Gonionota selene Clarke 1971

Gonionota selene

Alar expanse 20 mm.

Labial palpus gray brown; second segment with some ocherous white on inner side; third segment apex ocherous white. Antenna gray but browner toward base and ocherous white ventrally; scape brownish dorsally, ocherous white ventrally. Head gray brown, scales tipped whitish. Thorax light chrome yellow with median longitudinal brown line; tegula brown anteriorly. Forewing ground color russet; at base of dorsum a light chrome yellow blotch extending across fold and bordered on outer edge with a short fuscous dash; costa gray brown except at two thirds a white, wedge-shaped mark; at two fifths of costa a short chrome yellow transverse fascia not reaching middle of wing; at end of cell a small fuscous dot; dorsum, beyond the chrome yellow basal blotch, broadly fuscous to termen at vein 3; dark dorsal area overlaid avellaneous in central part; from apex to vein 5 an ill-defined, quadrate chrome yellow area; cilia russet. Hindwing whitish ocherous, basally shading to pale brown at apex and grayish fuscous in anal area; cilia sordid white mixed grayish brown. Foreleg ocherous white; femur gray brown on outer side; tibia russet on outer side; midleg similar but lighter and speckled; hindleg whitish ocherous; tibia and tarsal segments speckled brown and gray. Abdomen ocherous white with a few rust-colored scales mixed; ventrally finely irrorate with fuscous.

Female genitalia slide JFGC 10935. Ostium crescent shaped; posteroventral edge convex. Genital plate rather narrow, U-shaped; lamella postvaginalis membranous. Antrum subrectangular, sclerotized. Inception of ductus seminalis slightly anterior to antrum. Ductus bursae finely granular, moderately short. Bursa copulatrix membranous. Signum a large diamond-shaped, dentate, sclerotized plate.

HOLOTYPE.—USNM 71099.

TYPE LOCALITY.—Brazil, Santa Catharina.

DISTRIBUTION .—Brazil.

Described from the unique holotype (21 Jan. ’36, Fritz Hoffmann).

Superficially selene resembles incalescens but where the wedge-shaped white costal mark is situated there is a deep excavation of costa in selene which is absent in incalescens. The outer discal spot is white in incalescens but fuscous in selene and the prominent crimson coloring of incalescens is absent in selene. Although the detailed differences seem great, the moths look strikingly similar to the naked eye.

Gonionota selene is a moth in the family Depressariidae. It was described by John Frederick Gates Clarke in 1971. It is found in Santa Catarina, Brazil.

The wingspan is about 20 mm. The forewings are russet, at the base of the dorsum a light chrome-yellow blotch extending across the fold and bordered on the outer edge with a short fuscous dash. The costa is grey brown except at two thirds a white, wedge-shaped mark. At two fifths of the costa is a short chrome-yellow transverse fascia not reaching the middle of the wing and at the end of the cell is a small fuscous dot. The dorsum, beyond the chrome-yellow basal blotch, is broadly fuscous to the termen at vein 3. The dark dorsal area is overlaid avellaneous (dull greyish brown) in the central part and from the apex to vein 5 is an ill-defined, quadrate chrome-yellow area. The hindwings are whitish ochreous, basally shading to pale brown at the apex and greyish fuscous in the anal area.