label> ‘HOLOTYPE ♂ | Charissa | (Pterygnophos) beljaevi | Erlacher, Marrero & Erlacher 2017 ’, MNC.
Paratypes 2♂, 3♀: Mongolia: 1♂, Prov. Selenge, Amarbayasgalant Monastery, 49°56’N / 103°57’15”E, 1060 m, 07.vii.2004, leg. Karel Černý, gen. prep. SE–577, barcode id. SE–MNC– Lep –01148, BIN BOLD: ABW0084; 1♀ (Pl. 1, Fig. 2c; Pl. 3, Fig. 2f), same data, gen. prep. SE–578, barcode id. SE–MNC– Lep –01290, BIN BOLD: ABW0084, SMM. 1♂ (Pl. 1, Fig. 2b), Ulan Bator [Urga], gen. prep. JH–157; 1♀, same data, gen. prep. SE– 585; 1♀ (Pl. 1, Fig. 2d), same data, gen. prep. SE–601, MNHU.
Description. Adults (Pl. 1, Figs 2a–2d).
Measurements. Wingspan: 31–35 mm (♂), 37 mm (♀); forewing length: 15–17 mm (♂), 17–19 mm (♀); forewing width: 10–11 mm (♂), 9–12 mm (♀).
Wings. Ground coloration of different shades of light-brown with diffuse gray-brown pattern; discal spot dark gray-brown, sometimes only faintly contrasting with the background; medial lines weakly defined, indicated by dots or even not visible; underside likewise variable, pale-cream and light-gray, antemedial line absent, postmedial line visible or missing.
Male genitalia (Pl. 2, Fig. 2e). Total length: 2.31– 2.30 mm; length of ventral valva margin: 1.61–1.84 mm; uncus and gnathos both blunt and strongly sclerotized, gnathos slender, hook-like; juxta almost symmetrical; sclerotized dilation close to base of costa with serrate keel, not swollen; aedeagus length: 2.04–2.24 mm; aedeagus with cornutus.
Female genitalia (Pl. 3, Fig. 2f). Total length: 4.4–5.71 mm; antrum length: 1.35–1.37 mm; antrum width: 0.77–0.87 mm; length of spined longitudinal folding: 0.94–1.12 mm; antrum relatively short and stout, postvaginal plate almost not extending the antrum.
Diagnosis. The male genitalia of C. (P.) beljaevi spec. nov. may resemble those of C. (P.) creperaria and C. (P.) ochrofasciata. Both Charissa (P.) beljaevi spec. nov. and C. (P.) creperaria have a sclerotized dilation close to the base of the costa but in C. (P.) beljaevi spec. nov. this structure is not swollen and has a serrate keel, while it is bloated and covered with minute spines in C. (P.) creperaria (Fig. 4). Charissa (P.) ochrofasciata resembles C. (P.) beljaevi spec. nov. in the shape of the short valva process but besides the fact that the above mentioned valva sclerotization is absent in C. (P.) ochrofasciata, the species can be recognized by its costal thorns, situated proximal to the setae covered apex. Regarding the female genitalia, identification of C. (P.) beljaevi spec. nov. is possible on the basis of the antrum, which is shorter than in the other species (antrum length: 1.35–1.37 mm at maximum) and the postvaginal plate is not strongly extending the antrum as it is in the female genitalia of the other species of the subgenus Pterygnophos.
Distribution (Fig. 5). The holotype and two paratypes of C. (P.) beljaevi spec. nov. originate from the Monastery of Amarbayasgalant located in Selenge Province (1060 m) and three further paratypes have been captured around Ulan Bator, both in Mongolia.
Biology. All known specimens have been collected in the beginning of July.
Remarks. Males and females of the new species were assigned to each other by DNA barcoding analyzed with BOLD (http://www.boldsystems.org).
Based on available molecular data the nearest species to C. (P.) beljaevi spec. nov. is C. (P.) creperaria with a COI distance of 2.66% (see also Tab. 1 and Fig. 5). The morphology of male and female genitalia also indicates a close relationship between these species.
Etymology. The new species is dedicated to our colleague and friend Eugeniy A. Beljaev, Vladivostok, Russia, a leading authority in Geometrid moths of the Far East, in recognition of his consistent great willingness to help.
description: Published as part of Erlacher, Sven, Palma, Laura Marrero & Erlacher, Josepha, 2017, A systematic revision of Charissa, subgenus Pterygnophos Wehrli, 1951, with description of a new species (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) in Zootaxa 4341 (3), DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4341.3.4, http://zenodo.org/record/1040085