Palmartona Tarmann

Type species: catoxantha Hampson.

This monobasic genus was described by Tarmann (2004). It consists of a small brown species that generally lacks (a paler area may be weakly present, but fully scaled) the central pale, weakly scaled zone of the hindwing seen in Homophyllotis, but has the costal zone on the underside paler and yellower than the rest of the wing. The thorax and abdomen are also yellow ventrally. The male antennae are much shorter than in Homophyllotis and asymmetrically bipectinate. Those of the female are also short and lacking the swelling of Homophyllotis females; dorsally, the flagellum grades paler from the base but the apex is black. Features noted by Tarmann (2004) as autapomorphic are: the features of the male antenna mentioned above; a specialized sacculus in the male genitalia, bearing a very large field of long setae; sclerotised bands with spines in the praebursa; an inflated T2 in the larva. The artonoid lateral evaginations on abdominal segments 2 and 7 are of equal size in both sexes. The male genitalia are large relative to the size of the specimens and have a very long process (the ‘Artona finger’) from the centre of the ventral margin of the valve. The aedeagus vesica bears two long, slender, but unequal cornuti. A much more extensive description was provided by Tarmann (2004).