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Issue: Vol. 5810 No. 2: 15 May 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-05-15
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5810.2.8
Page range: 369-379
Abstract views: 114
PDF downloaded: 6

A new species of Rolepa Walker, 1855 (Lepidoptera: Bombycoidea: Phiditiidae) with notes on Rolepa delineata Walker, 1855

Laboratório de Estudos de Lepidoptera Neotropical; Departamento de Zoologia; Universidade Federal do Paraná. P.O. Box 19020; 81531-980 Curitiba; Paraná; Brazil
Laboratório de Estudos de Lepidoptera Neotropical; Departamento de Zoologia; Universidade Federal do Paraná. P.O. Box 19020; 81531-980 Curitiba; Paraná; Brazil
Laboratório de Estudos de Lepidoptera Neotropical; Departamento de Zoologia; Universidade Federal do Paraná. P.O. Box 19020; 81531-980 Curitiba; Paraná; Brazil
Lepidoptera Atlantic Forest Caatinga Cerrado biodiversity male genitalia taxonomy

Abstract

Phiditiidae is a small family of Bombycoidea, with 25 species and five genera. The monophyly of the genera has not been tested, and the family lacks a systematic review. Thus, the first step towards a stable classification system within Phiditiidae is to identify and define the type species of each genus. Here we illustrate and redescribe Rolepa delineata Walker, 1855 the type species of Rolepa Walker, 1855, and describe a new species for the genus. Rolepa delineata has the general characteristics of Phiditiidae: antenna with a midventral row of teeth; origin of M2, closer to M3 than to M1; and the totally or partially rolling of the wings when at rest. The two species share a similar wing pattern, but differ in forewing shape: elongated in R. delineata and triangular in R. variabilis sp. nov. Furthermore, in R. delineata, the costal margin of the forewing and the inner margin of the hindwing are greyish. Additionally, R. variabilis exhibits phenotypic plasticity, including green and brown phenotypes. In the male genitalia, three characteristics easily separate R. variabilis from R. delineata: 1) in dorsal view, costa of the valvae with a projection of quadrangular appearance in R. variabilis and horn-shaped in R. delineata; 2) the presence of a pair of finger-like socii in R. variabilis, which are absent or barely noticeable in R. delineata and; 3) vesica with smaller spicules in R. variabilis. than in R. delineata. We present a discussion about the morphological characters of Rolepa and their relevance to future studies of the systematics of Phiditiidae.

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How to Cite

Orlandin, E., Carneiro, E. & Casagrande, M.M. (2026) A new species of Rolepa Walker, 1855 (Lepidoptera: Bombycoidea: Phiditiidae) with notes on Rolepa delineata Walker, 1855. Zootaxa, 5810 (2), 369–379. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5810.2.8