Thaumatographa mesostigmatias Diakonoff, 1977

Thaumatographa mesostigmatias Diakonoff, 1977

( Figs. 1–2 View FIGURES 1–6 , 10 View FIGURE 10 , 13 View FIGURE 13 )

Thaumatographa mesostigmatias Diakonoff, 1977b: 42 . Type-locality: Taiwan [Nantou Co.]: “Rantaisan” [= Lantashan]. Hilarographa calyx Razowski, 2009a: 276 View in CoL , syn. nov. Type-locality: Taiwan [Tainan Co.]: “Kanshirei” [= Kuantzuling].

Diagnosis. This first species of Thaumatographa described from Taiwan already in 1977, is large for the genus ( Figs. 1–2 View FIGURES 1–6 ), with a prominent preapical orange bar on the forewing, and five short subterminal black bar spots from the tornus to middle of forewing, and three prominent pale yellow-white curved lines from the dorsal margin; both sexes with equal maculation. The hindwing has a pale orange (nearly white in some specimens) and elongated median patch from middle of forewing to the wing base. The male genitalia ( Fig. 8 View FIGURE 8 ) are distinctive in the flattened hami and very short socii. The female genitalia ( Fig. 10 View FIGURE 10 ) are notable for the bulbous colliculum-like bulge on the caudal end of the very short and wide ductus bursae; and likewise the signum is very reduced to a single cluster of spines (not a dual cluster of curved spines as in most other species of the genus).

Descriptive notes. Wing expanse: male 13.0mm (n = 2), female 14.0–14.8mm (n = 5).

Head ( Figs. 1a, 2a View FIGURES 1–6 ): dark gray-brown, with median scales yellow on vertex and on frons; lateral tuft of yellow to orange scales laterally on neck; eyes large, dark brown to black; ocellus large and clear to white or amber; antennal scape pale orange to brown; antenna brown-purplish, mixed with scattered orange-yellow scales dorsally; labial palpus brown basally to pale yellow on dorsum, with remainder white with bluish iridesence (especially iridescent on apical segment), and venter white; head venter white.

Thorax ( Figs. 1–2 View FIGURES 1–6 ): dark brown, with orange-yellow pair of lines from patagia to caudal end, and metathorax also with median patch of orange-yellow; tegula short, dark brown, with orange-yellow medially; venter of thorax white; legs cream white, mesally white, with black-brown dorsal spots basad and apically on midtibia, with hindleg mostly black-brown except white ventrally; spurs white; tarsi alternating white and black-brown.

Forewing ( Figs. 1–2 View FIGURES 1–6 ): dark brown, with striae of pale yellow from dorsal margin curved to middle of forewing and directed toward apex, all reduced in length from longest on middle of wing to shortest before tornus; wingbase with a recurved pale yellow line from costal margin, a second more straight orange line from costa to near middle; costa with several angled striae alternating orange and silver-white (becoming more silver to middle of wing) and with dark brown between the striae, distally aimed to forewing black-brown spot at end of cell, and nearly convergent with curved striae from dorsal margin; apex with a white margin bordered with a thin black line before apical 1/5 of orange, divided by a silver angled subapical line from costa to mid-termen; tornal quarter with 5 black bar-spots surrounded by merged orange scales, and a silver-brown subtornal line; fringe brown, with orange along termen, divided by a white bar on termen just below apical white border; venter dark brown with dorsal striae diffusely repeated but dull, with cell area suffused with pale tan markings, and apical fringe white mark repeated, and dorsal margin white.

Hindwing ( Figs. 1–2 View FIGURES 1–6 ): dark brown on distal half, with diffusely edged pale orange median patch to wingbase, and similar patch of tawny orange on anal sector; costa white from near apex to wingbase; fringe white with brown baseline; venter like dorsum nut marks suffused.

Abdomen: dark brown, with dark tan posterior margins on tergites; venter tan-white; genital tufts dark brown with white distally and on venter; pregenital segment with medially invaginated sternite and tergite, with long lateral coremata from pouch formations.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 10 View FIGURE 10 ): tegumen-vinculum both subtriangular with thin margins; uncus very stout, slightly bent from base on tegumen, as long as hami; hamus long and flattened (subequal to uncus length); socius short and stubby elongate-triangular, with few setae midway; gnathos quadratic and membranous, with a thin distal margin; transtilla incomplete, as short triangular valval stubs; juxta a small subtriangular plate; anellus undeveloped (membranous); aedeagus large and thick, tube-like, narrowing to distal end; vesica with a strongly bent apical hook from large tubular and long cornutus; phallobase undeveloped; ductus ejaculatorius relatively short (subequal to aedeagus length), with short bulbous proximal hood; valva short and oblong, with rounded termen, setose over most of surface and with dense setae mid-valval tuft near base; saccus undeveloped, merged into vinculum form with acute apex.

