| structure | Brahmaea certhia | Brahmaea tancrei |
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| Labial palpae: | third segment short, rounded, almost wide as long | third segment almost twice as long as wide (Bryk |
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| (Bryk 1949) | 1949, B. magnificentia) |
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| Head: | unicolourous brownish black (Bryk 1949; Yang | brownish black with transversal band of yellow |
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| 197; Zhang & Yang 1993) | scales between scapi (Bryk 1949; Yang 1978, B. |
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| | undulata; Zhang & Yang 1993, B. diastemata) |
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| Antennae: | uniformly blackish brown (Mell 1930; Bryk 1949; | uniformly light brownish yellow (Mell 1930; |
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| Yang 1978; Zhang & Yang 1993); scapular tufts | Bryk 1949, B. magnificentia; Yang 1978, B. |
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| of scales do not stand out from the black colour of | undulata; Zhang & Yang 1993, B. diastemata); |
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| head; lateral pectinae of flagellum become shorter | scapular tufts of scales yellow; lateral pectinae |
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| gradually approximately from half of length of | of flagellum decrease in length only at apex, |
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| antenna, ventral processes of flagellum protruding | ventral processes of flagellum protruding between |
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| between pectinae decrease in size from the base to | pectinae not decrease in size along flagellum |
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| apex of flagellum (Bryk 1949) | (Bryk 1949, B. magnificentia; Zhu & Wang 1983, |
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| | B. christophi) |
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| Thorax: | tegulae and patagia with a wide border of bright | tegulae and patagia with a narrow border of dull |
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| ochre-yellow scales (Austaut 1896, B. lunulata; | brown-yellowish scales (Austaut 1896; Mell |
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| Mell 1930; Bryk 1949; Yang 1978) | 1930; Bryk 1949, B. magnificentia; Yang 1978, B. |
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| | undulata) |
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| Abdomen: | dorsally black brown with an ochre-yellow | dorsally uniformly black brown, without |
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| intersegmental spaces, laterally with wide (2–5 mm) | lightening of intersegmental spaces, laterally with |
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| longitudinal ochre yellow band with narrow black | narrower (up to 2 mm) longitudinal brownish |
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| rings around spiracles (Austaut 1896, B. lunulata; | yellow band with constriction intersegmentally |
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| Mell 1930; Bryk 1949; Chu & Wang 1977, B. | and with large black brown closed, pointed |
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| porphyria; Yang 1978; Zhu & Wang 1983, B. | triangles around spiracles (Austaut 1896; Mell |
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| porphyria; Zhang & Yang 1993) | 1930; Bryk 1949, B. magnificentia; Chu & Wang |
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| | 1977, B. crerthia; Yang 1978, B. undulata; Zhu |
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| | & Wang 1983, B. certhia, B. christophi and B. |
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| | ledereri; Zhang & Yang 1993, B. diastemata) |
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| Forewings: | wider, costal margin in distal half more convex, | less wide, costal margin in distal half less convex, |
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| wing apex more rounded, outer margin less oblique | wing apex less rounded, outer margin more |
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| (Austaut 1896, B. lunulata) | oblique (Austaut 1896) |
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| Forewing dorsal | area of the posterio-distal angle of discal cell | this area of the posterio-distal angle of discal cell |
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| pattern: | (opposite the bases of the veins M3 and CuA1) | without isolated elements of the wing pattern |
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| with small bright spot in form of open external ring | (original character) |
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| (‘eye’), or a ‘blind’ spot of oval or irregular shape, | |
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| more or less separated from the adjacent transverse | |
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| lines (original character) | |
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| light lines of antemedial band packet strongly | light lines of antemedial band packet less sinuous, |
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| sinuous and dentate, nearly cut on veins, in anterior | continuous, on the veins only slightly thinned |
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| part of wing in cells between the Rs and M1 veins | (Bryk 1949, B. magnificentia) |
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| separated into sickle-shaped, hook-shaped or / and | |
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| spot-shaped fragments (Bryk 1949) | |
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| on veins M2–CuA2 outer margin of antemedial | on veins M2–CuA2 outer margin of antemedial |
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| band packet with long, sharp teeth, usually reaching | band packet with relatively short teeth, usually not |
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| half or more width of medial field of wing (Austaut | reaching half width of the medial field of wing |
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| 1896, B. lunulata; Mell 1930) | (Austaut 1896; Mell 1930) |
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| structure | Brahmaea certhia | Brahmaea tancrei |
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| between the veins M1–M3 medial field of wing | between the veins Rs4–M3 medial field of wing |
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| usually with 1–2 large, sharply visible light strokes | usually with 3 pale strokes not standing out in |
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| much brighter than the adjacent transverse lines | comparison with the adjacent transverse lines |
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| (Austaut 1896, B. lunulata; Chu & Wang 1977, B. | (Austaut 1896; Chu & Wang 1977, B. certhia) |
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| porphyria) | |
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| subapical black spot long and narrow, elliptical or | subapical black spot relatively short and wide, |
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| narrowly oval, usually twice as long as its width | rounded-rhomboid or oval, usually no more than |
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| (Austaut 1896, B. lunulata; Mell 1930; Bryk 1949) | 1.5 times longer than its width (Austaut 1896; |
