Uranotaenia (Pseudoficalbia) novobscura Barraud

Uranotaenia (Pseudoficalbia) novobscura Barraud

subspecies novobscura Barraud, 1934 —original combination: Uranotaenia novobscura. Distribution: Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, [Palaearctic] Japan, Laos, Malaysia, People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, Thailand (Wilkerson et al. 2021).

subspecies ryukyuana Tanaka, Mizusawa & Saugstad, 1979 —original combination: Uranotaenia (Pseudoficalbia) novobscura ryukyuana. Distribution: Japan, Ryukyu Archipelago (Amani, Okinawa, Yaeyama) (Tanaka et al. 1979).

Uranotaenia novobscura ryukyuana is endemic to the Ryukyu Archipelago of Japan. It has an interesting taxonomic history. Roth (1946) recognized two larval forms of this taxon on Okinawa Island, which he identified as Forms A and B of Ur. bimaculata Leicester, 1908. Since its original description, Ur. novobscura was mistakenly identified as Ur. bimaculata until its identity was resolved by Peyton (1977). Although not explicitly stated, it is obvious that Roth considered the two larval forms to belong to a single variable species. Peyton, in his revision of the subgenus Pseudoficalbia in Southeast Asia, likewise concluded that the various populations of Ur. novobscura that he studied “represent a single plastic species and that the adult population from Okinawa is a recognizable variant.”

Tanaka et al. (1979) disagreed that specimens from Okinawa were merely a variant of novobscura sensu stricto and distinguished and described the form as a distinct subspecies, ryukyuana, as follows: “The population of the Ryukyu Archipelago is characterized by the entirely pale pleura; the scutum is also rather paler, and the supraalar dark patches are smaller than in the populations of Palaearctic Japan. The latter is identical with specimens from Taiwan and Malaya *. [The asterisk refers to specimens from the two countries that were examined.] The female antenna appears slightly shorter, 1.30–1.40 (8) length of proboscis and male antennal flagellomere 12 is shorter relative to Flm 13, viz., Flm 12 1.11–1.25 (7) length of Flm 13. Remigium scales are all dark in the Amami and Okinawa populations, but pale ochreous in the basal half in the Yaeyama population. Bristles [setae] on each side of tergum IX of the male genitalia are fewer, 1–4 (x = 2.7, mode = 2) in Amami and Okinawa, 1–3 (x = 1.6, mode = 1) in Yaeyama, while they are 2–6 (x = 3.4, mode = 3) in Palaearctic Japan. Differences in the larvae are rather obscure…. Six larvae from Yaeyama do not appear distinctly different from specimens from Okinawa Is.”

Despite the morphological similarity of other subgeneric forms described from the Ryukyu Archipelago, molecular studies have revealed that these forms are genetically distinct, reproductively isolated allopatric populations which required recognition as independent species (Toma et al. 2019; Somboon et al. 2020a; Wilkerson et al. 2022). In view of those studies, and in accordance with the above treatments of the former subspecies of Culex hayashii Yamada, 1917 and Toxorhynchites manicatus (Edwards, 1921a), we believe it is likely that molecular and genetic studies will show that ryukyuana is a separate species. Accordingly, ryukyuana is hereby formally accorded species status: Uranotaenia (Pseudoficalbia) ryukyuana Tanaka, Mizusawa & Saugstad, 1979 . Uranotaenia ryukyuana is currently listed as a species in the Encyclopedia of Life; however, the date of authorship of the species is incorrectly listed as 1975, and should be corrected to 1979.