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Description of a new Oospila Warren, 1897,
from French Guiana
(Lepidoptera Geometridae Geometrinae Lophochoristini)
Antoine LÉVÊQUE* and Jaan VIIDALEPP**
* Appt. 15, 14, avenue des Hauts-de-Lutz, F-45190 Beaugency, France, < leveque@mnhn.fr >.
Entomo Fauna and correspondent of the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris.
** Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 5D, EE-50104 Tartu, Estonia, < jaan.viidalepp@emu.ee >.
Résumé
Description d’un nouvel Oospila Warren, 1897, de Guyane
Une nouvelle espèce appartenant au genre Oospila Warren, 1897, est décrite d’après deux mâles et
une femelle collectés en Guyane : Oospila poirieri n. sp. Elle appartient au groupe d’espèces includaria, mais
ses motifs alaires et ses genitalia — qui sont figurés — apparaissent nettement distincts de ceux des deux autres
espèces de ce groupe — Oospila includaria (Herrich-Schäffer, 1855) et Oospila leucothalera (Prout, 1932) —,
ainsi que de ceux du taxon Oospila venezuelata (Walker, 1861), présent en Guyane et dont certaines formes
peuvent ressembler à la nouvelle espèce.
La disposition et la forme de chacune des deux zones vertes de l’aile antérieure sont caractéristiques :
séparées par une large bande médiane de couleur beige à crème — s’étendant de la côte au tornus, où cette bande
s’élargit le long des bords externe et interne —, ces taches vertes sont toutes les deux ceinturées d’abord par une
ligne de quelques écailles rougeâtres, puis par une mince bande blanche ; la tache verte basale est assez petite
et presque arrondie, la tache verte subapicale, plus grande, revêt une forme subtriangulaire. La mince bande
terminale brun foncé, qui court de manière continue et régulière le long du bord de l’aile postérieure, est un autre
critère distinctif de la nouvelle espèce.
Les petites taches beiges à crème présentes à la base des ailes antérieure et postérieure d’O. includaria sont
absentes chez O. poirieri n. sp., et la marque sombre située au milieu d’une zone ovoïde beige à crème dans l’aire
discale de l’aile postérieure chez O. includaria est remplacée par un court et étroit trait blanc chez la nouvelle
espèce. À l’aile postérieure, l’aire verte d’un seul tenant et de forme ovoïde est plus nettement étendue chez
O. poirieri n. sp. que chez O. leucothalera (où elle présente une forme irrégulière), chez certaines variétés
d’O. includaria et chez O. venezuelata. Les formes de ce dernier taxon qui peuvent évoquer la nouvelle espèce
s’en distinguent également par l’absence de la bande terminale brun foncé et incurvée bordant l’aile postérieure,
et par la présence d’une bande assombrie, rectiligne et pas aussi nette, traversant obliquement l’aire postmédiane
beige à crème. À l’aile antérieure, la plus grande des deux taches vertes est davantage située dans l’aire médiane
que subapicale chez O. leucothalera, chez qui elle n’est pas régulière, avec la moitié inférieure plus grande que
la moitié supérieure, deux parties d’ailleurs séparées l’une de l’autre chez certains spécimens.
Oospila includaria et O. leucothalera sont inconnus de Guyane, la seconde espèce étant semble-t-il
restreinte au sud-est du Brésil et la première plus largement répandue depuis le sud du Pérou et l’ouest de la Bolivie
jusqu’au centre et au sud-est du Brésil, en passant par le nord de l’Argentine et le Paraguay.
