A New Species of the Genus Phyllodesma (Phyllodesma) Hübner, [1820] 1816 from Southern China (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae)

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A new species of the genus Phyllodesma (Phyllodesma) Hübner, [1820] 1816 from southern China (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae)

Article in Zootaxa · May 2018 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4425.1.8

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The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. Zootaxa 4425 (1): 146–152 ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition) http://www.mapress.com/j/zt/ Article ZOOTAXA Copyright © 2018 Magnolia Press ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition) https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4425.1.8 http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:6851DF05-E543-440C-9A3A-C7792CEE52C3

A new species of the genus Phyllodesma (Phyllodesma) Hübner, [1820] 1816 from southern China (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae)

AIDAS SALDAITIS1 & VADIM V. ZOLOTUHIN2, 3 1Nature Research Centre, Akademijos str., 2, LT-08412, Vilnius-21, Lithuania. E-mail: [email protected]; 2Department of Biology & Chemistry, State Pedagogical University of Ulyanovsk, pl. Lenina 4, RUS-432700, Ulyanovsk, Russia. E-mail: [email protected]; 3Corresponding author.

Abstract

A new species, Phyllodesma kopetzi sp. nov. (type locality: China, W. Sichuan, Road Daocheng/Litang, 4100 m, N29°36.788’, E100°19.825’), is described from the southwestern part of China’s Sichuan Province. The holotype is de- posited in the World Insect Gallery (Joniškis, Lithuania) collection. It is compared with the poorly known Phyllodesma sinina (Grum-Grshimailo, 1891) described from Sinin-Shan [Qinghai, China].

Key words: taxonomy, Lepidoptera, Lasiocampidae, Phyllodesma, new species, China

Introduction

Nine species of Phyllodesma are listed from China (Liu & Wu, 2006; Zolotuhin & Wu, 2008) corresponding to three well definite ecological groups. The first is a lowland, xerothermic group including Phyllodesma ambigua (Staudinger, 1901), Ph. jurii Kostjuk, 1992 and Ph. mongolicum Kostjuk & Zolotuhin, 1994. The second group includes lowland temperate forest species—Ph. japonicum (Leech, 1888) and Ph. ilicifolia (Linnaeus, 1758) which is known only from territores of the Russian Far East adjacent to China. The third group are high mountain species including Ph. sinina (Grum-Grshimailo, 1891), Ph. neadequata Zolotuhin & Witt, 2004, Ph. ursulae Zolotuhin & Witt, 2004, Ph. henna Zolotuhin & C.S. Wu, 2008 and a new species. China's complicated orographic system is still poorly examined zoologically providing further opportunity for study and discovery of this interesting genus. Phyllodesma sinina, which was originally introduced as a variety of the trans-palaearctic Ph. ilicifolia, is the only representative of this genus known from extreme southern China. The species was described after a single female collected “in montibus ad Sinin”. The holotype of the species is at the Zoological Institute of Russian Academy of Science (ZISP, St. Petersburg). For a long time the taxon was considered a Chinese subspecies of Ph. ilicifolia due to a revision of Y. de Lajonquière (1963) who established this status. There is a curious disjunction between the primary area of the nominate species and its Tibet local ‘subspecies’ as well as distinct differences in female genitalia; Y. de Lajonquière obtained a drawing of the genitalia preparation of the holotype made by V. I. Kuznetzov. Phyllodesma sinina was elevated to species level 30 years later by Kostjuk & Zolotuhin (1994). Until now the only Chinese species of the genus was considered to inhabit the mountains of southern China despite a peculiar 2013 record of a female Phyllodesma obtained in Aba Prefecture of Sichuan. Its status wasn't resolved until 2016 when a small series of both sexes of the describing species was collected by the first author in western Sichuan at high altitudes.

Materials and methods

Genital preparations illustrated were made using standard dissecting techniques and mounting genitalia in Euparal

146 Accepted by R. Zahiri: 20 Apr. 2018; published: 29 May 2018 on glass slides. Photographs of adult, abdomen and male genitalia were taken using a Canon EOS 50D and an Olympus Camedia C-750 camera with Soligor Adapter Tube for Olympus and Slide Duplicator for Digital 10 dptrs modified for object glasses. The map was imported from the Microsoft Encarta Interactive World Atlas. Abbreviations for private and institutional collections used herein: AFM—collection of Alessandro Floriani (Milan, Italy); ASV—collection of Aidas Saldaitis (Vilnius, Lithuania); ASM—collection of Anton Skrobotov (Moscow, Russia); MWM—entomological Museum Thomas Witt (Munich, Germany, now in ZSM); ZSM—Zoologische Staatssammlung des Bayerischen Staaten (Munich, Germany); ZFMK—Zoologisches Forschungs- museum Alexander Koenig (Bonn, Germany); ZISP—Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (St. Petersburg, Russia); ZMHB—Zoologisches Museum der Humboldt Universität zu Berlin (Berlin, Germany); WIGJ—World Insect Gallery (Joniškis, Lithuania). Further abbreviations used are: TL = type locality; ‘|’ = a new line in the citations of the holotype labels; GU—genitalia slide number; HT—holotype; PT—paratype. Holotype labels are transcribed exactly as written but for other specimens a revised transcription of old geographical names is often given here in brackets.

