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

description: Siccia punctipennis (Wallengren, 1860)   
(Figs 271–275, 454, 455, 529)  
 Lithosia punctipennis Wallengren, 1860, Wiener entomologische monatschrift, 4 (2): 46 (Type locality: [RSA] “Caffraria”).   
 Type material examined. Photographs of syntype (Fig. 271): female, “Caffra- | ria.” / “ Lithosia | punctipennis | Wallengr.” / “17” / “243” / “NHRS-SRAH | 000000916” (NHRS).   
 Additional material examined. REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA: 1 male, Natal, Weenen, i– iii.1927, H.P. Thomasset, unique number: NHMUK010916023, gen. prep. No.: NHMUK010314619 (prepared by Volynkin) (NHMUK); 1 female, Natal, 1902-74 / Durban, 12/07, G.J. Leish, unique number: NHMUK010916024, gen. prep. No.: NHMUK010314620 (prepared by Volynkin) (NHMUK); 1 male, 1870m, Free State Prov., Golden Gate Highlands N.P., 28°30'S, 28°34E, 26.ii.–4.iii.2018, Kovtunovich, V., Yakovlev, R. leg., gen. prep. No.: AV5272 (ANHRT); MOZAMBIQUE: 1 male, 9m, Maputo Special Reserve, Mangrove Camp (Mangrove-Woodland Mosaic), 26˚19'35.9''S, 32˚42'35.7''E, 7–9.xii.2016, Light Trap, Aristophanous, M., Cristóvāo, J., László, G., Miles, W. leg., gen. prep. No.: AV3160 (ANHRT); 1 male, 1 female, 22m, Maputo Special Reserve, West Gate (Sand Forest), 26˚30'14.2''S, 32˚42'59.6''E, 30.v.– 9.vi.2017, Actinic Light Trap, Aristophanous, M., Laszlo, G., Miles, W., Vetina, A. leg., gen. prep. No.: AV3151 (male) (ANHRT); 1 male, 2 females, 11m, Maputo Special Reserve, forest clearing campsite (Sand Forest), 26˚17'24''S, 32˚45'45''E, 9–12.vi.2017, MV and Actinic Light Traps, Aristophanous, M., László, G., Miles, W., Vetina, A. leg., gen. prep. No.: AV3152 (male) (ANHRT); 1 female, 15m, Maputo Special Reserve, nr. Swamp Forest (Sand Thicket), 26˚27'59''S, 32˚54'16''E, 28.v.2017, Actinic Light Trap, Aristophanous, M., László, G., Miles, W., Vetina, A. leg., gen. prep. No.: AV3162 (ANHRT); ZIMBABWE: 1 male, Masvingo, Kyle Nat. Park, 1–4.xii.1993, Mey & Ebert leg. / Paratypus Siccia eberti by L. Kühne, gen. prep. No.: AV4841 (MfN); 1 male, Masvingo province, Glenlivet, Muunze Forest Lodge, 1074m, 20°08.343'S 31°03.967'E, 21–25.xi.2017, A. Kingston, K. Larsen, A. Cipolla leg., gen. prep. No.: AV6643 (AKW); 1 female, Manicaland, Chipinge Highlands, Chirinda Forest, 1170m, 20°24.604'S 32°41.962'E, 19–20.xi.2017, A. Kingston, K. Larsen, A. Cipolla leg., gen. prep. No.: AV6644 (AKW).   
 Diagnosis. The forewing length is 6.5–8.5 mm in males and 7.5–8.5 mm in females. The species is significantly variable in its size, forewing shape and colouration. However, the male genitalia structures of different forms are stable and display no remarkable differences. The diagnostic comparison with S. tsitsikamma is provided below in the diagnosis of this species.   
 Molecular data. Three specimens from southern Mozambique diverge from a specimen from Free State Province, Republic of South Africa by 2.67% whereas the population from southern Mozambique is genetically uniform with 0.00% intraspecific variability. The pairwise distance between S. punctipennis and S. tsitsikamma is in the range of 4.15–4.63%.   
 Distribution. The species is known from north-eastern Republic of South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal and Free State Provinces) (Wallengren 1860), southern Mozambique and Zimbabwe (Kühne 2007, as S. eberti, partim.). The records from Madagascar, the Comoros (de Toulgoët 1979), and the Seychelles (Legrand 1966) belong to S. sordida. The record from Namibia (Grünberg 1910) is doubtful and requires clarification.
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 pages 98-99, DOI: 10.37828/em.2023.64.1, http://zenodo.org/record/13248512