A New Genus and a New Species of the &amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Scopariinae&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt; Guinée, 1854 (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) from the Southern Arabian Peninsula

Michael Seizmair

doi:10.11648/j.aje.20200403.12

Abstract

New taxonomic and faunistic results on the Scopariinae Guinee, 1854 (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) are presented on the basis of a sample of four specimens collected by the author in three research expeditions to the south-western province Dhofar of Oman in the years 2018 and 2019. The attribution of the material to the subfamily Scopariinae Guinee, 1854 was done on the basis of characteristic elements in the forewing pattern known as the scopariine wing pattern. Examination of the male and female genitalia revealed significant morphological differences between the specimens of the sample and the type species of all the other genera of the subfamily Scopariinae Guinee, 1854. These differential features are regarded as autapomorphies and result in the description of the new genus Arabarpia Seizmair, gen. nov. The genus is at present monotypical, with Arabarpia albilinealis Seizmair, sp.nov. being its type-species and its only known species. The genus shares synapomorphic features with two main clades of the Scopariinae Guinee, 1854, namely the structure of the corpus bursae in the female genitalia with the clade represented by the genus Anarpia Chapman, 1912 and shape and structure of the bulbus ejaculatorius with the genus Hellenoscoparia Nuss, 1999. The latter genus belongs to another main lineage characterized by a membranous corpus bursae. The phylogenetic placement of the new genus is thus valued as ambivalent. It is not possible to resolve the ambivalent placement on the basis of the feature spaces presently known. Furthermore, the presence of the subfamily Scopariinae Guinee, 1854 is reported as new to the entomofauna of the Arabian Peninsula.

Highlights

The Scopariinae Guinée, 1854 are among the major sub-families of the Crambidae Latreille, 1810 with a world-wide distribution
The Scopariinae Guinée, 1854 were found to form a sister group complex with the Crambinae Latreille, 1810 [4]. From this sister group the Scopariinae Guinée, 1854 are distinguished by the following characteristic elements in the forewing pattern: presence of an antemedial line paired with two stigmata, namely a proximal discoidal stigma and a cubital stigma, presence of a postmedial line with a curvature opened in proximal direction paired with a distal discoidal stigma, presence of an anteterminal line forming an X-shaped structure with the postmedial line
Examples are the complete absence of the scopariine wing pattern, with the forewing unicolorous as is the case in the genus Afrarpia Maes, 2004 and in two species of the genus Scoparia Haworth, 1811 and the absence of the X-shaped structure formed by the postmedial and anteterminal lines, with the anteterminal area reduced to a broad unicolorous band as is the case in the genus Anarpia Chapman, 1912

Summary

Introduction

The Scopariinae Guinée, 1854 are among the major sub-families of the Crambidae Latreille, 1810 with a world-wide distribution. From this sister group the Scopariinae Guinée, 1854 are distinguished by the following characteristic elements in the forewing pattern: presence of an antemedial line paired with two stigmata, namely a proximal discoidal stigma and a cubital stigma, presence of a postmedial line with a curvature opened in proximal direction paired with a distal discoidal stigma, presence of an anteterminal line forming an X-shaped structure with the postmedial line The combination of these elements is known as the “scopariine wing pattern” and viewed as synapomorphic with regard to the Crambidae Latreille, 1810 [1, 5,6,7]. The strength of contrasting of the stigmata and line elements with the ground is subject to interspecific variation [7, 8]

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Conclusion