Systematic part

Phyllodesma sinina (Grum-Grshimailo, 1891) (Figs 1–6, 10, 12–14, 16, 18)

Lasiocampa Ilicifolia var. Sinina Grum-Grshimailo, 1891, Horae Societatis entomologicae Rossicae 25: 465. TL: [China, Qinghai] [Amdo, Sinin] “in montibus ad Sinin”. HT: female (ZISP) [examined]. Phyllodesma ilicifolia ssp. sinina (Grum-Grshimailo, 1891): Lajonquière, Y. de (1963).

Material examined This species is known from only a few old specimens distributed among various European museums: # (Fig. 3), holotype of Lasiocampa ilicifolia var. sinina Gr.-Gr., Amdo, Sinin, Prep_GLYC No. 9573 (ZISP); ♂ (Fig. 1), N. Tibet, slide No. Laj.162 (ZFMK); ♂ (Fig. 2), Tibet (Kuku-Noor) [=Qinghai Lake], 10/22/V. [18]98, Rückbeil (ZMHB); 4 ♂♂ (Fig. 4), China, Qinghai, South from Xining, Laji Shan Mt., 3070 m, N36°22.614’,E101°33.644’, 26–29.v 2017, leg. A. Saldaitis, slide No. VZ-17-43m (AFM, ASV and WIGJ); 2 ♂♂ (Fig. 5), China, SW Gansu, near Xiahe (Labrang), 2900 m, N35°11.968’, E102°33.545’, 23.v 2017, leg. A. Saldaitis, slide No. VZ-17-44m (AFM and WIGJ); ♀ (Fig. 6), China, Qinghai, south coast slopes of Qinghai lake, N 36”33.322’, E 100”28.181’, 3500 m, 15.vii 2014, leg. A. Floriani & A. Saldaitis (AFM). Description and characterization. The most diagnostic male characters (Figs 1, 2, 4, 5) include an abundant grayish suffusion on reddish brown wings, a broken submarginal dark brownish grey band lined internally with whitish scales, wide whitish transversal band on the hindwing and deep anal incision on the forewing (Fig. 18). The discal spot is weak but distinct, and R-Cu cell is marked with whitish suffusion. Forewing length is 14–16 mm in males and ca. 17.5–18 mm in females; the female (Figs 3, 6) is more robust and is much paler, with diagnostically evident reddish ochre ground color as cited in the original description as “varietas pallidior, rosaceo-fulvescens”. Male genitalia. (Figs 10, 12–14) The ground plan is generally typical for the subgenus Phyllodesma. Valva flattened and leaf-shaped, with poorly craned apex and small regular teeth on the outside edge. Aedeagus short and widened basally, with a slightly curved short, claw-shaped apical spur. Vesica with single cornutus and two lateral groups of needle-shaped cornuti. Distal group of cornuti absent. Tip of the single cornutus pointed. Female genitalia. (Fig. 16) Vaginal plate is a sclerotized disk with anterior incision, and ostium is situated caudad; from ostium diverge 11 right curved regular sclerotized arcs as raised folds. Ductus bursae sclerotized, pressed, coming under a right angle from the antrum; tubular part of bursa copulatrix comes from the caudal ductus bent. Bursa copulatrix is shorter in this species than in most Phyllodesma (Phyllodesma) species. Biology and distribution. This rare and local species is presently known only from the mountains of Tibet in Qinghai and SW Gansu provinces. The habitat is fragmented in a mountain ridge mosaic. Qinghai Plateau is a large mountainous area with a harsh climate promoting endemicity in many groups. This area is best known for the high altitude saline and alkaline Qinghai Lake formerly known as Kuku-Noor (also transcribed as: Kuku Nor, Koko Nor, Huhu Noor, Blue Sea Lake, ♲Ş ). Qinghai Lake has a surface area of 4,317 square kilometers (1,667 sq mi); an average depth of 21 meters, and a maximum depth of 25.5 m as measured in 2008. It is located at 3,205 m above sea level in a hollow of the Tibetan plateau. Most of the 1532 native plant species belonging to 84 families and 419

