TITLE:
Contribution to the Knowledge of the Afrotropical Spilomelinae (Lepidoptera, Crambidae): An Unknown Diversity in the Genus Herpetogramma Lederer, 1863 on the Southern Arabian Peninsula with Five New Species
AUTHORS:
Michael Seizmair
KEYWORDS:
Pyraloidea, Herpetogrammatini, Taxonomy, Morphology, New Species, Fauna, Saudia Arabia, Oman
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Entomology,
Vol.14 No.1,
November
26,
2025
ABSTRACT: An unknown diversity in the genus Herpetogramma Lederer, 1863 (Lepidoptera, Crambidae) on the Southern Arabian Peninsula is presented based on material collected in southern Oman (province Dhofar) and in south-western Saudi Arabia (province Jizan). Five new species are described, namely Herpetogramma nigripalpalis sp.n., Herpetogramma digitalis sp.n., Herpetogramma dilatalis sp.n., Herpetogramma lunatalis sp.n. and Herpetogramma undularis sp.n. The adults, the head profile and the female genitalia of each of these newly described species are described and figured. Additionally, the male genitalia of Herpetogramma nigripalpalis sp.n., Herpetogramma digitalis sp.n. and Herpetogramma dilatalis sp.n. and the tympanal organs of Herpetogramma nigripalpalis sp.n., Herpetogramma digitalis sp.n. are described and figured. The male genitalia of Herpetogramma lunatalis sp.n. and Herpetogramma undularis sp.n. are unknown. The differential character states distinguishing the new species from the closest congeners both in external characters and in internal characters of the male and/or female genitalia are listed. Furthermore, the male genitalia of Herpetogramma debilis Seizmair, 2021 are re-described and re-figured. A determination key to the newly described Arabian species and their Afrotropical and Oriental relatives is provided.