Nemophora seraphias Kozlov 2023, comb. nov.
Creators: name: Kozlov, Mikhail V.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Adelidae
Nemophora
Nemophora seraphias

description: Nemophora seraphias (Meyrick, 1907), comb. nov.
(Figs. 4, 5, 71, 110, 142)
Nemotois seraphias Meyrick 1907: 991.
Lectotype ♁ (here designated): India, Meghalaya, Khasi Hills (approx. 25 o 35′ N, 91 o 36′ E); labelled: 8 mm circle with violet border, print ‘Lecto-│type’; 5 × 10 mm, print + black ink ‘Khasi Hills, │ Assam. │.10.1906’; 13 × 18 mm, black ink + print ‘ Nemotois │ seraphias │ Meyr. 6/12 │ E. Meyrick det. │ in Meyrick Coll.’; 6 × 13 mm, print ‘Meyrick Coll. │ B. M. 1938– 290’; 8 × 20 mm, print ‘ LECTOTYPE ♁│ Nemotois seraphias │ Meyrick, 1907 │ M. Kozlov design. 2005’ (NHM) [examined]. Paralectotypes. 6 ♁, labelled: 8 mm circle with blue border, print + black ink ‘?Para-│lecto-│type’; 5 × 10 mm, print + black ink ‘Khasi Hills, │ Assam. │.10.1906’; 13 × 18 mm, black ink + print ‘ Nemotois │ seraphias │ Meyr. x/12 │ E. Meyrick det. │ in Meyrick Coll.’ [x = 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8]; 6 × 13 mm, print ‘Meyrick Coll. │ B. M. 1938–290’; 8 × 20 mm, print ‘ PARALECTOTYPE ♁ │ Nemotois seraphias │ Meyrick, 1907 │ M. Kozlov design. 2005’ (NHM) [examined].
Nemotois seraphias: Meyrick 1912a: 7, fig. 2 (male, external appearance, in colour), 1912b: 9; Clarke 1955: 285.
Nemophora seraphias: Das & Singh 2022: 265.
Other material. India. Meghalaya. 2 ♁ 1 ♀, Khasi Hills, 1905; 1 ♀, ibid., x.1906; 1 ♁, ibid., xi.1906; 52 ♁ 3 ♀, Cherrapunji; 5 ♁, ibid., vii.1894 (Doncaster); 18 ♁ 3 ♀, ibid., x.1894 (Doncaster); 1 ♁, Shillong, ix‒x.1918 (Fletcher); 1 ♁, ibid., 5000 ft, 28.ix.1924 (Fletcher) (all in NHM); 5 ♁, Cherrapunji (native collector); 1 ♁, Shillong, 5000 ft, 6.x.1924 (Fletcher) (all in USNM); 1 ♁, Cherrapunji (MINGA).
Diagnosis. In the forewing pattern N. seraphias resembles N. assamensis (Fig. 16) and N. augantha (Figs. 17, 18), from which it differs by a single large yellow spot in the apical part of the forewing, significantly longer vinculum (3.7‒3.8 × length of valva) and the presence of the short finger-like lateral process at 0.75 × length of phallus (counting from its base).
Description. Male (Fig. 4). FWL 6.9‒8.4 mm, WLR 0.30‒0.33.Vertex with pale yellow to ochreous brown piliform scales; frons glossy bronze, with row of piliform scales below antennal sockets; colour of these scales changes from ochreous-yellow medially to dark brown laterally. PLB 1.3‒1.5 × vertical eye diameter (1.8‒2.1 × length of scape), light brown, densely covered with long raised scales, which are pale yellow on internal side of palpus and brown to dark brown on ventral and external sides of it. Proboscis brown, base covered with coppery brown scales. Eyes enlarged, but not touching each other; interocular index 0.8‒0.9; occipital distance 0.35‒0.55. Antenna 2.8‒3.5 × FWL. Scape and base of flagellum dark bronze; colour of flagellum changes gradually, and apical part of flagellum is light bronze. Tegulae and thorax bronze to coppery bronze. Forewing (Fig. 71) glossy silver to lead, with yellow spots and bands bordered by dark brown scales. Forewing base with two longitudinal yellow stripes separated from each other by dark brown stripe and reaching 0.2 × FWL. These stripes are surrounded by yellow band arising from wing base and reaching costa at 0.3 × FWL; costal part of this band usually separated from its medial part by a dark brown spot; in some specimens costal part of yellow band is replaced by dark brown band. Narrow (0.05‒0.08 × FWL) transverse yellow band reaches both costa and dorsum at 0.38 × FWL; this band is always complete. Next yellow band reaching both costa and dorsum at 0.52 × FWL always wider marginally than medially (0.10 vs. 0.04 × FWL, respectively), often subdivided into two spots located at costa and at dorsum. Apical yellow spot large (0.3‒0.4 × FWL), oblique (parallel to termen). Fringe dark brown, with lead tint near apex. Basal 0.6‒0.7 of hindwing white, translucent; apex brown with coppery tint; costal area grey; fringe brown apically to white basally. Legs dark brown; fore tibia ventrally yellow; basal 0.7‒0.8 of hind tibia yellow; apices of all tarsomeres yellow. Epiphysis at 0.5, not reaching apex of tibia. Abdomen brown dorsally, bronze to light bronze ventrally.
Female (Fig. 5). FWL 6.0‒ 6.7 mm, WLR 0.33‒0.37. Antenna 1.1‒1.2 × FWL, basal 0.4 of flagellum slightly thickened by appressed dark brown scales; distal part of flagellum bronze to light bronze. Hindwing uniformly brown to dark brown; fringe brown. Otherwise similar to male.
Male genitalia (Figs. 110, 142). Tegumen dome-shaped, without medial ridge. Socii oval, 1.7 × diameter of phallus. Vinculum 3.7‒3.8 × length of valva, V-shaped, with almost straight lateral margins and gently W-shaped distal margin. Tip of tegumen extends beyond tips of valvae. Ventral valvar margin bent at 0.7 × length of valva, forming a lobe; dorsal valvar margin almost straight; tip of valva narrowly rounded. Valvae fused basally up to 0.4 × total length; their internal margins distinct. Anellus 0.5 × length of valva. Transtilla with moderately long medial process. Juxta 0.45 × length of phallus; arrow head narrow (WLR 0.4), with narrowly rounded tip and pointed lateral arms. Phallus 1.1 × length of vinculum, almost straight in lateral view, with two thin serrate carinae articulated ventrally at 0.7 × length of phallus (counting from its base) and short finger-like lateral process on dorsal wall of phallus at 0.75 of its length (a similar process is present also in N. angustialata); base of phallus narrowly funnel-shaped, tip narrowly rounded.
Distribution. India (Meghalaya).
Comments. Meyrick (1907) described this species based on three males; however, seven identically labelled males have been discovered in his collection. All these specimens are here considered as syntypes.
description: Published as part of Kozlov, Mikhail V., 2023, Fairy moths of the genus Nemophora Hoffmannsegg, 1798 (Lepidoptera: Adelidae) of India and Sri Lanka, pp. 1-81 in Zootaxa 5300 (1) on pages 12-13, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5300.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/8012772