Abstract
A new species of the genus Oospila Warren, 1897, from French Guiana is described. Oospila poirieri n. sp.
belongs to the includaria group but the wing markings and genitalia are distinctive from those of two other
species in this group, O. includaria (Herrich-Schäffer, 1855) and O. leucothalera (Prout, 1932),
and also from those
142 Antenor, 2 (1), 2015 : 142-147
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Alexanor, 24 (1), 2009 (2010) : 143 143
of O. venezuelata (Walker, 1861) some forms of which can resemble to the new species. On the forewing,
the two green blotches are characteristic, outlined by a ring of few reddish scales then by a narrow white band,
the basal blotch small and almost circular, the subapical subtriangular; the narrow, dark brown terminal band,
continuous along the edge of the hindwing, is also a distinctive feature. O. includaria and O. leucothalera are not
known from French Guiana.
Abbreviations
MNHN Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France
IZBE Insect collection of former Institute of Zoology and Botany of Estonia
Academy of Sciences, deposited in Estonian University of Life Sciences,
Tartu, Estonia
ZSM Zoologische Staatssammlung München, Germany
The genus Oospila Warren, 1897, includes seventy-four species and one subspecies
(COOK &SCOBLE, 1995; SCOBLE & al., 1999; VIIDALEPP, 2002). Thirty-one species are
recorded from French Guiana (INPN, on line).
During an intensive entomological recording campaign in the Nature Reserve of
Nouragues by the Société Entomologique Antilles-Guyane between 2009 and 2011, a single
male specimen of a small unidentified Oospila was collected at a light sheet in September
2010. The very unusual ornamentation of the wings appeared different from that of any
of the known species of the genus. By consulting the Herbulot Collection,
preserved in
Munich (Germany), the first author noticed the presence in this collection of another
specimen, which Claude HERBULOT himself had taken care to isolate as undetermined.
Meanwhile, the second author had also noticed the presence in the collection of IZBE
of a female specimen of what appeared to be an undescribed species of Oospila, the wing
pattern of which was similar to that of the male collected in 2010.
After careful examination of the wing pattern and genitalia to confirm the status of
new species, we describe it here.
Oospila poirieri n. sp.
FIG. 1-2. — Oospila poirieri n. sp., holotype ♂. – 1, upperside. – 2, underside. Magnification : × 3.
Photos : © Antoine LÉVÊQUE.
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144 Alexanor, 24 (1), 2009 (2010) : 144
Holotype. ♂, French Guiana, Natural Reserve of Nouragues, Inselberg DZ, 3/IX/2010,
Eddy POIRIER leg., coll. Philippe Collet, genitalia slide AL39. In MNHN.
Paratypes.
1 ♂, French Guiana, Saül, VIII/1982, Gilbert LECOURT leg., coll. Claude Herbulot. In ZSM.
1 ♀, French Guiana, Montagnes Tortue, 115 m, 4° 15,007’ N – 52° 21,512’ W, 4/I/2003,
Villu SOON leg., genitalia slide 8176. In IZBE.
Description. Male and female similar but the female is larger. Wingspan: 16-25 mm;
holotype ♂: 16 mm, paratype ♂: 20 mm, paratype ♀: 25 mm. Frons light brownish, whitish
in the inferior part. Palpi cream, thin, stick-shaped, projecting ahead of frons a little less
than the diameter of eye. Vertex and interantennal fillet whitish. Antennae of male and
female bipectinate, cream. Dorsal surface of thorax green. Legs
beige, hind legs with one
pair of spurs. Abdomen dorsally mottled green and whitish, anterior
abdominal segments
with four cream or beige crests.
Forewing. Ground colour green. Costa light brownish, slightly darker towards the
apex and edged of cream over the entire length. A small cream area at the base of the wing
and another at the apex. Basal area green, almost circular. Antemedial band white, from about
a quarter
of the costa to almost the middle of inner margin, edged by a thin row of reddish
scales along the green basal area. White postmedial band traversing the wing from costa
to the termen below the vein CuA1, then continuing towards the apex and around a green
subtriangular area, which is surrounded by a thin row reddish scales, between the green
and the white areas. Medial area beige, sparsely irrorated with dark grey scales giving a
light brownish tint to this area. Discal spot blackish, double, with the superior spot often
linear. Terminal line light brown. A small light cream area at the tornus. Fringe light beige.