A NEW PHYLLODESMA FROM CHINA Zootaxa 4425 (1) © 2018 Magnolia Press · 147 genera recorded for the coastal zone of the Qinghai Lake are herbaceous plants with arboreal species rather innumerous (Kang, 2015). The climate is with an early autumn and late spring, and the lake often remains frozen continusously for three months in winter. Phyllodesma sinina is a high altitude species as all recently collected males came at light during late May and the only female from Qinghai was taken in mid-July at altitudes ranging from 2900 to 3500 metres. Phyllodema sinina was uncommon in the shrubby transition, dominated by various willows and birches, between the mountain coniferous forest and the alpine grassland zones. This species is probably monovoltine. The caterpillars are undoubtedly polyphagous here, and are likely to utilize at least hosts such as oaks, birches and willows before overwintering as pupae.

FIGURES 1–9. Phyllodesma ssp. adults. Scale bar 1 cm. 1. Ph. sinina, ♂, N. Tibet, ex coll. E.Philipps (ZFMK); 2. Ph. sinina, ♂, Tibet (Kuku-Noor), 10/22/V. [18]98, Rückbeil (ZMHB); 3. Ph. sinina, ♀, HT of Lasiocampa ilicifolia var. sinina, Amdo, Sinin (ZISP);4. Ph. sinina, ♂, typical form, China, Qinghai, South from Xining, Laji Shan Mt., 3070 m, N36°22.614’,E101°33.644’, 26–29.v 2017, leg. A. Saldaitis (CASV); 5. Ph. sinina, ♂, dark form, China, SW Gansu, near Xiahe (Labrang), 2900 m, N35°11.968’, E102°33.545’, 23.v 2017, leg. A. Saldaitis (CASV); 6. Ph. sinina, ♀, China, Qinghai, south coast slopes of Qinghai lake, N 36”33.322’, E 100”28.181’, 3500 m, 15.vii 2014, leg. Floriani & Saldaitis (AFM); 7. Ph. kopetzi sp. nov., ♂, HT, China, W. Sichuan, Road Daocheng/Litang, 4100 m, N29°36.788’, E100°19.825’,11.v 2016, stones, leg. A. Saldaitis (WIGJ); 8. Ph. kopetzi sp. nov., ♂, PT, dark form, China, W. Sichuan, Shaluli Shan, 40 km NW from Daocheng, 4060 m, N29°17.401’, E100°05.068’,08.v 2016, leg. A. Saldaitis (AFM); 9. Ph. kopetzi sp. nov., ♀, PT, W. Sichuan, Road Daocheng/Litang, 4100 m, N29°36.788’, E100°19.825’,11.v 2016, stones, leg. A. Saldaitis (AFM).

Phyllodesma kopetzi sp. nov. (Figs 7–9, 11, 15, 17, 18)

Type material. Holotype: ♂ (Fig. 7), China, W. Sichuan, Road Daocheng/Litang, 4100 m, N29°36.788’, E100°19.825’,11.v 2016, stones, leg. A. Saldaitis, slide No. VZ-17-47m (WIGJ). Paratypes: 5 ♂♂(Fig. 8), China, W. Sichuan, Shaluli Shan, 40 km NW from Daocheng, 4060 m, N29°17.401’, E100°05.068’,08.v 2016, leg. A. Saldaitis, slide No. VZ-17-45m (AFM, ASV, coll. Kopetz & WIGJ); 2 ♀♀#(Fig. 9), China, W. Sichuan, Road Daocheng/Litang, 4100 m, N29°36.788’, E100°19.825’,11.v 2016, stones, leg. Saldaitis, slide No. VZ-17-46f (AFM, ASV); ♀, China, Sichuan, Aba Pref., Heishui, 3100 m, N32°0199; E102°9864, 12.vi–5.vii 2013, Murzin & Shul’gin (ASM).

148 · Zootaxa 4425 (1) © 2018 Magnolia Press SALDAITIS & ZOLOTUHIN FIGURES 10–11. Phyllodesma ssp. male genitalia, genitalic armature, rolled up. 10. Ph. sinina, slide No. VZ-17-43m (WIGJ); 11. Ph. kopetzi, HT, slide No. VZ-17-45m (WIGJ). Figures 12–15. Phyllodesma ssp. male aedeagus. 12. Ph. sinina, slide No. 2008-12, Rückbeil (ZMHB);13. Ph. sinina, slide No. VZ-17-44m (WIGJ);14. Ph. sinina, slide No. VZ-17-43m (WIGJ);15. Ph. kopetzi, HT, slide No. VZ-17-45m (WIGJ); Figures 16–17. Phyllodesma ssp. female genitalia.16. HT of Lasiocampa ilicifolia var. sinina Prep_GLYC No. 9573 (ZISP); 17. Ph. kopetzi, PT, slide No. VZ-17-46f (ASV).