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| | Mell 1930; Bryk 1949, B. magnificentia) |
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| at base of wing M-shaped black basal spot of | at base of wing M-shaped black basal spot |
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| approximately equal length along anterior and | significantly protruding at posterior margins of |
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| posterior margins of wing (Yang 1978) [note: the | wing (Yang 1978, B. undulata) |
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| character is not reliable, in serial material it appears | |
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| only as a tendency] | |
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| Forewing ventral | basal half of wing with oblique light lines, partially | basal portion of wing uniform black, without light |
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| pattern: | repeating pattern of dorsal side of wing (Austaut | lines or spots (Austaut 1896; Mell 1930; Yang |
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| 1896, B. lunulata; Mell 1930; Yang 1978; Paukstadt | 1978, B. undulata; Paukstadt & Ragus 1990) |
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| & Ragus 1990) | |
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| Hindwing dorsal | shape of inner margin of postmedial band packet | shape of inner margin of postmedial band packet |
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| pattern: | close to arcuate: between veins M1–M2 broadly | close to sinuous: between veins M1–M2 deeply |
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| roundedly incurved, and between vein CuA and | curved inward and between veins CuA2 anal |
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| anal margin of wing slightly excurved or almost | margin of wing prominently curved outward |
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| straight (Austaut 1896, B. lunulata) | (Austaut 1896) [note: the character is typical for |
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| | B. tancrei tancrei, in B. tancrei diastemata the |
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| | shape of the postmedial band packet is similar to |
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| | that in B. certhia] |
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| in postmedial band packet first proximal light line | in postmedial band packet first proximal light |
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| (first from the base of the wing) thinner than second | line wider than second line (Bryk 1949, B. |
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| line (Bryk 1949) [note: this line is usually, but not | magnificentia) [note: this line is also can be equal |
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| always, thinner than the second line] | in width to the second line] |
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| Hindwing | basal portion of wing in anterior half of discal cell | basal portion of wing black, without light spots |
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| ventral pattern: | and in area of base of veins Rs—M3 with group | (Austaut 1896; Mell 1930; Paukstadt & Ragus |
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| of light spots of irregular shape (Austaut 1896, B. | 1990) |
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| lunulata; Mell 1930) | |
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| first proximal line of postmedial band packet | first proximal line of postmedial band packet |
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| [usually] with prominent teeth on veins at least on | almost smooth or slightly wavy, without |
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| Sc+R1, Rs and M1 (Bryk 1949) | pronounced teeth on veins (Bryk 1949, B. |
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| | magnificentia) |
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| Forewing | fork of veins Rs1–Rs2 long, starting into median | fork of veins Rs1–Rs2 short, starting into |
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| venation: | field of wing basal to the postmedial band packet | postmedial band packet of wing and in length |
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| and in length reaching no less than 2/3 length of | reaching no more than ½ length of Rs3–Rs4 fork |
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| Rs3–Rs4 fork (Bryk 1949; Zhang & Yang 1993) | (Bryk 1949, B. magnificentia; Zhang & Yang |
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| | 1993, B. diastemata) |
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| structure | Brahmaea certhia | Brahmaea tancrei |
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| at outer margin of wing distance between veins | at outer margin of wing distance between veins |
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| Rs1–Rs3 significantly larger than distance between | Rs1–Rs3 approximately equal to distance |
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| veins Rs3–Rs4 [note: this is correlatively associated | between veins Rs3–Rs4 [note: this is correlatively |
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| with the greater length of the subapical black spot] | associated with the shorter length of the subapical |
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| (original character) | black spot) (original character) |
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| Male genitalia: | median dilation of gnathos bilobate (Paukstadt & | median dilation of gnathos entire (Paukstadt & |
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| Ragus 1990) with large teeth on lobes dorsally, | Ragus 1990), spatulate, without visible serrations |
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| valvae oblong, harpe (apex of sacculus) wide | dorsally; valvae triangular, widened towards |
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| lamellar, cornuti with weakly expressed apical teeth | the base, harpe (apex of the sacculus) in form |
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| (Zolotuhin 2016); valvae relatively longer: length | of narrow, oblong process, cornuti with distinct |
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| of the valva along dorsal margin approximately | distal teeth (Zolotuhin 2016, Brahmaea lunulata); |
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| twice as width of valval base valva along vinculum | length of valva along dorsal margin no more than |
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| (n = 3) (original character) [note: narrowing of the | 1.5 times greater than width of valval base along |
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| valvae towards the base and their laid out like a | vinculum (n = 6) (original character) |
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| “house” on a glass slide, stated by Zolotuhin (2016) | |
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| as characteristic for B. certhia, depend from manner |
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| of spreading of the genitalia at mounting and cannot |
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| be considered as a character of this species] |
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