American Journal of Entomology 2021; 5(1): 1-9 http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/aje doi: 10.11648/j.aje.20210501.11 ISSN: 2640-0529 (Print); ISSN: 2640-0537 (Online) Taxonomic and Faunistic Results on the Spilomelinae Guenée, 1854 (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) from the Southern Arabian Peninsula with Descriptions of Three New Species Michael Seizmair Department of Entomology, Bavarian State Collection of Zoology Munich, Munich, Germany Email address: To cite this article: Michael Seizmair. Taxonomic and Faunistic Results on the Spilomelinae Guenée, 1854 (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) from the Southern Arabian Peninsula with Descriptions of Three New Species. American Journal of Entomology. Vol. 5, No. 1, 2021, pp. 1-9. doi: 10.11648/j.aje.20210501.11 Received: December 13, 2020; Accepted: December 21, 2020; Published: January 4, 2021 Abstract: The Spilomelinae Guinée, 1854 (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) is known as the largest subfamily of the Pyraloidea with a wide distribution in the tropical and temperate zones. In the present study, new taxonomic and faunistic results on this subfamily are presented on the basis of material sampled in the south-western province Dhofar of Oman. In Dhofar three zoogeographical zones intersect, namely the Palearctic, Oriental and Afrotropical zones, with the Afrotropical fauna elements in the majority. The specimens of the sample are attributed to three species of three different genera, namely Herpetogramma, Lederer, 1883 (n=2), Notarcha, Meyrick, 1884 (n=2) and Glyphodes, Meyrick, 1884 (n=2) on the basis of external and genital-morphological characters. The specimens attributed to the genus Herpetogramma, Lederer, 1883 are assigned to a species group known as LBJ (Little Brown Jobs), the species of which are distinguishable by genital-morphological features exclusively. The specimens attributed to the genus Notarcha, Meyrick, 1884 revealed to be very close in wing pattern features to the Notarcha quaternalis Zeller, 1832 species complex. Comparison of the male genitalia of each of the sub-samples with the species of the respective sub-groups revealed significant differences, which result in the descriptions of the new species Herpetogramma debilis Seizmair, sp. nov. and Notarcha viridalis Seizmair, sp. nov. The presence of the genus Notarcha, Meyrick, 1884 is reported as new to the entomofauna of the Arabian Peninsula. The specimens attributed to the genus Glyphodes, Meyrick, 1884 differ significantly in external characters from a sample of seven species with similar forewing longitudinal line patterns. Among the species of this cluster Glyphodes onychinalis Guenée, 1854 is genital-morphologically very close to the specimens of the sample collected. The latter species and the specimens of the sample share the shape of the uncus and the structure of the corpus bursae wall, yet differ significantly in the structure of the valva. These differences result in the description of the new species Glyphodes leucomesalis Seizmair, sp.nov. Keywords: Pyraloidea, Herpetogramma, Notarcha, Glyphodes, Taxonomy, Morphology In the present study three new species attributed to three 1. Introduction different genera, namely Herpetogramma, Lederer, 1883, The subfamily Spilomelinae Guenée, 1854 is known to be Notarcha Meyrick, 1884, Glyphodes Guenée, 1854 are the subfamily with the highest diversity of the Pyraloidea, described on the basis of a sample (n=6) collected by the comprising 4097 described species in 338 genera and author in Dhofar, the south-western province of Oman. accounting for 26% of the species of the Pyraloidea [1, 2]. 1.1. Genus Herpetogramma, Lederer, 1883 A recent comprehensive revision of the Spilomelinae Guenée, 1854 on tribus level has been done in Mally et al. [1]. The genus comprises two species complexes. The Recent faunistic and morphological studies on species level members in each of these two species groups are primarily have been done for the Indo-Australian, the Neotropical and distinguished by genital-morphological characters. The two the Afrotropical zones [3-6]. complexes are referenced as “group A” and “group B” by 2 Michael Seizmair: Taxonomic and Faunistic Results on the Spilomelinae Guenée, 1854 (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) from the Southern Arabian Peninsula with Descriptions of Three New Species Guillermet [7, 8]. pattern and genital-morphological characters were collected These two species groups are distinguished by the basic by the author in 2019 near the Yemen border. There are scaling of the fore- and hindwings – light-brown in the species significant external and genital-morphological differences of group A, darkish-brown in the species of group B. Group A between the specimens of the sample, G. onychinalis and six is also referred to by the acronym LBJ (Little Brown Jobs) [9]. further species similar in wing pattern, which result in the The species group B is widely distributed in the Palearctic, description of the new species Glyphodes leucomesalis Afrotropical and the Indo-Australian zones [2, 10]. On the Seizmair, sp.nov. contrary, the known species of group A are restricted in distribution to the Afrotropical zone, with records from 2. Material and Methods islands of the Indian Ocean (La Reunion, the Comoros Islands, the Malagasy Region, the Seychelles Islands), from 2.1. Sampling South Africa and from Namibia [7, 9, 11]. On the Arabian Peninsula, group B is represented by The material presented in this paper was sampled by the Herpetogramma licarsisalis Walker, 1859, whereas group A author in two research expeditions to Dhofar, the south-western has not been recorded for the Arabian Peninsula up to now [12, province of Oman in November 2018 and in February 2019. 