Zaphanta elephanticula St Laurent & Giusti 2019, sp. nov.
Creators: name: St Laurent, Ryan A.
name: Giusti, Alessandro
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Mimallonidae
Zaphanta
Zaphanta elephanticula

description: Zaphanta elephanticula sp. nov.
(Figures 13, 14, 31, 42) urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 03241157 -1925-4EF6-B426-A8E816C7E457
Diagnosis
Most characters that differentiate Z. elephanta from other Zaphanta species also apply to Z. elephanticula. Zaphanta elephanticula, however, is smaller than Z. elephanta, and has more well-defined wing markings (especially ventrally) and less sharply angled wings. The genitalia of these two species are similar in general structure, but Z. elephanticula lacks the large costal valvae apodeme spines, has a more pronounced saccular edge of the valvae which extends outward as a small point roughly halfway along the valva length, has a narrower and more well-defined transtilla sclerotisation which is distinctly bifurcated at its base, and has a simpler phallus which lacks the pronounced dorsal lobes found in Z. elephanta.
Description
Male. Head: As for genus but darker orange-red rather than yellow, apical segment of labial palpus darkly scaled. Thorax: As for genus, but slightly darker beige overall, ventrally darker orange-red. Legs: As for genus but clothed in darker orange-red scales, darker scale rings at terminus of tibia still strongly contrasting despite darker overall leg colouration. Fore wing dorsum: Fore wing length: 11.0–11.5 mm, wingspan: 23 mm, n = 2. As for genus, mesal margin angle blunt, colouration more suffused with beige especially antemedially and submarginally. Fore wing ventrum: As for genus, but deeper yellow than most other species, with well-defined wavy, nearly complete postmedial line. Hind wing dorsum: As for genus, but colouration almost entirely suffused with beige. Hind wing ventrum: As for genus; postmedial line particularly well defined and complete. Abdomen: As for genus, but colouration beige rather than yellow. Genitalia: (Figure 31) n = 1. Vinculum ovoid, rectangular dorsally at juncture with tegumen. Tegumen narrow, but small relative to width of upper portion of vinculum; ventral margins pass below upper margin of vinculum and nearly converge. Uncus subtriangular and heavily sclerotised apically. Gnathos forming a closed ring with lateral margins of tegumen, mesally more heavily sclerotised and extended as pair of mesally convergent sharp points; uncus, gnathos, tegumen complex narrow, width narrower and shorter than vinculum. Transtilla reduced to narrow strip of sclerotisation, basally bifurcated. Valvae approximately rounded, smaller than vinculum, sacculus thickened, distally extended beyond edge of valvae as short point halfway along saccular margin of valva. Costal base of valvae (valva apodeme) extended and densely covered in elongate setae. Caecum of phallus equal in length to distal half of phallus, caecum phallus rounded. Phallus distally broadened, dorsally irregularly edged, ventral extension of phallus about as sclerotised as remainder of phallus; phallus smooth laterally.
Female. Unknown.
Type material
Holotype ♂. Brazil: Amazonas: Reserva Ducke, km 26, Manaus-Itacoatiara Highway, 18 May 1972 /St Laurent dissection: 8-25-18:1 / HOLOTYPE ♂ Zaphanta elephanticula St Laurent and Giusti, 2019 /(CNC).
Paratype. 1 ♂, Data exactly as for holotype (CNC).
Distribution
This new species is only known from the vicinity of Manaus, Brazil.
Etymology
The name elephanticula is derived from the similarity of this species to Z. elephanta, with the Latin diminutive suffix to denote the smaller size of Z. elephanticula.
Remarks
Zaphanta elephanticula and Z. anas are the only Zaphanta species known to be sympatric. However, these two species are readily differentiated by both external and genitalia morphology. Although our sample size for both species is very limited, both Z. elephanticula specimens were collected on the same day in May, whereas the sole specimen of Z. anas was collected nearly a month earlier in April.
description: Published as part of St Laurent, Ryan A. & Giusti, Alessandro, 2019, Revision of Zaphanta Dyarı 1910 (Lepidoptera: Mimallonidae: Zaphantinae) ı with descriptions of nine new species, pp. 1209-1246 in Journal of Natural History 53 (19) on pages 1230-1231, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2019.1634772, http://zenodo.org/record/3673463