Morabia herbuloti László & Hausmann 2022, comb. n.
Creators: name: László, Gyula M.
name: Hausmann, Axel
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Geometridae
Morabia
Morabia herbuloti

description: Morabia herbuloti (Orhant, 2003), comb. n.
(Figs 17, 41)
Ectropis herbuloti Orhant (2003): 139. Holotype, male, Réunion, Matouta, coll. MNHN.
Material examined. Réunion. 1 female, chemin de Colorado, 500m, 1.i.2000, leg. Georges Orhant, gen. slide No.: ZSM G 21274, BOLD sample ID: BC ZSM Lep 74339, resampled: BC ZSM Lep add 57856 (ZSM). 1 female, St Benoit, Takamaka, 700m, 21°04’43”S, 55°37’42”E, 30.xii.2013, leg. S.C. Collins, gen. slide No.: LG 5526 (RCHS).
Diagnosis. Morabia herbuloti is an allopatric sibling of the Madagascan M. hero and the Mauritian M. distinctaria, occurring in Réunion. Externally, it is similar to M. distinctaria, distinguished by the more smoothly arched costal section of the forewing postmedial line (it is sharply curved towards the costa in M. distinctaria) and the less sinuous antemedial and medial line of the hindwing. The underside wing patterns of the two species are indistinguishable. Compared to M. hero, M. herbuloti has much narrower, less contrasting and considerably more sinuous transverse lines on the forewing and much thinner and less curved transverse lines on the hindwing. The underside of the wings in M. herbuloti has markedly less contrasting subapical blotches, a much paler, more diffuse dark terminal area and somewhat smaller discal spots than in M. hero. In the male genitalia, compared to those of its congeners, M. herbuloti has a much broader, elongate quadrangular uncus with a shallow medio-apical depression (the uncus is much narrower, conical in M. hero and M. distinctaria), a broader, medially more rounded costal arm of the valva and considerably shorter and broader, apically rounded valva which is apically more pointed in the related species. In the female genitalia, M. herbuloti has a shorter, less deeply recessed antrum, a slightly longer ductus bursae, and a somewhat smaller signum bursae compared to those characters of M. distinctaria. Compared to M. hero, the differences are subtle, but M. herbuloti has a slightly broader ostium bursae, a slightly longer ductus bursae and a smaller signum bursae.
Re-description. Adult. Female (Fig. 17). Forewing length 17.0 mm. Antenna sparsely ciliate, filiform. Head relatively small, palp short, porrect, apically pointed, lateral side pale grey, inner side white. Compound eye large, frons broad, quadrangular, pale grey with two dark grey hair tufts laterally. Collar brownish-grey, tegula, thorax pale grey, first abdominal segment pale grey with black basal ring, further segments brownish-grey. Upperside of wings. Ground colour pale brownish-grey, wing pattern dark grey. Forewing. Basal and subbasal lines deleted; antemedial line fine but sharply defined, ventral two-thirds almost straight, oblique outwards, costal third right angled towards costa. Discal spot blurred and diffuse, relatively large, ovoid, oblique. Medial line diffuse, narrow, sinuous, costal quarter sharply angled inwards, zigzagged. Postmedial line fine, sharply defined, ventral two-thirds oblique outwards, gently sinuous, then curved towards costa. Subterminal line diffuse, shadow-like, strongly sinuous. Terminal line thin, undulate between veins. Cilia short, creamy. Hindwing. Basal line short, thick, antemedial line relatively thick, almost straight. Discal spot small, blurred, round. Medial line relatively thick, almost straight in ventral twothirds, gently arched in dorsal third. Postmedial line broad, diffuse, shadow-like. Subterminal line thick but diffuse, interrupted. Terminal line fine, undulate; cilia as on forewing. Underside of wings. Ground colour pale grey; discal spots large, slightly diffuse, black, elliptical, forewing discal spot three times larger than that of hindwing; transverse lines undetectable. Subapical area of fore- and hindwing with a large, rather diffuse, quadrangular, dark grey blotch, forewing subapical blotch larger than that of hindwing; terminal area of fore- and hindwing slightly darkened.
Male genitalia (based on the illustration in Orhant (2003)). Uncus medium long, quadrangular, medio-apically notched. Gnathos very short and narrow, weakly sclerotized, without dilated medial plate. Tegumen short and broad. Juxta shield-like. Vinculum very short and broad, apically rounded, saccus short, triangular. Valva very broad at base, basal half moderately sclerotized, scobinate, bearing a stout, rounded quadrangular costal arm ending in pointed thorn-like process directing caudad. Distal half of valva very short, heavily sclerotized, apex rounded; medial section of ventral margin evenly convex ventrally, subapical section concave. Sacculus short, moderately sclerotized, with a short, broad-based conical process pointing ventrad.Aedeagus short and stout, straight, apex with a moderately sclerotized, short, rounded carina.
Female genitalia (Fig. 41). Ovipositor moderately long, papilla analis elongate, apically rounded, sparsely setose, posterior apophysis moderately long and thin, ca. 1.2 times longer than anterior one. Eighth tergite shieldlike, distal margin straight, proximal margin gently undulate, with a very shallow medial depression. Ostium bursae broad, semi-elliptical with weakly sclerotized margin, antrum very short, heavily sclerotized, funnel-like. Ductus bursae moderately long, relatively thick, distal half heavily sclerotized without striation, proximal half membranous, gradually dilated anteriorly. Cervix bursae very small, membranous, erected at posterior end of ductus bursae. Corpus bursae elongate ovoid, signum bursae very small, longitudinally elongate with a short conical process anteriorly.
Genetic information (Fig. 44). BIN BOLD:ABX0442 (n=2 from Reunion, tissues of both DNA barcodes were sampled from the same specimen). Genetically nearest species: M. hero (3.7%), M. smithi (7.2%).
Remark. Since the authors could not locate male specimens for examination, the re-description of the external morphology is restricted to the female, and the male genitalia description is based on the illustration of the original publication (Orhant 2003). The female genitalia are described and illustrated here for the first time.
description: Published as part of László, Gyula M. & Hausmann, Axel, 2022, Taxonomic review of the genus Morabia Hausmann & Tujuba, 2020 with descriptions of two new species and introducing five new generic combinations (Lepidoptera, Geometridae, Ennominae), pp. 215-237 in Zootaxa 5134 (2) on pages 232-233, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5134.2.3, http://zenodo.org/record/6534856