13]. In this study the presence of group A is reported as new to The collecting sites are situated on the southern slopes of the the entomofauna of the Arabian Peninsula on the basis of a western parts of Jabal Al Qamar, a coastal mountain system sample of two specimens. The specimens are assigned to a ranging from the western surroundings of the province capital new species Herpetogramma debilis Seizmair sp.nov. Salalah to the Yemen border (Figure 1). The specimens were captured at night by means of a light-trap equipped with a 20W 1.2. Genus Notarcha, Meyrick, 1884 tube of infra-blue light. This genus encompasses 18 known species and is 2.2. Macro-Preparation and Dissection distributed in the Afrotropical and Indo-Australian zones [1, 2, 13]. The genus is still little explored in the Afrotropical The adults were photographed with a SONY HX400V zone, with seven species known up to now and numerous camera after relaxation and subsequent preparation. unknown species conjectured [11, 13]. For examining the genitalia, dissection, preparation and The distribution of the genus in the Afrotropical zone slide-mounting techniques were applied on the specimens on ranges over the Seychelles Islands, the Comoros Islands, the the basis of the protocol described in Robinson [26]. The Malagasy Region, South Africa, Central and Eastern Africa to slides were photographed with a SONY DSC100V camera Ethiopia [13, 14]. under a 40x zoom. The genus has not been recorded so far from the Arabian The images were optimized by means of the software Ps Peninsula [13]. In this study the presence of the genus on the Adobe Photoshop, Version 21.0.2. Arabian Peninsula is reported for the first time on the basis of a sample of two specimens. The specimens are assigned to a new species Notarcha viridalis Seizmair, sp.nov. 1.3. Genus Glyphodes, Meyrick, 1884 This genus comprises 156 known species and is distributed in the Afrotropical, Neotropical and Indo-Australian zones [1, 2]. The genus is polyphyletic [1, 15]. Sutrisno hypothesizes a subdivision of the genus into three monophyletic clades on the basis of morphological and molecular-genetic markers [15-18]. The phylogenetic results in Sutrisno are based on a Figure 1. Collection site in Oman, Dhofar, Jabal Al Qamar, near the Yemen border (black point). sample of 14 species thus covering 9% of the total species of the genus. The subdivision of the genus proposed by Sutrisno 2.3. Morphological Analyses should thus be regarded as preliminary. Further investigations into the phylogenetic relations between the species of the Morphometric analyses of wing patterns and genus as a whole are needed. genital-morphological structures were done on the images. Further recent studies on the morphology of the genus Structural ratios were measured and calculated by means of based on small species samples have been in done in Park et the imaging software ZEISS AxioVision, Version 4.8. al., in Ratikannu and Chitra, in Nagaharish et al. and in 2.4. Terminology and Abbreviations Reddy and Murthy [19-22]. On the Arabian Peninsula, the genus is represented by The descriptions of the genitalia and of wing pattern Glyphodes onychinalis Guenée, 1854. The species has been elements are based on the terminology in Maes [27]. The recorded from SE-Saudi-Arabia, Yemen and Dhofar [23-25]. nomenclature of the venation follows Shaffer & Munroe [11]. Further two specimens similar to G. onychinalis in wing The feature states referred to in the descriptions and diagnoses American Journal of Entomology 2021; 5(1): 1-9 3 are based on the feature space given in Mally et al. [1]. with two 90° curvatures at M1 and CuA2, running straight Abbreviations: from the Sc up to the first curvature, slanted between the two ZSM Zoological State Collection Munich, Germany curvatures, with another slight angle between the second 90° curvature at CuA2 and the anal border. Anteterminal line 3. Results strongly interrupted, consisting of a row of fuscous points. Discocellular spot black, reniform. Forewing underside like Herpetogramma debilis Seizmair, sp.nov. (Figures 2-3) forewing upper side. Material: Holotype: ♂, Oman, Dhofar, 20 km E Sarfait, Hindwing upper side: Ground like forewing. Medial and Road 47, Jebel Al Qamar, 960 m, 07-XI-2018, leg. M. external areas sporadically interspersed with yellowish scales. Seizmair, coll. ZSM, slide no.