The specimen from Malagasy copal in the attached photo most probably belongs to the minuta-group of the genus Thyrosticta (following Griveaud 1964). Does anybody know a recent species, that resembles the specimen, since in the publications by Griveaud (1964, 1969) no similar species is figured ?
Hi Michael,
An exquisitel (sub-?)fossil. You might also consider a female of Dubianaclia contigua (Saalmüller, 1884) as a possible identity among the extant fauna, as the forewing spotting pattern matches quite well. That genus also includes species with a particularly broad forewing shape. A few years ago, I also found a syntomine specimen in Malagasy copal which possibly corresponds to Dubianaclia butleri!
Best wishes,
David
Hi David,
thank you very much for your hint. I have already considered that species (Dubianaclia contigua) too, but the specimen in question is a male. Furthermore, my specimen has completely hyaline spots (virtually without any scales) and there are some small differences in the venation. If you are interested, please have a look at further details under :
http://www.nkis.info/nkis/extaustaxonshow.cgi?uid=MK&taxnr=Thyrosticta sp. (Madagascar Copal)&lang=e
Best wishes
Michael
Hi Michael,
You must be aware that your specimen in copal could be faded even before preserving. It does not have to be fresh, alive specimen. The moth could be exposed some time to the sunlight before being deposited in the soil. The second question is how “yellow” is the real specimen of D. contigua. The Griveauds’ colour drawinds can as well be somewhat more saturated than in reality. The third question is the range of the colour variability between specimens of D. contigua. Is the specimen illustrated typically coloured or somewhat darker, or possibly your moth was the paler colour form. I would classify it as D. cf contigua.
Best,
Lukasz
Hi Lukasz,
thank you for your comment ! The problem with my specimen is, that the spots lack virtually any scaling, although the rest of the wing has a nearly undisturbed scaling. So, the spots are not simply pale, but really transparent, which is not the case in all Dubianaclia species.
Best wishes
Michael
Hi Michael,
One more idea! If we assume that your specimen is the most similar to D. contigua the best thing is to compare it with the type described by Saalmüller 1884, [Lepid. V. Madag. I: 143, pl. 6, fig. 93 (Dysauxes)] which should be housed in the SENCKENBERG museum in Frankfurt am Main.
This spring I will visit the Paris Museum to work in the Griveaud collection. I will take your drawinds and photos and try to find the most similar specimens.
Best wishes,
Lukasz
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