FIGURE 19. Distribution of Ph. sinina (circle) and Ph. kopetzi (square); stars mark the type locality.

Diagnosis. Reduced pale pattern as well as indistinct forewing anal incision (Fig. 18) easily separate the species from its congeners. The structure of both male and female genitalia is rather unusual. Description. This is a rather uniform species (Figs 7–9) without much individual variation. Wingspan of males 30–32 mm (holotype 31 mm), forewing length 13–18 (holotype 18 mm) and ca wingspan 34–42 (forewing17–22 mm) in females. The ground color is grey in both sexes; ochre-reddish suffusion covers costal zones of both wings as well as basal and postmedial fields of the forewing. Forewing with strongly reduced pale whitish pattern; R-Cu cell uniformly grey; discal spot bracket-shaped blackish; antemedial, postmedial and submarginal fasciae not dentate, consisting from rounded vague dark grey spots. Submarginal fascia can be outlined inside by innumerous pale scales in anal zone. Anal incision on the forewing smooth and indistinct. Hindwing with narrow but distinct whitish and almost straight medial fascia; external field with admixture of paler scales. Veins are ochre-reddish in both wings, and cilia is bright white with narrow ochre-brown lower layer. Body pale grey, patagias ochre-reddish. Female (Fig. 9) is more robust, a bit paler, and has a more developed paler suffusion and wider hindwing medial fascia. Male genitalia (Figs 11, 15). Generally typical for the subgenus Phyllodesma. Valva flattened, broadly claw- shaped, with slightly protruded apex, without any serration on the inner margin but with indistinct knobs on the

150 · Zootaxa 4425 (1) © 2018 Magnolia Press SALDAITIS & ZOLOTUHIN outside edge. Aedeagus is diagnostic: it is short and widened basally, with very short hook-like apical spur. Vesica with single cornutus which is low pyramidal here resembles a shark tooth, with widened bowl base; lateral groups of cornuti is absent, and a distal one is represented by a small zone of faint sclerotization. Tip of the single cornutus is pointed. Female genitalia (Fig. 17). Vaginal plate is a sclerotized vase-shape sclerite with pointed latero-anterior edges; ostium is strongly caudad with respect to the segment; only 3–4 curved raised folds are recognizable on the plate. Ductus bursae poorly sclerotized, with 3–4 obvious elongated craniad folds, short, as long as the height of the vaginal plate. Bursa copulatrix small and spherical. Biology and distribution. Six males and three females were collected at ultraviolet light on May, 2016 and June 2013 in remote parts of the southwestern part of China’s Sichuan Province near Litang, Daocheng and Heishui. The new species was collected at altitudes ranging from 3100 to 4100 meters in mountain mixed forests dominated by various conifer trees, rhododendrons and other unidentified bushes. Hosts are unknown but other morphologically similar Middle Asiatic species are oligophagous on Eleagnaceae, Salicaceae and Fabaceae and overwinter as pupae (Zolotuhin, 2015). Etymology. The new species is named after Werner Kopetz (Vienna, Austria) for his great interest in entomology.

FIGURES 20–21. Phyllodesma ssp. localities (photos by A. Saldaitis). 20. Ph. sinina, China, Qinghai, South from Xining, Laji Shan Mt., 3070 m, N36°22.614’,E101°33.644’; 21. Ph. kopetzi, TL, China, W. Sichuan, Road Daocheng/Litang, 4100 m, N29°36.788’, E100°19.825’.

Acknowledgements

Work in different museums was made possible by the support of the following curators: Dieter Stüning (Bonn, Germany), Wolfram Mey (Berlin, Germany), Sergey Yu. Sinev (St. Petersburg, Russia), and Thomas J. Witt (Munich, Germany). We wish to express our cordial thanks to Anton Skrobotov (Moscow, Russia), Julia Volkova (Uljanovsk, Russia) and Vladimir Gusarov (Oslo, Norway) for technical support, Robert Borth (Milwaukee, United States) for English grammar suggestions and Alessandro Floriani (Milan, Italy) for his enthusiastic companionship during the China trips and for contributing some of the Ph. sinina imago pictures. This work is a part of an investigation into the biodiversity of moths at the Department of Biology & Chemistry (State Pedagogical University of Ulyanovsk).

References

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