Cibyra Walker, 1856

Cibyra Walker, 1856 View in CoL

Type-species: Cibyra ferruginosa Walker, 1856 , by monotypy.

Cibyra View in CoL : Walker (1856: 1770).— Kirby (1892: 938).— Quail (1900: 426); Cibyra sylvinus [ sic] [probably Triodia sylvina ( Linnaeus, 1761) View in CoL ].— Neave (1939: 734).— Paclt (1944: 142); syn.: Alphus Wallengren, 1869 View in CoL , praeocc.: Alphus White, 1855 View in CoL and Alphus Thomson, 1860 View in CoL [ Coleoptera View in CoL ].— Viette (1949: 102).— Paclt (1953: 145).— Paclt (1957: 52).— Nye & Fletcher (1991: 69).— Nielsen et al. (2000: 841) View Cited Treatment .— Grehan & Rawlins (2003: 734); syn.: Aepytus Herrich-Schäffer, [1855] View in CoL .— Grehan (2010: 43).— Mielke & Grehan (2012: 136); syn: Aepytus ( Xytrops) Viette, 1951a .— Grehan (2012: 4, 13; fig. (valva)).—Mielke et al. (2017: 586).—Grehan & Mielke (2017: 439).—Mielke & Grehan (2017: 136).— Mielke et al. (2019: 336).— Kawahara et al. (2019: 22659 ( Pseudophassus View in CoL ; misidentification)).— Grehan et al. (2023: 16, 75).

Hepialus (Cibyra) : Quail (1900: 432), Hepialus (Cibyra) sylvinus [ sic], probably Triodia sylvina ( Linnaeus, 1761) View in CoL .— Lucas (1901: 779).— Quail (1903: 502), Hepialus (Cibyra) sylvinus [ sic], probably Triodia sylvina ( Linnaeus, 1761) View in CoL .— Pfitzner (1937: 1292).

= Aepytus (Xytrops) Viette (1951a: 1) ; type-species: Aepytus (Xytrops) monoargenteus Viette, 1951a View in CoL , by original designation.— Nielsen & Robinson (1983: 20).— Robinson & Nielsen (1984: 17).— Mielke & Grehan (2012: 136); as synonym of Cibyra Walker, 1856 View in CoL .

Xytrops View in CoL : Viette (1951c: 1277).— Paclt (1953: 145); as synonym of Roseala Viette, 1950b View in CoL .— Edwards & Hopwood (1966: 315).— Nye & Fletcher (1991: 323).— Grehan et al. (2023: 75); as synonym of Cibyra Walker, 1856 View in CoL .

Aepytus (Cibyra) : Nielsen & Robinson (1983: 20).— Robinson & Nielsen (1984: 17).

Cibyra (Xytrops) View in CoL : Nielsen et al. (2000: 842).

Diagnosis. All males of Cibyra spp. bear elongate piliform scales, laterally positioned on each side at the distal end of the abdomen. This condition is uniquely shared with males of Limyra C. Mielke, Dell’Erba & Duarte, 2017 , Schaefferiana , Aepytus Herrich-Schäffer, [1855] , Roseala Viette, 1950b , Tricladia C. & R. Felder, 1874, and Vietteogorgopis Özdikmen, 2007 . The last four genera show oxycanine, instead of hepialine, venation (cf. Dumbleton 1966). The monotypic Limyra is easily distinguished from other genera by the membranous sternite VIII in males, by the complex saccus morphology of the male genitalia (Mielke et al. 2017: Fig. 30), and by the complex structure of the lamella antevaginalis in the female genitalia (Mielke et al. 2017: Fig. 28). Schaefferiana is also easily distinguished by the lamellar antennae in males, while in Cibyra spp. they are pectinate. In addition, the tegumen in Schaefferiana does not exceed its length beyond the articulation with the saccus, while in Cibyra spp. (except the munona species-group) the tegumen goes beyond that articulation. The pseudotegumen plates are unfused both anteriorly and posteriorly. With the exception of the jurate species-group, tergite VIII is membranous in females. The fultura superior in the male genitalia is membranous, other than C. denise sp. nov. and the olinda species-group.

Remarks. The oxycanine/hepialine venations seem to be an irrelevant character in evolutionary terms as both conditions have been found within a single species, Walkeriella miraculosa C. Mielke, Grehan & Grados, 2019 , oxycanine in the FW and hepialine in the HW. If this consideration is corroborated genetically or morphologically, Aepytus may represent as a senior synonym of Cibyra as no other character has been found to differentiate these taxa from each other ( Mielke & Grehan 2015). Nielsen & Robinson (1983) treated Cibyra as a subgenus of Aepytus , but no justification was given.

Smaller-sized specimens, in some cases less than 50% of the average wingspan, are frequently observed in both sexes. This condition sometimes makes identification difficult due to the overlapping of the wingspan of the reduced specimen with that of species with smaller averages. In these reduced specimens, the structures follow the same proportions, including the genitalia.

The phallus has taxonomic importance for determining some species and for determining the species-group, but this membranous structure is often not sufficiently intact due to deterioration or desiccation, especially in older specimens. This is the principal reason why preservation of genitalia in Euparal or similar media is not desirable for this group.

All species of Cibyra are attracted to light at dusk for less than 15–20 minutes. With few exceptions, all species are scarce at light, and only a few specimens are collected each night. Females are much scarcer than males. Most species occur in areas above 700–800 m, the highest records being about 2400 m.