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Records of the Australian Museum (2009) Vol. 61 
clearly speckled with black scales. 
Hindwing upperside as in Fig. 10. Ground colour darkish 
brown, small, pale, creamy-brown patch between veins CuA 2 
and 1A+2A, then darkish brown streak to tornus; thin, pale, 
creamy-brown patch from tornus along inner margin to base. 
Hindwing underside with basal region pale tan, distal region 
darker as in distal region of forewing but with faint pinkish 
tinge, speckled, as in forewing, with a row of oblique, post 
median darkish dots from costa, where they curve distally, 
down to vein CuA 2 . 
Male genitalia. Fig. 20. Uncal lobe, in lateral view, gently 
arched, slender centrally with slightly enlarged distal region, 
ventral surface of distal margin with blunt, downward point; 
gnathos short, evenly curved upwards, dorsal surface slightly 
serrated at distal end; aedeagus, in lateral view, long, slender, 
parallel sided, distally enlarged with a line of dense, short 
spines angled from the dorsal surface to the lateral surface; 
distal margin with small blunt point at tip of dorsal surface, 
then angled backwards with small inward curve then clear 
convex bulge to ventral surface; harpe small, volcano-like 
with tiny serrations on concave dorsal surface. 
Female. Fig. 11. Forewing length 34.2-40.7 mm, mean 
38.2 mm (n = 17). Overall appearance, upperside and 
underside, is identical to male but ground colour usually 
slightly darker. 
Etymology. The specific name, tabubilensis, is derived from 
the mining town of Tabubil in the Western Province of Papua 
New Guinea, where most specimens were collected. 
Distribution. At present most specimens have been recorded 
from the Tabubil area in the central far west of PNG near 
the border with Indonesia, 3 specimens have been recorded 
approximately 90 km to the south at Kiunga on the Fly River 
and 1 specimen from approximately 30 km east of Tari in the 
Southern Highlands Province, some 200 km ESE of Tabubil. 
Other specimens held in The Natural History Museum, 
London, include specimens from Waigeu Island, just off the 
northwest coast of New Guinea and the Arfak Mountains in 
the far northwest of Indonesian New Guinea. It appears to 
be primarily a mountain species. 
Discussion 
Theretra tabubilensis most closely resembles the sympatric 
species Theretra indistincta papuensis. Over a period of 
several years both species were regularly collected together 
with no intergrade specimens encountered during the survey 
period. Theretra tabubilensis was found to be less common. 
There are a number of constant external morphological dif¬ 
ferences that readily separate the two species. 
Theretra tabubilensis is a clearly smaller species than 
T. i. papuensis particularly in regard to the females. This 
is very noticeable when both species are placed in series 
together. Theretra i. papuensis is a quite unicolorous grey 
species whereas T. tabubilensis is a lighter species with 
forewings that have differing colour tones on each side 
of the dark oblique line. A distinct difference is the dark 
oblique line on the forewing. On T. tabubilensis it is a 
distinct, almost always unbroken line as seen on T. clotho 
celata but in T. i. papuensis it is much fainter and usually 
both broken at the radial vein immediately above vein 
Mj and faint near the apex. Also, this oblique line often 
curves slightly towards the costa in T. i. papuensis but in 
T. tabubilensis it often curves slightly towards the termen. 
In T. tabubilensis the small diffuse dark marking on the 
forewing, distad of the stigma near the costa, does not reach 
the dark oblique line. In T. i. papuensis this diffuse dark 
marking is much larger and wider and reaches the tornal 
area of the forewing. These markings are the same on both 
sexes in each species. 
In T. tabubilensis males and females, the distal point of 
the narrow, dark, basal streak along the inner margin of the 
forewing, touches, or nearly touches, the dark oblique line. 
In T. i. papuensis this thin dark basal streak does not reach 
the oblique line and the distal point is usually several mil¬ 
limetres proximad of the oblique line. This applies to both 
sexes. The dark basal spot on the forewing of both sexes 
of T. i. papuensis is both paler and reduced in size on both 
sexes of T. tabubilensis. On the hindwing of both sexes of 
T. tabubilensis the light creamy-brown area from the base 
to the tornus between the inner margin and vein 1A+2A is 
the same as seen on T. clotho celata , although not as yellow- 
brown. In T. i. papuensis this area on both sexes is clearly 
suffused, to varying degrees, with darker scales giving a 
shaded appearance. 
The abdomen of T. tabubilensis has a longer diffuse 
darkish patch extending laterally halfway down the 
abdominal segments from near the base of the hind wings. 
In T. i. papuensis this darkish patch is reduced to a spot and 
does not extend laterally along the abdominal segments. 
On the underside of T. tabubilensis there is small, isolated 
lateral patch of orange-brown pilosity near the base of the 
forewings. On T. i. papuensis this patch is not as distinct 
and when visible, is a lighter salmon-pink which also 
usually occurs in small lateral patches along the sides of the 
abdomen. There is no such lateral colouring on the abdomen 
of T. tabubilensis. 
The male genitalia is very similar to that of T. clotho 
celata , including the convex distal margin of the aedeagus. 
In T. i. papuensis (Fig. 21) this distal margin on the aedeagus 
is slightly concave. In T. tabubilensis the gnathos, in lateral 
view, appears slightly longer and thinner than seen in T. 
i. papuensis and T. clotho celata where it is shorter and 
slightly thicker. 
Clearly all three species are closely related when their 
genitalia are examined, but there are notable, constant external 
morphological differences separating the three species. 
