Procinnus incanus St Laurent & Mielke 2019, sp. n.
Creators: name: St Laurent, Ryan A.
name: Mielke, Carlos G. C.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Mimallonidae
Procinnus
Procinnus incanus

description: Procinnus incanus sp. n.
Figs 1–9.
Type material. Holotype ♂. BRAZIL: Goiás: 10.X.1969, Cilu. entre Vianopolis e Lusiania [between Vianópolis and Luziânia], Goiás, [N. Tangerini leg.]/ DZ 20.917 [also dissection number]/ HOLOTYPE ♂ Procinnus incanus St Laurent and C. Mielke, 2019 [red label]/ (DZUP).
Paratypes. (8 ♂ total) BRAZIL: Bahia: 1 ♂, Palmeiras, Morro Pai Inácio, 12°27'S, 41°28'W, 950 m: 15– 17.V.1999, A. Moser leg. (CLAM). Goiás: 1 ♂, Cilu. entre [between], Vianópolis and Lusiania [Luziânia]: 10.X.1969, [N. Tangerini leg], DZ 20.924 (DZUP). 1 ♂, Viannopolis [recte Vianópolis]: 21–27.III.1930, A. Seitz leg. (SMFL). Distrito Federal: 1 ♂, Sobradinho, Brasília: 25.II.1966, [O.] Mielke leg., C. Mielke dissection OM 10.674 (OM). 1 ♂, Planaltina: 5.X.1976, V.O. Becker col., Col. Becker No. 18393 (VOB). 1 ♂, Planaltina, 1000 m, 15°35'S 47°42'W: 10.X.1977, V.O. Becker col., Col. Becker No. 20495, Genitalia 2018 (VOB). São Paulo: 1 ♂, Pirassununga, Emas: XI.1948, Schubart leg. (CEIOC). 1 ♂, Pirassununga: 13–20[?]. XI.1947, Schubart leg. (CEIOC). Paratypes with the following yellow label: PARATYPE ♂ Procinnus incanus St Laurent and C. Mielke, 2019.
Additional living specimen examined: BRAZIL: Minas Gerais: Brumadinho: II.2018 (Bruno Moraes photo, Fig. 1).
Diagnosis. Unmistakable among Mimallonidae. Silvery gray ground color (in life), short, triangular, slightly falcate forewings with distinct white ante- and postmedial lines angled somewhat away from each other, postmedial line preapical, not notably curved or angled toward the costa. Inner margins of both ante- and
postmedial lines heavily suffused with dark brown, appearing almost black (fading to more chocolate brown in preserved specimens), prominent black discal spot present. Male genitalia typical of Procinnus (see Herbin 2016; St Laurent & Kawahara 2019), gnathos arms smooth and digitiform, basal valvae arms and sternite VIII projections narrow and spine-like, sharp; valvae rounded and slightly narrower than in other Procinnus species.
Description. Male. Head: Light gray, eyes very large, occupying more than two thirds area of head; frons colored as for remainder of head, becoming browner proximal to labial palpus; antenna light brown in color, but covered in silvery gray scales, bipectinate to tip, though distal third of pectinations much reduced in size; scape, pedicel densely clothed in gray scales; labial palpus highly reduced, three segmented, covered in gray and brown scales, scales darker dorsally, distalmost palpomere exceedingly tiny, not extending beyond frons. Thorax: Hoary, densely covered in thin, hair-like gray scales, prothorax with darker brown scales. Legs: Femur coloration as thorax with thick vestiture, tibia and tarsi light brown. Tibial spurs shorter than third length of first tarsomere, covered in light brown scales. Forewing dorsum: Forewing length: 12–13 mm, avg.: 12.7 mm; wingspan: 25–26 mm, avg.: 25.7 mm, n = 3. Triangular with apex slightly falcate but rounded, mesal margin convex, tornus oblique. Ground color light gray, appearing silvery in life, black scales present antemedially, medially suffused with dark brown along inner margins of ante- and postmedial lines; medial suffusion variable from nearly filling medial area to being more restricted to margin of lines; dark gray scaling present along convex margin of wing and along tornus; antemedial line white, heavily contrasting against black scales of antemedial area and brown medial area; postmedial line similar to antemedial line though not always as contrasting due to invasion of brown medial scales along length of line, postmedial line arcsine-like in pattern; discal spot usually prominent, present as black ovoid mark. Fringe light and brown cream in color, parts somewhat contrasting along wing margin. Forewing ventrum: Similar to dorsum but antemedial line absent, antemedial and medial areas lighter gray, dark brown suffusion limited to inner margin of postmedial line, postmedial line outwardly convex. Hindwing dorsum: Somewhat rounded, with coloration and patterning similar to forewing dorsum, antemedial line absent, dark brown medial suffusion lacking, basal area of wing light gray; discal spot absent or as faint gray ovoid mark. Hindwing ventrum: Patterning similar to hindwing dorsum but lighter gray overall, discal spot more prominent, as black mark; frenulum absent. Abdomen: Coloration light brown, not appearing as hoary as thorax; scaling grayer along junction with thorax. Sternite VIII fused to genitalia and modified to include pair of flattened sclerotized plates and pair of robust arms that bifurcate distally, becoming spine-like terminally. Genitalia: (Figs 5, 6) n = 3. Vinculum ovoid. Tegumen trapezoidal, ventral margins particularly heavily sclerotized. Uncus triangular, significantly narrowed distally. Gnathos robust, distally with pair of elongate arms which extend to saccular valva margin, arms smooth, ventrally membranous, dorsally thickly sclerotized, membranous portion of ventrum of gnathos arms continuing down length of arms, converging at base of gnathos connecting gnathos mesally, slight region of sclerotization superior to membranous region connecting sclerotized upper surfaces of gnathos arms. Valva very narrow for most of saccular length, paralleling vinculum, extending outward as rounded lobes dorsally from vinculum proximal to base of tegumen. Base of valvae with pair of sharp basally slightly curled arms that extend upward to nearly meet termini of gnathos arms. Juxta as simple attachment point situated on ventrum of phallus, attaching to vinculum, shape of attachment an inverted “Y”. Phallus dorsally open along length, and also ventrally open for remaining three quarters of length such that mesal portion of phallus fully transparent, phallus widening distally, becoming spade-like in shape. Coecum phallus narrow, fingerlike. Dorsal base of phallus with small membranous sac.
Female. Unknown.
Distribution. (Fig. 9) Procinnus incanus sp. n. is endemic to the Brazilian Cerrado, known from localities in Bahia, Goiás, Distrito Federal, Minas Gerais, and São Paulo. This species is likely distributed throughout the Cerrado, but is relatively rarely observed.
Remarks. By external morphology alone, P. incanus sp. n. does not resemble any other Procinnus species, nor any Druenticinae. Although this species is quite distinct, it has been overlooked for decades. This species is one of many Mimallonidae to be described in recent years from the Brazilian Cerrado (e.g. Herbin & Mielke 2014; St Laurent & Dombroskie 2016), illustrating the great degree of endemism in this biome, and the relatively few studies focused on its fauna thus far.
Etymology. The new species is named incanus for the hoary appearance of the body.
description: Published as part of St Laurent, Ryan A. & Mielke, Carlos G. C., 2019, New species of Procinnus Herbin and Micrallo St Laurent and C. Mielke (Lepidoptera, Mimallonidae, Druenticinae) from the Brazilian Cerrado, pp. 111-124 in Zootaxa 4571 (1) on pages 112-116, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4571.1.7, http://zenodo.org/record/2606050