Hindwing. Ground colour green. Basal and medial areas contiguous, green, surrounded
at first by a thin row of reddish scales and then by a white band. Distal to the latter, another
broader band, beige, irrorated brown and dark grey, continuous from the costa to the middle
of the dorsum, through postmedial area and tornus. Terminal line broad, dark brown, larger
and darker than that of the forewing. Fringe dark beige, slightly
darker than that of the
forewing. Discal spot absent, replaced by a white line, which extends to the costal white band.
Underside of both wings as upperside, but paler and a little brighter.
Male genitalia. Uncus short, in the shape of a truncated triangle, with three small teeth
at the tip, the middle of these slightly longer than the other two. Socii membranous, large.
Gnathos with strongly sclerotized hornlike arms, not fused, broadest at base and tapered
towards the pointed apex. Anellar complex completely surrounding aedeagus, well developed
,
with a complex shape. Ventral plate of vinculum broad, emarginated. Coremata absent.
Valva deeply excavated, divided in two parts by a very large cleft; the inferior part
(saccular edge) with the sacculus extended into long, narrow, pointed and sclerotized
process; the superior part (costal edge) strongly sclerotized, wider than the sacculus, bearing
ventrally a relatively wide but short projection at base; costa with a pointed apex and
an additional strong tip, which resembles the pointed tooth of a shark, before the apex;
ampulla absent; dorsally a small additional projection below the base of costal arm of
the valva.
Aedeagus long, narrow and pointed. No cornutus.
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Female genitalia. Ovipositor papillae roughly setose, tips acute. Anterior apophyses
reduced to a short projection, four to five times shorter than the posterior apophyses. As in
O. includaria, ductus and corpus bursae membranous and not striated, narrow, short and
poorly developed. No signum visible.
Antrum obsolescent. Sterigma strongly sclerotized,
very large, almost semicircular, slightly
emarginated just above and just below the ostium;
ostium ring-shaped.
Derivatio nominis. The species is named after Eddy POIRIER, its discoverer.
Discussion
Systematic position. Oospila poirieri n. sp. belongs to the includaria group, and
it could be placed after O. leucothalera (Prout, 1922).
Diagnosis. The two green blotches of the forewing are characteristic, underlined
by a line of few reddish scales then by a thin white band are characteristic
. The narrow,
dark brown terminal band
, continuous along the edge of the hindwing, is another good
distinctive feature.
Alexanor, 24 (1), 2009 (2010) : 145 145
FIG. 3-5. — Oospila poirieri n. sp. – 3 and 4, Male genitalia and aedeagus, holotype. – 2, Female
genitalia, paratype. Photos : © Antoine LÉVÊQUE (3 and 4), Jaan VIIDALEPP (5).
ANT150109_150109 06/06/15 12:53 Page145
In O. includaria and O. leucothalera, the two other species in the includaria group,
the cream or beige medial area of the forewing is always much narrower, even though
the wing markings of O. includaria vary considerably.
The presence of a cream or beige blotch, oval and conspicuous, along inner margin
at
the base of the forewing and the presence of another blotch at the base of the hindwing,
also cream or beige but bigger, and elongated along the tornal area, distinguish O. includaria
from the new species, as well as from O. leucothalera. O. includaria differs also from
O. poirieri n. sp. by the presence of a dark discal mark, surrounded by a roundish cream
or beige area in the hindwing. In the new species, there is instead a short and thin white line.
The shape of the green markings on the fore and hind wings also distinguish
O. leucothalera from O. poirieri n. sp. On the hindwing, the green blotch is reduced and
irregular in O. leucothalera while it is larger and regularly ovoid in the new species. On
the forewing, the green central blotch is bigger in the inferior half than in the superior half,
often almost constricted into two separate blotches, in O. leucothalera. In O. poirieri n. sp.
the bloth is more apical, not constricted, and subtriangular; in addition, the basal green
blotch is not rounded in O. leucothalera.
