Synemon gunggariensis, Kallies & Edwards, 2025

Synemon gunggariensis spec. nov. (Gunggari Sun Moth)

( Figs 49 – 52 View FIGURES 49–56 , 63 View FIGURES 63, 64 , 65 View FIGURES 65, 66 , 82 View FIGURES 81-83 )

Synemon species A ; Edwards 1997: 8.

New species Zoobank registration: 278EAE00-14AE-4CF8-8D89-EF9CAFF4CCA1

Material examined

Holotype: 1♂ “ 26.28S 147.37E, Ooline Res., 9km E Mungallala , Q., 10 Oct 1996, E.D. Edwards, R. D. Edwards ” ( Figs 49, 50 View FIGURES 49–56 , ANIC 31 About ANIC 014724) GoogleMaps . Paratypes: 48♂, 10♀, Ooline Res. , 9km E Mungallala, 26°28'S 147°37'E, 9.x.1996 ( 4♂, 1♀), 10.x.1996 ( 43♂, 9♀, Figs 51, 52 View FIGURES 49–56 ), E.D. Edwards, R GoogleMaps . D. Edwards ( ANIC, slides 11790, 11832, 11877) ; 3♂, 38km E of Morven , 26°26'S 147°24'E, 31.iii.1994 (1x), 17.x.1995 (2x), E.D. Edwards ( ANIC) GoogleMaps ; 5♂, 1♀, 12 miles E of Morven , 26°25'S 147°19'E, 19.x.1957, I.F.B. Common ( ANIC) GoogleMaps .

Description

Male ( holotype, Figs 49, 50 View FIGURES 49–56 ). Wingspan 36 mm. Head: vertex grey, thick piliform grey scales obscuring black lamellar scales, frons with dense grey piliform scales and dense white lamellar scales beside eyes, labial palpi short, appressed to head, not reaching frons, white, haustellum vestigial, antenna grey, above and beneath broadly annulated with white, club white with some grey scales dorsally, expanding fairly abruptly, nudum 5 orange brown on anterior third of club, apiculus minute of a single annulus. Thorax: above dark grey of mixed dark grey piliform and black lamellar scales, two subdorsal rows of pale, almost white scales hardly distinguishable, beneath white, legs pale yellow or straw above, white beneath, epiphysis clothed in minute spinules, inserted below about half length of foretibia, short, spine-like, not nearly reaching end of foretibia. Abdomen: dark grey above with distal two thirds brown, T2 – T3 with numerous long grey scales, beneath white.

Forewing: dark grey with markings of off-white or ash grey, whole wing dusted with ash grey scales, an off-white patch at end of cell, an obscure band of markings from near apex to 1A+2A before tornus, markings made up of ellipses of dark grey between the veins and outlined both proximally and distally in ash grey appearing as two series of lunate markings between the veins, this band broken between M3 and CuA1 and the ellipses below CuA1 displaced inwards, costa dark grey with ash grey streaks between veins towards apex, one basal streak below cell ash grey, termen dark grey. Cilia dark grey. Underside with costa yellow, basal third of wing black irrorated with yellow in proximal half of cell, outer two thirds yellow, a yellow spot at end of cell and a black patch beyond which extends transversely to mid termen, apex pale yellow, narrow terminal line dark brown proximally and pale yellow distally. Cilia dark brown.

Hindwing: basal half of wing dark grey, small pale yellow dot at end of cell, outer half of wing from tip of M1 to tornus yellow to brownish yellow, the inner margin of this brownish yellow band lunate, black spots between the veins from M1 to M3, two conspicuous black spots between CuA2 and 1A+2A, narrow terminal dark grey line, anal area dark brown at base becoming brownish yellow towards tornus. Cilia dark grey, yellow at tornus. Underside with costa dark grey, remainder of wing dark grey, tornal area yellow with a light scattering of yellow scales surrounding tornal, a narrow terminal line brownish yellow. Cilia dark brown, yellow at tornus.

Genitalia ( Fig. 63 View FIGURES 63, 64 ): Valva wide at the base, remaining relatively wide distally, apex pointed upwards, dorsal edge relatively straight, with long simple setae, uncus wide and simple, with long setae; phallus relatively long, arched, widening towards the distal end, with a relatively wide apical projection, phallobase wide; vinculum with two very short projections.

Female ( paratype, Figs 51, 52 View FIGURES 49–56 ). Wingspan 42 mm. Similar to male on upperside, larger, forewing with ash grey markings usually more extensive, sometimes with subapical white streaks between veins, hindwing with the black spots in the brownish yellow band much larger and extending between the veins from Rs to 1A+2A often forming a broad black band, sometimes this band broken between M3 and CuA1, brownish yellow spot at end of cell larger. Underside forewing costa yellow, remainder of forewing orange yellow, a pale-yellow spot at end of cell, an obscure post median row of pale-yellow spots and streaks from R3 to M3, a subterminal row of black spots from R4 to M3, a narrow terminal line brown. Cilia grey-white. Hindwing orange yellow, a pale-yellow spot at end of cell surrounded by a diffuse area of black, a row of black spots between veins from Rs to M3 and CuA1 to 1A+2A, a narrow black terminal line. Cilia grey-white.

Genitalia ( Fig. 65 View FIGURES 65, 66 ): Ovipositor long, extendable and pointed, papillae anales covered in long setae, ductus bursae very short and straight, corpus bursae ovoid and simple; apophyses posteriores long, reaching beyond corpus bursae.

Diagnosis. Synemon gunggariensis spec. nov. has a restricted distribution; it occurs in southern eastern Queensland where the similar S. collecta and S. yimanorum spec. nov. also occur, although they are not sympatric. Synemon gunggariensis spec. nov. has a much less streaked appearance than S. collecta and S. yimanorum spec. nov. The male forewings are similar in shape to those of S. collecta but in the female they tend to be narrower like in S. yimanorum spec. nov. The elliptical spots on the forewing are present but reduced in size and the forewings are greyer than in S. yimanorum spec. nov. and S. collecta . Synemon gunggariensis spec. nov. differs from S. septentrionalis spec. nov. by the presence of the elliptical spots on the forewing which are absent in S. septentrionalis which also has greyer forewings. The coloured areas of the hindwing are more extensive than in S. septentrionalis and while there are black on the veins, they do not cross the coloured patch on the hindwing as they do in S. yimanorum spec. nov. In the female the orange spot at the end of the cell of the hindwing is larger than in S. collecta and S. yimanorum spec. nov., and this spot is absent in S. septentrionalis spec. nov. The genitalia of all four species, S. collecta , S. kunama spec. nov., S. yimanorum spec. nov. and S. gunggariensis spec. nov., are very similar. In male S. gunggariensis spec. nov., however, the apical extension of the valva is much wider than in the related species. Synemon gunggariensis spec. nov. and S. yimanorum spec. nov., which occur in the same region, are usually separated by their time of appearance, with Synemon gunggariensis spec. nov. being on the wing mostly in spring (October) and S. yimanorum spec. nov. flying in late summer and autumn (February, March).

Variability. Little variability has been observed in this species.

Etymology. The name of this species derives from the Gunggari country, home to the Gungari people, an Aboriginal Australian tribe who live in the Maranoa region of Queensland.

Biology and distribution. Synemon gunggariensis spec. nov. occurs in open grassland in a small range in inland south-eastern Queensland ( Fig. 82 View FIGURES 81-83 ). All but one records are from spring (October). More work is required to map the current distribution of this species.

Conservation status. Given its extremely limited range and the small size of the remnant grasslands it is known to occur in, this species should be considered endangered.