Noctuidae of Khabr National Park, part II. A new species of the genus Polymixis Hübner, [1820] from Iran (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae, Xyleninae)

Present paper includes the result of the new expeditions carried out in order to collect Noctuidae from Khabr National Park, Kerman, south of Iran. The description of a new Polymixis species, Polymixis ( Eremophysa ) fakherehsabae Shirvani, sp. nov. is given. The new species is compared with its close relatives, besides, bionomic and distribution of P. fakherehsabae are presented together with the adult and the male genitalia illustrations. Provincial distribution of the species belonging to the subgenus Eremophysa Boursin, 1958 in Iran is provided.


Introduction
At the first attempt to explore and identify the noctuid moths s. l. of Khabr National Park (KNP) (Kerman, Iran), Shirvani (2012a) reported 42 species including one new record for the country. After a decade, new expeditions were conducted again to investigate the biodiversity of this territory. One of the results of these efforts is describing a new species belonging to the subgenus Eremophysa Boursin, 1958 the genus Polymixis Hübner, [1820] of subtribe Antitypina Forbes & Franclemont, 1954(Keegan et al. 2021Lafontaine & Fibiger, 2006). The genera associated with the subtribe Antitypina differ from those in Xylenina Guenée, 1837 in having a short ampulla on the clasper (Fibiger & Lafontaine, 2005). The genus Polymixis, one of the largest paraphyletic genera of trifine Noctuidae, comprises more than seventy described species in the Palearctic region (Ronkay et al. 2001). With new discoveries during the last decades, the taxonomic interpretation of the species-groups of Polymixis is debatable due to the lack of recognized autapomorphies and may be resolved using comprehensive molecular phylogenetic analysis (Benedek et al. 2021).
Five Polymixis species of the subgenus Eremophysa, all with Iranian type locality have been described from Iran (Shirvani, 2012b). The present paper describes a new species, Polymixis (Eremophysa) fakherehsabae Shirvani, sp. nov. from south of Iran, Khabr National Park, Kerman. The new species is compared with its close relatives and the information on the bionomic and distribution of P. fakherehsabae are presented together with the adult and the male genitalia illustrations. Provincial distribution of the species belonging to the subgenus Eremophysa in Iran is provided.

Material and Methods
Abbreviations used:

KNP
= Khabr National Park, Kerman, Iran SHBUK = Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran Adult moths were collected by LED light trap (a handmade structure including 24 UV, one blue, one green and one white LEDs arranged on a three-dimension structure, powered by 12-V batteries) in October 2021. The specimens were photographed by a Canon digital camera (Power Shot A710) and the photographs of the genitalia were taken by an Olympus SZH stereomicroscope with an Omax (18 Mp) A35180U3 digital camera.
Diagnosis: Polymixis fakherehsabae Shivani, sp. nov. is the closest relatives of P. pirkadatka and P. hedygramma. The new species differs externally from P. pirkadatka by the narrower and greyish forewing and from P. hedygramma by the smaller size. The male genitalia of the three species are quite different, P. fakherehsabae has semi-globular penicular lobes, longer sacculus, shorter vesica, a strong thorn like cornutus and just one cornutus situated on the median diverticulum.

B A
Bionomics: The two known specimens were collected by the light trap in the mountain slope with short hills covered by Artemisia spp., Astragalus spp. and sparsely by Pistacia atlantica Desf. (Anacardiaceae) plants. The larval food plant and their biology is unknown.
Etymology: The new species named in honor of Fakhereh Saba . Saba and her husband, Alireza Afzalipour , were founders of Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman.
Discussion: The subgenus Eremophysa comprises the species/subspecies mostly inhabiting Central Asia. Of them, P. omanensis and P. colluta exspectata are recorded from Oman and Turkey respectively. Univoltine species with autumnal adults (adult P. argillosa and P. acharis fly in July) that majority of them are rather restricted to certain areas and known based on one sex. This subgenus is characterized by the light-ochreous colored adults with tubular vesica consisted of diverticula, thornlike cornuti and terminal field of fine cornuti (Boursin, 1958;Hacker & Ronkay, 1992). With the increase in the number of new species discoveries, new molecular and morphological phylogenetic analyses are needed, in order to make monophyletic groups, to revise and redefine the large and complex polyphyletic noctuid genera (e.g.: the genus Polymixis). The elements of the wing pattern and the genitalia of P. fakherehsabae, P. pirkadatka and P. hedygramma show the close relationship among these three species making a distinct lineage within the subgenus Eremophysa of Polymixis.