''Cabera subalba'' is a species of

geometrid The geometer moths are moths belonging to the family Geometridae of the insect order Lepidoptera, the moths and butterflies. Their scientific name derives from the Ancient Greek (derivative form of or "the earth"), and "measure" in referen ...

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 ...

, found on the islands of

São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is an island country in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two archipelagos around the two main isla ...

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

. It belongs to the monophylectic ''Cabera subalba'' Group.

Taxonomy

This moth was originally described as ''Thysanopyga subalba''.

Description

''Cabera subalba'' is a medium sized '' Cabera'' species. The length of the

forewing Insect wings are adult outgrowths of the insect exoskeleton that enable insects to fly. They are found on the second and third thoracic segments (the mesothorax and metathorax), and the two pairs are often referred to as the forewings and hindwi ...

is , and it is broad and pointed. The

hindwing Insect wings are adult outgrowths of the insect exoskeleton that enable insects to fly. They are found on the second and third thoracic segments (the mesothorax and metathorax), and the two pairs are often referred to as the forewings and hindw ...

resembles the forewing, except it has a shorter point at the

anal Anal may refer to: Related to the anus *Related to the anus of animals: ** Anal fin, in fish anatomy ** Anal vein, in insect anatomy ** Anal scale, in reptile anatomy *Related to the human anus: ** Anal sex, a type of sexual activity involving ...

angle. It differs from the other species in its group due to its darker overall ground coloration. Although the prominence of the white discal spot on the forewings varies among individuals, it is occasionally considered a key feature for identification. '' Cabera limbata'' is the only other moth in the group that has a single cornutus (spine-like structure) in the vesica. To differentiate between these two, variations in the valvae and socci are considered, as they are narrower and smaller in ''C. limbata'', respectively.

Appearance

Adults bear a primarily dark

brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black. In the ...

grey Grey (more frequent in British English) or gray (more frequent in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning that it has no chroma. It is the color of a cloud-covered s ...

ground color. The forewings contain faint, slightly

convex Convex or convexity may refer to: Science and technology * Convex lens, in optics Mathematics * Convex set, containing the whole line segment that joins points ** Convex polygon, a polygon which encloses a convex set of points ** Convex polytop ...

, darker grey striations, though these are not discernible in most specimens. A prominent characteristic of the forewings is the presence of discal spots, which are bold and white in nearly all the moths, except occasionally, where they are reduced in size, and less pronounced in color. The underside is significantly lighter than the upperside. The hindwings also contain minuscule discal spots which are white, encircled in a black outer ring. While the terminal shade on the underside is pronounced on the forewing, it is less prominent on the hindwing. The

cilia The cilium (: cilia; ; in Medieval Latin and in anatomy, ''cilium'') is a short hair-like membrane protrusion from many types of eukaryotic cell. (Cilia are absent in bacteria and archaea.) The cilium has the shape of a slender threadlike proj ...

and the body vestiture are consistent in color with the wings.

Male genitalia

Males contain a long and sharply pointed, setose

uncus The uncus is an anterior extremity of the parahippocampal gyrus. It is separated from the apex of the temporal lobe by a sulcus called the rhinal sulcus. Although superficially continuous with the hippocampal gyrus, the uncus forms morphol ...

, a hook-like structure at the terminal end. The soccii lobes are also densely covered with setae. Their

genital capsule A sex organ, also known as a reproductive organ, is a part of an organism that is involved in sexual reproduction. Sex organs constitute the primary sex characteristics of an organism. Sex organs are responsible for producing and transporting ...

is elliptical, while the 9th ventral segment, or the vinculum, contains a notable median suture, and relatively weak transtilla (band of connective tissue at the base of valvae) is present. The pair of valvae are elongated and slender, with no swelling along the centre of

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage The fus ...

margin. While these claspers lack the medial group of setae, there is a group of stout setae on the apical region. There is a poorly developed sacculus and the inseminating organ, aedaegus, is short and spindle-shaped. The sheath that surrounds it, the vesica, contains a single nail-like cornutus at its apex.

Female genitalia

Adult females have a normal papillae anales. Both, the

anterior Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position pro ...

and posterior apophyses have are lengthy and slender. The anterior apophyses extends nearly two-thirds the length of the posterior ones, with the protruded

sterigma In biology, a sterigma (: sterigmata) is a small supporting structure. It commonly refers to an extension of the basidium (the spore-bearing cells) consisting of a basal filamentous part and a slender projection which carries a spore at the tip ...

being substantially unmodified. The posteriormost part

ductus bursae In anatomy and physiology, a duct is a circumscribed channel leading from an exocrine gland or organ. Types of ducts Examples include: Duct system As ducts travel from the acinus which generates the fluid to the target, the ducts become large ...

(the tube where the sperm is released) broadens into a wide antrum. Its site of

copulation Sexual intercourse (also coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion of the erect male penis inside the female vagina and followed by thrusting motions for sexual pleasure, reproduction, or both.Sexual inte ...

, the bursa copulatrix, itself is long and tube-like without a distinct boundary separating the ductus, and corpus bursae or receptacle. Unlike other related species, ''C. subalba'' differs by lacking the

sclerotized Sclerosis (also sclerosus in the Latin names of a few disorders) is a hardening of tissue and other anatomical features. It may refer to: * Sclerosis (medicine), a hardening of tissue * in zoology, a process which forms sclerites, a hardened exo ...

structures on the inner wall of corpus bursae, referred to as the signum.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q13447190 Caberini Endemic moths of São Tomé and Príncipe Taxa named by William Warren (entomologist) Moths described in 1901