Tumicla latipunctata Durante & Apinda-Legnouo 2020, n. sp.
Creators: name: Durante, Antonio
name: Apinda-Legnouo, Emelie Arlette
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Erebidae
Tumicla
Tumicla latipunctata

description: Tumicla latipunctata Durante n. sp.
(Figs. 9D, 14)
Holotype: GABON • ♂; Makokou, Ipassa, 500 m; 0°30’43”N 12°48’13”E; 19-2/ 11-3-2011; Durante leg.; Gen. sl. n. 613 MAD. In coll. MSNS.
Paratypes: • 9♂♂; same data as holotype • 1♂; same locality as holotype; 24/ 25-2-2011; Durante leg. • 1♂; same locality; 14/ 24-3-2015; Durante leg. • 1♂; same locality; 14/ 25-6-2016; Durante and Fasiello leg. All in the first author’s collection.
Diagnosis. Tumicla latipunctata is externally undistinguishable from globosa n. sp. and falcata n. sp., although the large dot on the vertex of the head and the elongated dots on the mesoscutum seem to be acceptably diagnostic (see fig. 9 D). In any case, the genitalia are clearly different in terms of both the distal margin of the valva (quite straight in latipunctata n. sp. with apex of nearly 90° versus convex in globosa n. sp. and slightly convex in falcata n. sp. with a roundish apex and papillary process at tornus) and the shape of the cornutus of the aedeagus (Z-shaped in latipunctata n. sp.; absent in globosa n. sp.; falciform in falcata n. sp.). Tumicla latipunctata is distinguishable from parvipunctata n. sp. by the bigger dark dots on its thorax; from bongorum n. sp. by the absence of a pink shade on the underside of its forewings. With respect to eala, the presence of a pink shade on the underside of eala ’s forewings could be a diagnostic character, but the pink shading in eala is so faint that is preferable to distinguish the two species by means of genital morphology alone, specifically the distal margin of the valva (convex in eala), uncus (stout in eala) and cornutus of the aedeagus (thorn-like in eala). T. latipunctata is distinguishable from minima n. sp. by the darker and reddish ground colour of the upperside of the minima ’s forewings and the pinkish upperside of its hindwings. T. latipunctata n. sp. is also similar to T. whitensis n. sp., but latipunctata n. sp. has longer uncus and tornus than whitensis n. sp. The cornutus of the aedeagus is also diagnostic: in latipunctata n. sp. it is 7- or Zshaped, whereas in whitensis n. sp. it is thorn-like with a small appendage).
Description. Wingspan 14-18 mm. Forewing upperside ground colour ochreous yellow; pattern grey-brown. Costa ochreous yellow, with a grey-brown streak from the base to the basal band and in the presence of the other bands, except the submarginal, which never reaches the costal margin. Two basal dots, the posterior one larger; basal band zigzagged, touching the median band at cell and anal vein level; median and postmedian band zigzagged and touching each other under the posterior vein of the cell; postmedian band with conspicuous proximal concavity at the end of the cell, inside which is the small angled discal dot; submarginal series of eight streak-like dots. Fringes grey-brown. Forewing underside ground colour ochreous yellow. Costa dark brown at its proximal fifth, with greybrown dots corresponding to the transversal bands on the upperside, not always present. Streaks of the submarginal band often faded, but clearly visible in the darker specimens. Hindwing upperside and underside ground colour straw yellow. No pattern. Fringes concolorous. Body concolorous with the wings, with pattern grey-brown. Head with a large dot on the vertex (about 2/3 the width of the vertex); antennae ciliated; labial palpi porrect, slender, not extending beyond the frons. Tegulae with two large patches, the anterior one smaller and roundish, and hairy scales often reaching the entire length of the scutum. Mesoscutum with three large dots, two anterior and one posterior (mesoscutellar); the anterior ones elongated and reniform. Legs concolorous with the hindwings; fore- and mid-legs with praetarsi, distal portion of femur and tibia grey-brown; hindlegs lacking the grey-brown on the distal portion of the femur only.
Abdomen with no pattern.
Genitalia ♂. Uncus slender, slightly curved backwards or almost straight (lateral view), distally pointed; tegumen triangular, nearly as long as the eighth tergite (dorsal view); tuba analis membranous; vinculum U-shaped (ventro-caudal view) with fairly robust arms; saccus not deep; juxta irregularly hexagonal, no evidence of valvellae (sensu Birket-Smith 1965); fultura superior double shield-shaped.
Valva squat (twice as long as wide at the median points); costa straight or slightly concave in the distal half; termen with ventral indentation for three quarters of its length, apex nearly 90° and tornus with a small rounded process. Processus distalis plicae (Birket-Smith 1965) not noticeable. Aedeagus quite slender and short, with no coecum, with a lateral concavity at its distal end with a 7- or Z-shaped cornutus (prep. 878 and 887), the distal part of which is more robust and beak-like. Vesica small, bilobed with no cornuti.
Etymology. The name derives from the Latin latus (wide) and punctatus (spotted) and refers to the large spots on the head and thorax.
description: Published as part of Durante, Antonio & Apinda-Legnouo, Emelie Arlette, 2020, Report on species of the genus Tumicla Wallengren, 1863 in Gabon (Lepidoptera Erebidae: Arctiinae: Lithosiini), pp. 90-116 in Zootaxa 4868 (1) on pages 102-103, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4868.1.5, http://zenodo.org/record/4417344