Friday, July 9, 2010

Paralecta



Paralecta Turner, 1898


Paralecta Turner, 1898. The Xyloryctidae of Queensland. Annals of the Queensland Museum 4: 1–32 [4]. Type species: Xylorycta tinctoria Lucas, 1894 by monotypy.
Paralecta Turner, 1897 [Cryptophasidae]. Fletcher, T. B., 1929, A list of generic names used for Microlepidoptera. Memoirs of the Department of Agriculture of India,  11: 1-244 [162].
Paralecta Turner, 1898. Diakonoff, 1954, Microlepidoptera of New Guinea. Results of the third Archbold Expedition (American-Netherlands Indian Expedition 1938-1939). Part 4. Verhandelingen der Koninklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen 2 ser. 50 (1): 1-191 [89, 100-106, Papuan and Malayan species].
Paralecta. Robinson, G. S., Tuck, K. R. & Shaffer, M. 1994, A Field Guide to the Smaller Moths of South-East Asia. Natural History Museum, London. 1-308, [61].
Paralecta Turner, 1898. Common, in Nielsen, Edwards, & Rangsi, 1996, Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera, 4: i-xiv, 1-529 & CD-ROM [87].
Paralecta Turner, 1898. Beccaloni, G. W., Scoble, M. J., Robinson, G. S. & Pitkin, B. (Editors). 2003. The Global Lepidoptera Names Index (LepIndex). World Wide Web electronic publication. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/entomology/lepindex [accessed 17 June 2010].
Paralecta Turner, 1898. Edwards, E. D. (2003), Xyloryctinae. Australian Faunal Directory. Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra. http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/abrs/online-resources/fauna/afd/taxa/XYLORYCTINAE [accessed 19 June 2010].

Original description, Turner 1898
PARALECTA n.g.
Head with loosely appressed scales; ocelli absent; tongue short. Antennae moderate, in male very shortly ciliated (1/5),  basal joint moderate, without pecten. Labial palpi moderate, curved, ascending, second joint with appressed scales, slightly roughened beneath, terminal joint shorter than second, acute. Maxillary palpi very short. Thorax smooth. Abdomen moderate. Posterior tibiae rough-haired above and beneath.  Forewings with vein 1 long-furcate towards base, 2 from 2/3, 3 from angle, 7 and 8 stalked, 8 to hindmargin, 11 from middle. Hindwings 1, oblong-ovate, towards base below median, and inner-margin densely clothed with long hairs, 3 and 4 stalked, 5 parallel,  6 and 7 stalked, 8 connected with cell at a point near base.
Distinguished from the preceding [Neodrepta  (syn. Xylorycta)] by the stalking of veins 6 and 7 of the hindwings.

Other references

Several genera of the Xyloryctidae, viz. Cryptophasa, Paralecta, and others, seem to be rather arbitrary; they show considerable variation as to the neuration, the structure of the male antennae and the length of the terminal segment of the labial palpi, all characteristics, which, otherwise, are of great taxonomic importance. This makes the discrimination of the genera very difficult at times, as can be seen from the following key, [included on the Taxonomy page] which is compiled to our best knowledge, but appears to us rather unsatisfactory. It is probable, that future study will reveal these variations in more genera, and consequently will enable us to re-diagnose them on a better and more natural basis. Our present knowledge obliges us to maintain not less than some 112 genera, many of which are based on asingle species only.

Diakonoff 1954

Paralecta consists of 15 + species and occurs almost entirely in New Guinea; P. antistola is apparently the only known species of the genus in SE Asia. (Robinson et al, 1994).

Description:
Head:
Thorax:
Abdomen:

Immature stages:

Distribution: New South Wales, Queensland. Papua New Guinea. (Edwards, 2003). Thailand; W. Malaysia.

Remarks:

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Paralecta tinctoria (T.P. Lucas, 1894)


ANIC

Xyloricta tinctoria T.P. Lucas, 1894, Descriptions of new Australian Lepidoptera, with additional localities for known species. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 8: 133–166 [163]. Syntype(s) SAMA 1 and "5 or 6" ♂♀ (the '5 or 6' syntypes, some in ANIC and beaten from ‘Eugenia’ (Myrtaceae), may belong to a different species), Brisbane, Qld. 
Paralecta tinctoria Lucas. Turner, 1898: The Xyloryctidae of Queensland. Annals of the Queensland Museum 4: 1–32 [4].
Paralecta tinctoria Lucas [Cryptophasidae]. Fletcher, T. B., 1929, A list of generic names used for Microlepidoptera. Memoirs of the Department of Agriculture of India,  11: 1-244 [162].
Paralecta tinctoria (T.P. Lucas, 1894). Common, in Nielsen, Edwards, & Rangsi, 1996, Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera, 4: i-xiv, 1-529 & CD-ROM [88].
Paralecta tinctoria (T.P. Lucas, 1894). Beccaloni, G. W., Scoble, M. J., Robinson, G. S. & Pitkin, B. (Editors). 2003. The Global Lepidoptera Names Index (LepIndex). World Wide Web electronic publication. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/entomology/lepindex [accessed 24 April 2010].
Paralecta tinctoria (T.P. Lucas, 1894). Edwards, E. D. (2003), Xyloryctinae. Australian Faunal Directory. Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra. http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/abrs/online-resources/fauna/afd/taxa/XYLORYCTINAE [accessed 19 June 2010].

Original description, Lucas 1894
Xyloricta tinctoria, sp. nov.
♂♀. 24-26 mm. Head, thorax and abdomen creamy-grey; thorax darker posteriorly. Palpi and antennae light ochreous-fuscous. Forewings creamy-white, costa light, a patch near base reddish-grey, a patch on inner margin in 2nd and 3rd fourth ferruginous-red, more or less suffused or tinted into groundcolour toward costa at apex; a fine inconspicuous line at ¾: cilia dark grey. Hind wings creamy-white; cilia light grey.
Brisbane; one specimen taken at light in 1891; Dr. Turner has this year beaten five or six specimens from Eugenia, on the stems of which it probably feeds.
Subsequent description, Turner 1898
Paralecta tinctoria, Lucas. (Xylorycta tinctoria, Lucas, Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 1893, 163.) Male and female, 21-23 mm. Head, face, and palpi white. Antennae whitish, becoming fuscous towards apex. Thorax white, shading into pale fuscous posteriorly. Abdomen whitish. Legs whitish. Forewings much dilated posteriorly, costa gently arched, apex round-pointed, hindmargin straight, slightly oblique; whitish, irrorated with reddish-brown scales; towards costa and hindmargin mostly free from irroration a conspicuous but ill-defined reddish-brown blotch on inner margin before middle; cilia reddish-brown, bases whitish, with a fuscous line at 1/3, at anal angle whitish. Hindwings white; with a narrow grey line along margin; cilia white, with a faint greyish median line .
Brisbane: five specimens beaten from Eugenia ventenatii.

Diagnosis:
Description:
Head:
Thorax:
Abdomen:
Food plants:
Flight period:
Distribution: New South Wales, Queensland. Endemic. (Edwards, 2003).

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