Introduction

Recent material collected in Sichuan Province, Western China, by a scientific expedition of Italianlepidopterists has given me the opportunity to find out and describe a new species belonging to thegenus Monocerotesa Wehrli, 1937. This genus includes more than twenty species (SCOBLE 1999,SATO 2007, SATO & WANG 2007), and its centre of diversity is in the Oriental Region. A single malespecimen of the new taxon has been collected, and is preserved in the author’s collection.

Monocerotesa galloi Gianti, sp. n. (Fig. 1)

Holotype 1: China, N Sichuan, Road Jiuzhaigou-Songpan (Rd n. 301) milestones 99-110, m 2900-3100, 5-VII-2012, E. Gallo leg.; prep. gen. MGH 518 (in the author’s collection).

Description

Forewing length 13 mm, wingspan 25 mm. Palpi predominantly ochreous with black scales, frons mainly black with few ochreous scales, vertex frontally black, posteriorly ochreous-grey. Thorax and tegulae covered with long scales, dark brown at base and grey at tip, giving a brownish effect ain normal inspection. Legs mostly black with few grey scales, banded grey at edge of each tarsomere. Abdomen ochreous-brown clearly ringed with black at caudal end of each segment. Forewing ground colour more orange-brown than ochreous-yellow as in many other Monocerotesa species, covered with scaly striae of black scales, basal third clearly grey. Costa woth four relatively large, almost evenly spaced black spots, posterior margin with another black spot present, approximately at one fourth of its length measured from wing base. Cellular spot large, almost touching second costal spot. Hindwing ground colour as in forewing, but with anterior half whitish-grey and basal third grey as in forewing. Black cellular dot much smaller than in forewing. Both wings with very small and noticeably uniform black irroration. Margin and fringes chequered brown and orange.

Male genitalia (Fig. 2): Total length 1.8 mm, Uncus short, triangular. Valva with well developed costal process, distally dilated roundly, covered at tip with setae. A nipple-shaped process arising from interior of the costa, at mid length. Ventral margin of valva smooth without any spur (cf. Monocerotesa strigata Warren, 1893). Saccus short, weakly sclerotized. Aedeagus straigt, sclerotized at the tip, about 1.2 mm long.

Figs. 1-2
Monocerotesa galloi Gianti, sp. n., 1. Adult, 2. Male genitalia

Distribution: Western China, Sichuan, only the holotype specimen known.

Derivatio nominis: The new species is named after its discoverer, Dr. Enrico Gallo, dearest friend and my former teacher in entomology

Diagnosis

This new species appears readily distinguishable from all other representatives of the genus Monocerotesa, particularly in the shape of the wings, ground colour and maculation. The genitalia are distinctive, and rather simple compared with the congeners. Monocerotesa strigata Warren, 1893 has similarly pointed forewings, but clearly differs in other characters.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

SATO, R., 2007.– The genus Monocerotesa Wehrli (Geometridae, Ennominae) in Sumatra, with description of one new species.– Transaction of the Lepidopterological Society of Japan, 58(3): 371-378.

SATO, R. & WANG, M., 2007.– Records and descriptions of the Boarmiini (Geometridae, Ennominae) from Nanling Mts, S. China. Part4.– Tinea, 20(1): 33-44.

SCOBLE, M. J., 1999.– Geometrid Moths of the World: a Catalogue: 1145 pp. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood; Apollo Books, Stenstrup.

Notas de autor