O. poirieri n. sp. can also resemble some forms of the highly variable O. venezuelata,
especially in the forms in which the cream area around discal spot on the forewing is
continuous with the cream area at tornus, so forming a continuous cream band more and
less wide between the costa and the tornus and dividing the green ground colour in two
parts as in the new species. However, O. poirieri n. sp. differs from O. venezuelata in the
hindwing, in which the green colour is more extended and the the dark brown submarginal
band is narrow, rounded, following the wing margin and not straight through to the cream
area. O. poirieri n. sp. differs also from O. venezuelata in the conspicuous and clearly double
discal spot on the forewing, and in the smaller, almost circular basal green blotch.
The male genitalia of O. poirieri n. sp. differ markedly from those of O. includaria.
In O. poirieri n. sp., the uncus has the shape of a truncated triangle, with three small teeth,
but in O. includaria it is simply triangular; the deeply excavated valva and the
shape of the
sacculus and the costa are also good criteria to separate the two taxa; the anellar complex
is
very different in the two species, and the shape of the ventral plate of the vinculum is large,
broad and emarginated in O. poirieri n. sp. while it is small and V-shaped in O. includaria.
The male genitalia of O. leucothalera are very like those of O. includaria but the saccular
process is longer in O. leucothalera, reaching the tip of the valva.
The female genitalia of O. poirieri n. sp. can be recognized by the large size and
the shape of the sterigma. In O. includaria, it is smaller and approximately elliptical, and
in O. leucothalera, it is large and kidney-shaped. Further, in O. leucothalera, the ductus
bursae is strongly sclerotized and striated, with a large antrum.
Distribution. Oospila poirieri n. sp. is known only from French Guiana. According
to COOK & SCOBLE (1995: 37-38), O. leucothalera is known only from southern areas of
Brazil (Minas Geraes, São Paulo) while the distribution of O. includaria seems more
extended from South Peru (Puno Region) and West Bolivia (La Paz department) to Central
and South-East Brazil (Matto Grosso, Minas Geraes, São Paulo, Paranà, Santa Catarina,
Rio Grande do Sul), through North Argentina (Jujuy, Salta, Tucuman, Misiones) and
Paraguay. Neither O. includaria nor O. leucothalera is known in French Guiana and their
range seems very far removed from that country.
146 Alexanor, 24 (1), 2009 (2010) : 146
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Acknowlegdements
We are grateful to Philippe COLLET (SEAG) for providing the holotype and for agreeing to deposit it
in MNHN, and to Dr. Villu SOON for collecting the female paratype. We thank Dr. Axel HAUSMANN (ZSM)
for providing information about the specimen of the new species preserved in the Herbulot Collection in ZSM.
We are also grateful to Barry GOATER for reviewing the English text.
References
Cook (Mark A.) and Scoble (Malcolm J.), 1995. — Revision of the neotropical genus Oospila Warren
(Lepidoptera: Geometridae). Bulletin of the natural History Museum, Entomology Series, 64 (1): 1-115,
199 fig. + 1 colour plate off pagination (21 fig.).
INPN, on line. — Inventaire National du Patrimoine Naturel [list of Oospila species recorded in the French
territories]. < http://inpn.mnhn.fr/espece/listeEspeces/oospila/ > {accessed the 7th May 2015}.
Scoble (Malcom J.) et alii, 1999. — Geometrid moths of the World. A catalogue (Lepidoptera, Geometridae).
1: [I]-XXV + 1-482 + 1-129 (index) ; 2: [I]-[II] + 485-1016 + 1-129 (index). 1 CD-ROM. CSIRO
Publishing, Collingwood, Australie, et Apollo Books, Stenstrup, Danemark.
Viidalepp (Jaan), 2002. — Oospila orula, a new species of Emerald Moths from Ecuador (Lepidoptera:
Geometridae: Geometrinae). Zoosystematica rossica, 11 (1): 183-186.
Alexanor, 24 (1), 2009 (2010) : 147 147
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