Penthimia fraterna Distant

Figs 18–20, 45–46, 64. 113–119., 232–236.

Penthimia fraterna Distant, 1918: 21.

Penthimia funebris Distant, 1918: 19. Syn. nov.

Mainly black with scutellum touched laterally and apically with yellow. Forewing pale to dark brown with dense yellow to reddish brown tessellate spots, apical cells hyaline; often a paler spot on midlength of outer margin and on adjacent area of clavus.

Head as wide as pronotum.

Male genitalia. Pygofer with excavation on dorso-caudal area with stout setae at caudal 0.33. Subgenital plate triangularly produced on lateral margin near base. Style slender, with poorly developed preapical lobe, in line with the curvature of apical apophysis, both together S-shaped. Connective with arms about as long as stem. Aedeagus with well developed, platelike dorsal apodeme; shaft directed caudo-dorsally, with lateral serrated flanges, apex with U-shaped excavation, surface with number of spicules in distal half; gonopore apical.

Length. Male: 4.9mm. Female: 5.0– 5.3mm

Type material examined. INDIA: Tamil Nadu: Lectotype ♂ of P. fraterna (here designated), ‘Type H.T’ ‘ Penthimia fraterna Dist. type’ ‘Kodaikanal, S. India, T. V. Campbell’ ‘4.16, 39 9 [hand written on reverse of specimen mount]’ ‘S. India, E A. Butler, B M. 1915-60 ’ (BMNH). Lectotype ♀ of P. funebris (here designated) ‘Type H.T [red type disc]’, ‘ Penthimia funebris Distant, Type’, ‘Lovedale, Nilgiri Hills, 7200ft, T.V.Campbell’, ‘5.15 105 6’ (handwritten on underside of specimen mount), ‘105 6‘, ‘S. India, E A Butler 1915-60 ’ (BMNH).

Other material examined. INDIA: Tamil Nadu: 3♂, 2♀, Kodaikanal, T.V. Campbell, 4.16, 4.18, 5.16 or 5.18; 1♂, Coonoor, T.V. Campbell, C 11.17; 1♂, Nilgirihills, Lovedale, T.V. Campbell, L 4.15 (all BMNH); 1♂, Nilgiris, Thittikkal, 21.x.2003, K.D. Prathapan (UASB). 1♀, Nilgiri Hills, Lovedale, T.V. Campbell, L 5.15, Brit. Mus. 1926-171 (BMNH); 1♀, Coonoor, Nilgiri Hills, S. India, T. V. Campbell, 202 10, C 11.17 202 10 (BMNH); 1♀, S. India, Nilgiri Hills, T.V. Campbell’, 202 10, C 5.15 (BMNH); 2♀, Nilgiri South, Thai Shola, 2169m, 11o12’49.1”N, 76 ° 37’11.5”E, 17.x.2012, Prathapan & Shameem Coll.; Karnataka: 1♂, Chikkaballapura, T.V. Campbell; 1♀, Kemmannagundi, 19.ix.1975, C.A. Viraktamath (UASB). All T.V. Campbell collection codes are hand written on reverse of specimen mounts.

Remarks. P. fraterna was described from an unknown number of specimens (syntypic) with the following data: ‘South India; Kodaikanal (T. V. Campbell)’. P. funebris was described from an unknown number of specimens (syntypes) with the following data: ‘Nilgiri Hills; Lovedale (T. V. Campbell)’. Although the specimens from Kodaikanal and Lovedale (BMNH) listed under ‘Other material examined’ are topotypical we cannot be sure of their status (see Material and Methods).

The aedeagal shaft of P. fraterna is similar to P. montana both having spicules and serrated lateral margins. However, they differ in the curvature of the shaft in lateral view and in P. montana the aedeagal shaft gradually tapers towards the apex, whereas in P. fraterna it is slightly constricted near the base. P. fraterna differs from other species of Penthimia in having the head as wide as the pronotum and a peculiar S-shaped style.