''Bacotoma'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

s in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Spilomelinae Spilomelinae is a very species-rich subfamily of the lepidopteran family Crambidae, the crambid snout moths. With 4,180 described species in 351 genera worldwide, it is the most speciose group among pyraloidea, pyraloids. Description Imagines ...

of the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Crambidae Crambidae comprises the grass moth family of lepidopterans. They are variable in appearance, with the nominal subfamily Crambinae (grass moths) taking up closely folded postures on grass stems where they are inconspicuous, while other subfamilies ...

. It currently comprises 11 species, with an

Oriental The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...

and

Australasian Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different contexts, ...

distribution ranging from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

over

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

.Yang, Z., M. Ullah, J.-F. Landry, S.E. Miller, M.E. Rosati & Y. Zhang (2019)
"Reassessment of the moth genus ''Bacotoma'', with a new species from Hainan Island (Lepidoptera: Crambidae: Spilomelinae)".
''Insect Systematics & Evolution'': 1–24.

Description

The adults of ''Bacotoma'' have relatively narrow forewings and broad, almost triangular hindwings. Wing coloration is inconspicuous, with shades of brown and beige dominating. On the forewing, the antemedian and postmedian lines as well as the proximal and especially the distal discoidal stigma are distinct; on the hindwing, the postmedian line is prominent, and sometimes the discoidal stigma is well developed. Males have a long and slender abdomen with often prominent anal tufts and conspicuous patterns of black and white marks on the abdominal

tergite A ''tergum'' (Latin for "the back"; : ''terga'', associated adjective tergal) is the Anatomical terms of location#Dorsal and ventral, dorsal ('upper') portion of an arthropod segment other than the head. The Anatomical terms of location#Anterior ...

s 7 and 8, in some species also on tergite 6. The male genitalia are characterized by oval to lanceolate valvae with complex sclerotisations of the fibula and sacculus. The uncus exhibits two long, slender, apically tapering or somewhat inflated arms. The phallus or

aedeagus An aedeagus ( or aedeagi) is a reproductive organ of male arthropods through which they secrete sperm from the testes during copulation (zoology), copulation with a female. It can be thought of as the insect equivalent of a mammal's penis, th ...

is simple, sclerotized and contains a single needle-like cornutus. The female genitalia consist of a simple, sac-like corpus bursae with one or two small signa, a slender ductus bursae with granular texture and a small, sclerotized antrum. Characteristic for the genus are the pleural pockets of

sternum The sternum (: sternums or sterna) or breastbone is a long flat bone located in the central part of the chest. It connects to the ribs via cartilage and forms the front of the rib cage, thus helping to protect the heart, lungs, and major bl ...

7, which are densely covered in short microtrichia. The pre-imaginal stages of ''Bacotoma'' have not been described.

Diagnosis

Imagines of ''Bacotoma'' are superficially similar to those of ''

Bradina ''Bradina'' is a genus of moths of the family Crambidae Crambidae comprises the grass moth family of lepidopterans. They are variable in appearance, with the nominal subfamily Crambinae (grass moths) taking up closely folded postures on grass ...

'', ''

Herpetogramma ''Herpetogramma'' is a genus of moths in the family Crambidae described by Julius Lederer in 1863. It currently comprises 106 species that are found in North America, Eurasia, Australia, New Zealand, Central and South America. Of the few speci ...

'' and '' Syngamia'', with which they share similar coloration and maculation. Identification of the adults and distinction from externally similar species is possible through genetical sequences, e.g.

DNA barcoding DNA barcoding is a method of species identification using a short section of DNA from a specific gene or genes. The premise of DNA barcoding is that by comparison with a reference library of such DNA sections (also called " sequences"), an indiv ...

, or genitalia dissection. In the genitalia, the genus is characterized by a number of putatively

apomorphic In phylogenetics, an apomorphy (or derived trait) is a novel character or character state that has evolved from its ancestral form (or plesiomorphy). A synapomorphy is an apomorphy shared by two or more taxa and is therefore hypothesized to hav ...

features: in the male genitalia, the strongly bifurcate juxta with slender arms, each apically ending in a small hook, and the broad, lobate transtilla arms protruding dorsad beyond the costal valva edge; in the female genitalia, the pleural membrane of

7 exhibits deep pockets covered in microtrichia.

Biology

Larvae of '' Bacotoma illatalis'' and '' B. ampliatalis'' have been reared from '' Celtis philippensis'' (

Cannabaceae Cannabaceae is a small family of flowering plants, known as the hemp family. As now circumscribed, the family includes about 170 species grouped in about 11 genera, including '' Cannabis'' (hemp), '' Humulus'' (hops) and '' Celtis'' (hackberri ...

) and ''

Strychnos ''Strychnos'' is a genus of flowering plants, belonging to the family Loganiaceae (sometimes Strychnaceae). The genus includes about 200 accepted species of trees and lianas. The genus is widely distributed around the world's tropics and is n ...

minor'' (

Loganiaceae The Loganiaceae are a family of flowering plants classified in order Gentianales. The family includes up to 13 genera, distributed around the world's tropics. There are not any great morphological characteristics to distinguish these taxa from ot ...

) in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

Species

*'' Bacotoma abjungalis'' (Walker, 1859) *'' Bacotoma ampliatalis'' (Lederer, 1863) *'' Bacotoma binotalis'' (Warren, 1896) *'' Bacotoma camillusalis'' (Walker, 1859) *'' Bacotoma cuprealis'' (Moore, 1877) *'' Bacotoma hainanensis'' Yang, Ullah, Landry, Miller, Rosati & Zhang, 2019 *'' Bacotoma illatalis'' (Walker, 1866) *'' Bacotoma oggalis'' (Swinhoe, 1906) *'' Bacotoma poecilura'' (E. Hering, 1903) *'' Bacotoma ptochura'' (Meyrick, 1894) *'' Bacotoma violata'' (Fabricius, 1787)

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q4839968 Spilomelinae Crambidae genera Taxa named by Frederic Moore Taxa described in 1885