A new species of the genus ZamaradaMoore (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) from Shivaliks in Punjab, India
Rachita Sood 1, H.S. Rose 2 & P.C. Pathania3
1 Department
of Zoology, Guru Nanak (PG) Girls College, Model Town, Ludhiana 141002, India
2 Department of Zoology, Punjabi
University, Patiala 147002, India
3 Department of Entomology, Panjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141004, India
Email: 3 pathaniapc@yahoo.co.in
(corresponding author)
Date
of online publication 26 April 2009
ISSN 0974-7907
(online) | 0974-7893 (print)
Editor: R.K. Varshney
Manuscript
details:
Ms # o1584
Received 28 June
2006
Final received
21 April 2008
Finally accepted
16 March 2009
Citation: Sood, R., H.S. Rose & P.C. Pathania(2009). A new species of the genus ZamaradaMoore (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) from Shivaliks in Punjab, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 1(4): 236-237.
Copyright: © Rachita Sood, H.S. Rose &
P.C. Pathania 2009. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTT allows
unrestricted use of this article in any medium for non-profit purposes,
reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and
the source of publication.
Acknowledgements:We are grateful to the Punjab State Council of Science and Technology,
Chandigarh for funding the project on moths and to the Vice-Chancellor, Punjabi
University, Patiala for providing necessary research
facilities. We thank Dr. V.V. Ramamurthy
(Principal Scientist) for his help in consultation of the National Pusa collection housed at the Indian Agricultural Research
Institute, New Delhi.
Abbreviations: 1A - First anal vein; 2A - Second anal vein;
3A - Third anal vein; 1A+2A - Vein representing fused first and second anal
vein; ASL - Above sea level; CuA1 - First cubitalvein; CuA2 - Second cubital vein; CuP- Cubital posterior vein; M1 - First median vein; M2
- Second median vein; R1 - First radial vein; R2 - Second radial vein; R3 -
Third radial vein; R4 - Fourth radial vein;R5 - Fifth radial vein; Rs - Radial
sector; Sc - Subcostal vein; Sc+R1 - Stalk of subcostal and first radial vein.
Hampson (1895) redescribed the
genus Zamarada Moore, with Z. translucidaMoore as its type-species. Fletcher
(1979) considered the latter species as a junior subjective synonym of Euchloris baliata Felder
& Rogenhofer. Recently, Holloway (1993) revised the genus, and considered Z. translucida Moore and Euchloris baliata as synonyms of Z. baliata Felder & Rogenhofer. Six species i.e., baliata,scriptifasciata, denticulata,nesiotica, ucatoides andeogenaria have been included under Zamarada by Holloway. Out of these species, the latter has been
reported from India. All these species
have been distinguished on the basis of the female genitalia. The genitalia of the species described here
were compared with the illustrations of these described species, and since the
collected sample does not conform to any of them the unnamed species is
reported as Zamarada pseudobaliata sp. nov. The types are deposited in the Lepidoptera Laboratory, Department of
Zoology, Punjabi University, Patiala, Punjab, India.
Zamarada pseudobaliata sp. nov.
(Figs.
1-5)
Material
examined
Holotype: Male,
21.x.1999, Roopnagar, RoopnagarDistrict, Punjab, 350m, coll. H.S. Rose & Rachita Sood (LL/DZ/PUP- GEO 01).
Paratypes: 9 males, 1 female, 23.x.2001, Dunera, Gurdaspur District, Punjab, 700m; 10 males, 8 females,
27.x.2001; 2 males, 23.viii.2002, Hoshiarpur, Hoshiarpur district, Punjab, 370m; 9 males, 23.x.2001, Dhar, Hoshiarpur district,
Punjab, 650m, coll. H.S. Rose & Rachita Sood (LL/DZ/PUP- GEO 02-40).
Distribution
India: Punjab: Roopnagar, Dunera, Hoshiarpur, Dhar.
Etymology
The species name
is proposed after the name of the closely allied species, baliata.
Male and Female
Alar expanse: Male 30mm;
Female 32mm. Antennae bipectinate to two-third length
in both sexes, branches longer in male than female; hind tibiae not dilated;
wings hyaline yellowish-green, with a few dark striae,
a small sub-basal patch, a broad marginal band purplish grey irrorated with fuscous, deeply indented between veins CuA2
and M3, a dark speck at the end of cell; forewing with veins R3 to R5, M2 from
middle of cell; hindwing with veins Rs and M1
connate, arising from upper angle of cell, M2 and M3 connate.
Wing venation (Figs. 1 &
2): Forewing with Sc ending at 2/3rd of costa,
R2+R3+R4 stalked, arising from upper angle of discalcell, R5 arising near the upper angle of discal cell,
M1 absent, M2 arising from middle of cell, M3 and CuA1 arising from lower angle
of discal cell, CuA2 from 2/3rd of cell, discal cell closed, CuPvestigial, visible at margin, 1A+2A forked at base; hindwingwith Sc+R1 ending near apex, Rs and M1 arcing at the upper angle of discal cell, M2 and M3 from lower discalangle of cell, CuA1 not traceable, CuA2 arising near middle of discal cell, CuP absent, 1A+2A
present, 3A absent.
Male genitalia (Figs. 3 &
4): Uncus broad at base, narrower towards apex as if
forming a dome-like structure, beset with setae, the latter densely arranged; gnathos arms fused in the middle, heavily sclerotised, impregnated with small hooks-like markings on
the fused portion; tegumen long, sclerotised,
V-shaped, arms narrow towards the base of uncus;
vinculum broadly U-shaped; coremata present; valvae narrower, costal region given off into flange like
processes called ampulla, the latter adorned with
setae on the apical end, apex pointed, sacculusregion well developed furnished with long setae, sacculus well sclerotised, sharp from apical end; transtillathin; aedeagus passes terminally, slender, thick
pointing towards vesica armed with cornuti, cornuti well developed,
spine-like.
Female genitalia (Fig. 5): Ovipositor
lobes long, adorned with setae; posterior apophysesof double length than anterior apophyses; ostium bursae rounded; sterigma ornamented with dorsal lobe, divided into three
spines, the lateral digitate processes, apically
serrate, central of same length as that of lateral spines but rounded anteriorly; ductus bursae striated internally; corpus bursaeelongated, signum well defined; oval with uniformly
arranged spines on the outer side.
Food plant: Not known.
Discussion
The critical
examination of the genitalia reveals that though the species under reference is
closely allied to baliata Felder & Rogenhofer, yet differs in the shape of the sterigma in the female genitalia, as in case of baliata Felder the sterigmais ornamented with a dorsal lobe in all three spines and lateral digitate processes that are apically serrate in the first
two. But in case of pseudobaliata sp. nov., the lateral digitate process are apically serrate in all the three and
the central spine is of same length but rounded anterior, which is not the case
in baliata Felder. Besides this, the male genitalia of baliata have an excavate area to the sacculus region of the valva and
the costal region is not given off to a flange like process, which is adorned
with setae in pseudobaliata sp. nov., and saccularregion is also not so excavate and is sharp apically.
References
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