Female genitalia ( Fig. 13 View FIGURE 13 ): ovipositor very short (less than length of 7 th abdominal segment), with an elongate spiculate patch midway on venter; papilla anales large; ostium ( Fig. 13a View FIGURE 13 ), a large shallow cup; sterigma with a central convex and setose bulge, ventrally with a curved margin; ductus bursae very short (less than length of ovipositor), with a large colliculum-like bulge proximal to antrum, the ductus bulge ( Fig. 13c View FIGURE 13 ) having a dual duct interior of curved ducts (as if there were two antrums) and merging as one into the ductus bursae; the corpus bursae merges immediately proximal to a short ductus bursae section; corpus bursae very elongated, with ovate proximal end; ductus seminalis from near ductus bursae bulge; accessory diverticula large and oblong-ovate, emergent from corpus bursae near middle with short, thin ductus; signum ( Fig. 13b View FIGURE 13 ), small with a single bunch of asymmetrical straight spines arrayed from short to long and directed to proximal end of bursa.

Holotype male ( mesostigmatias ). Taiwan: “Rantaisan” [ Lantashan ], [Nantou Co.], 15 May 1933, [S. Issiki] (gen. AD-9811) ( USNM).

Holotype female ( calyx ). Taiwan: “Kanshirei” [ Kuantzuling ] [250 m], [Tainan Co.], 20 Aug. 1905, A. E. Wileman (gen. BM-31849) ( BMNH).

Paratype female ( mesostigmatias ). Taiwan: “ Raisya ” [Juisui Hot Spgs.] [350 m], [Hualien Co.], 25 Nov. 1934, [S. Issiki] ( RMNH) .

Added specimens. (n = 4): Taiwan, Chiayi Co.: Fennchihwu (1400 m), 18 Jul. 1984 (1♀) (gen. YA-1193), 19 Jul. 1984 (1♂) (gen. YA-1159) ( MGCL) . Taiwan, Ilan Co.: Chilan Nsy. [ For. Rec. Area ] (480 m), 15-17 Oct. 1984 (1♀), J. B. Heppner & H.-Y. Wang (gen. JBH4645) ( MGCL) . Taiwan, Kaohsiung Co.: [Shanpin] For. Sta. (750 m), [nr.] Liukuei , 29 Apr.-3 May 1989 (1♀), J. B. Heppner & H.-Y. Wang (gen. JBH-4641) ( MGCL) .

Etymology. The species was named for “middle” and “spotted” ( Diakonoff 1977b).

Biology. Unknown. Habitat is montane forest (250–1400 m). Flight period (n = 7 records): late April to mid-July, mid-August, and mid-October to late November.

Distribution. Known only from Taiwan mountains. The old Japanese locality names in Taiwan are verified for their current Chinese names in the Taiwan gazeteer for Lepidoptera sites ( Heppner, 2012d).

Discussion. Diakonoff (1977b) described this species as the first hilarographine with a Taiwan type-locality, collected by Japanese in the 1930s but not then named. This species is not a typical Thaumatographa , since the female genitalia are highly anomalous for the genus, with the short ductus bursae and its caudal bulge. The male genitalia are also anomalous in the genus, with the flattened hami and very short socii. Razowski (2009a) wrote of some differences for his new species, “ calyx ”, but there are no significant differences to discern between it and T. mesostigmatias , thus the new synonymy. In Taiwan, T. mesostigmatias has been the only previously known Taiwan species of Hilarographini ( Kawabe and Komai 1992) . The female genitalia are very different from typical Thaumatographa species, with a short ovipositor, a very short ductus bursae and its colliculum-like bulbous expansion, and in the bursa a reduced signum of short spines. The female genitalia vary a bit on the ostial-sterigmal bulge, being somewhat straight to more convex. Among all the Thaumatographa species, T. mesostigmatias should have its own monobasic species-group due to anomalies of the male and female genitalia; and no related species are known of yet that would be included in this species-group. Some darker forms have wing maculation where the typical dark brown is more prominent.