Amicta arabica
Creators: name: Arnscheid, Wilfried R.
name: Rajaei, Hossein
name: Sobczyk, Thomas
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Psychidae
Amicta
Amicta arabica

description: Amicta arabica (Wiltshire, 1949) stat. rev.
Figs 12, 26
Acanthopsyche (Dasaratha) mauretanica arabica Wiltshire, 1949: 371. Type loc.: Saudi Arabia. Holotype in NHM (not examined).
Material examined. 3 ♂ North Oman, near Bimah, coast line, 22.xi.2017, N23°01’04 ’, E 59°05.48’, leg. Butvila, Duda & Saldaitis, 2 ♂ Oman, N of Sur, near Fins, coast line, 15.xi.2017, N 22°53.630’, E 059°13.371’, leg. Butvila, Duda & Saldaitis. (GU 026-2020). 1 ♂ SW Oman, Dhofar, Al Mughsayl Wadi, 53°44’E 16°52’E, 20 m, 20.– 28.x.2005, leg. Jakl. 1 ♂ Oman, North Wadi Bani Khalid, 18.11.2017, N22°33.17‘, E 59°01.07‘, leg. Butvila, Duda & Saldaitis. Questionable larval cases: 5 larval cases UAE, Abu Dhabi Emirate, Al Dhafra AFB, Muquatra, 24°5’36”, 54°30’30”E, 23.x.2014, leg. R. Breithaupt, 3 larval cases, UAE, Abu Dhabi, Sweihan Road, 27.xii.2013, leg. R. Breithaupt, 1 larval case, Oman, near Lizq b. Nizwa, 22.730002 N, 58.091502 E, on Acacia, leg. K. Reinhardt.
Diagnosis. Male wingspan 22.5–24.0 mm (Bourgogne 1987: 21–22 mm), forewing length 10.5–12.0 mm, width 5.0–6.0 mm, FI 2.0– 2.1 mm Forewings stretched, slender, costal margin slightly concave, apex slightly pointed, termen oblique.All wings light yellowish brown, translucent, covered with long hair-like scales (class 1 after Sauter & Hättenschwiler 1999), Scales one- or two-pointed. Fringes spatulate, with two or more tips. Hindwing scales like forewings, fringes narrower, only two-pointed. Forelegs with long epiphysis, EPI 0.95 (Bourgogne 1987: 0.9). Head covered with brown scales. Thorax and abdomen densely covered with long brownish hair-like scales. Metathorax and forelegs somewhat darker. EI 0.6 (Bourgogne 1987: 0.54–0.67). Antennae length 4.8–5.5 mm, 36 segments (Bourgogne 1987: 32–40) without pedicellus and scapus. The pecten long, 1.3 mm. The longest pecten of 10 time of segment length.
Male genitalia (GU 026-2020 Sobczyk). Compact, 2.7 mm length, 0.95 mm wide at the valve base. Tegumen elongated, indented distally, with a few short setae. The valva protrude beyond the posterior margin of the tegumen, apically rounded and covered with short setae. Sacculus straigth, distally with five to six inwardly curved thorns. From base of the valvae a markantly protusion (puvillus after Bourgogne 1986). Anellus curved, with single setae. Vinculum widened laterally, saccus massive, distally rounded. Phallus 3.0 mm, longer as genital length, round, evenly curved. Vesica shorter than half of the phallus, densely covered with short, pointed cornuti.
Larval case. Four-sided pyramidal shape, similar in both sexes, length of the pupal case in male 20 mm, in female 19–22 mm (Bourgogne 1986).
Distribution. After Bourgogne (1986) distributed to East Africa Djibouiti, Mabla Mts., Saudi Arabia, Nuraiman, Hadda distr., Wadi Majarish (larval cases), W Talham (larval cases), Jebel Suda near Abha (larval cases). The species is also known from the southern Arabian Peninsula (UAE, Oman, etc.).
Discussion. Originally described as separate species in the genus Acanthopsyche was A. arabica downgraded to subspecies of A. mauretanica by Bourgogne (1986) but it is clearly shown that A. arabica is a separate allopatric species.
description: Published as part of Arnscheid, Wilfried R., Rajaei, Hossein & Sobczyk, Thomas, 2021, A taxonomic review of the genus Amicta Heylaerts, 1881 in North Africa, Near and Middle East (Lepidoptera, Psychidae, Oiketicinae, Acanthopsychini), pp. 349-368 in Zootaxa 5071 (3) on pages 362-363, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5071.3.3, http://zenodo.org/record/5723760