Magnificus Yan 2000
Creators: name: Grehan, John R.
name: Mielke, Carlos G. C.
name: Minet, Joël
name: Ignatev, Nikolai
name: Buchsbaum, Ulf
name: Xue, Dayong
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Hepialidae
Magnificus

description: Genus Magnificus Yan, 2000
Figs 1–23, 30
Type species: Magnificus jiuzhiensis Yan, 2000 by original designation.
Magnificus Yan (2000: 1).— Dai et al. (2019: 134)
Diagnosis. Medium sized moths from northern central China. Forewing pale greyish to yellowish or pinkish brown with mottled or ‘marbled’ texture of irregular pale and dark transverse/oblique lines and irregular patches. The wing patterns distinguish Magnificus from the other Asian genera as well as those of northern Eurasia. Monophyly of Magnificus is supported by two unique features: a narrow posteriorly angled tergosternal sclerite (Fig. 23) and a channel shaped apical fusion of the pseudoteguminal arms (Figs 12 a–c, 13b).
Etymology. Not specified by Yan (2000), presumed to refer to the ‘magnificent’ appearance of these moths.
Redescription. Wingspan: 42–72 mm (combined for sexes).
Head. Eyes prominent, almost adjacent across vertex in males (e.g. Fig. 4d). Antennae short, do not reach base of FW.
Thorax. Covered with dense, short scales, pale yellowish to reddish brown or carmine, metathorax usually carmine. Legs. Male and female fore: mid: hind ratio 1: 1.1: 0.83. Epiphysis absent, arolium present (Fig. 21). Wings. Venation ‘hepialine’ (Fig. 20); FW with Sc1 present, A slightly or strongly curved; HW with 2A, 1A, and CuP complete. Forewing costal margin almost straight, curving slightly towards apex; outer margin straight or convex with distinct falcate apex in M. miniatus Chu & Wang, 1985a; tornus weakly developed or indistinguishable. Forewing pale greyish to yellowish or pinkish brown with mottled or ‘marbled’ texture of irregular pale and dark transverse/ oblique lines and irregular patches. Hindwing unmarked, carmine red or with brown shading over outer or anterior regions with the exception of M. bouvieri where the HW entirely greyish brown (Oberthür 1913).
Abdomen. Yellowish to greyish black with reddish brown to carmine red on anterior segments. Tergum II rectangular, anterio-posteriorly narrow (Fig. 23a); sternum II (Fig. 23b) subrectangular with broad and shallow anterior lateral arms, pair of anterior shallow spines in at least one species (Fig. 23a); tergum VIII rectangular (Fig. 23d); sternum VII of male elongate, narrower than wide (Figs 23d, e, f); sternum VIII variable in male, almost square with shallow posterio-lateral projection (Fig. 23d, e), or anteriorly narrow and rectangular (Fig. 21e), female sternum VIII unsclerotized in single observed specimen (Fig. 23c); tergosternal sclerite (Fig. 23i, j) with right angled dorsal and lateral brace, intermediate zone narrow; tergosternal bar continuous with intermediate zone, angled posteriorly with posterior intermediate zone almost straight with darker texture suggesting probable internal extension of the sclerite.
Male genitalia: (Figs 10–14) Tergal lobes not evident, tegumen not observed. Pseudotegumen sub-triangular in ventral view, dorsal margin with medial notch, unfused, margin of anogenital field without projections, pseudotegumen arms fused medially, forming a shallow channel; valva slightly elbowed, setose, distally lobate; saccus U-shaped, broad or narrow, posterior margin medially notched, notch bordered laterally by sub-triangular flange projecting posteriorly (projection less acute in M. bouvieri).
Female genitalia: (Figs 16–20) Dorsal plate dorso-ventrally short relative to width, fused medially, broad, without distinct anal papillae; sub-anal sclerites horizontal, elongate and narrow; lamella antevaginalis forming a rectangular bar without dorsal lobes or distinction between lateral and medial lobe. Bursa copulatrix comprising a proximally narrow ductus bursae of constant width or wider distally to an enlarged ovoid corpus bursae.
Habitat, biology and host plants. Recorded from higher elevations between 2,500 and 4,600 m. Based on Yan (2000) for M. jiuzhiensis, larvae are root feeders feeding on the rhizomes of Salix oritrepha Schneid (Salicaceae) and Potentilla fructicosa L. [sometimes referred to as Dasiphora fructicosa] (Rosaceae). The shrub S. oritrepha grows to 1.2 m high at elevations of 3,000 –4,300 m while D. fructicosa is a shrub of similar size ranging from 500 to 5,000 m (efloras.org). Another record referring to ‘ Triodia ’ that is also a probable Magnificus species (see discussion) lists host plants as Highland Ranunculus, Polygonum sphaerocarpa, and Small Yellow Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum sp.) as hosts in Western Sichuan (Zhu et al. 2004).
description: Published as part of Grehan, John R., Mielke, Carlos G. C., Minet, Joël, Ignatev, Nikolai, Buchsbaum, Ulf & Xue, Dayong, 2021, Taxonomic composition and monophyly of the genus Magnificus (Lepidoptera Hepialoidea: Hepialidae), pp. 339-358 in Zootaxa 4920 (3) on page 341, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4920.3.2, http://zenodo.org/record/4478051