Megacraspedus Zeller, 1839

Junnilainen, Jari & Nupponen, Kari, 2010, The gelechiid fauna of the southern Ural Mountains, part I: descriptions of seventeen new species (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), Zootaxa 2366, pp. 1-34 : 6

Megacraspedus Zeller, 1839

Chilopselaphus Mann, 1867 , syn. n.

The males of Megacraspedus are sometimes confused with Coleophoridae because of their similarity in the external appearance. The forewing pattern consists of rather distinct spots and/or longitudinal stripes. The frontal part of the head is smooth (Figs. 4–5). The labial palps are characteristic for the genus: long hairscales on the segment II, either extended, laterally broadened, and the segment III rising up from the middle of the segment II, or almost straight and very long with third segment not turned upwards (in the fallax- and balneariellus -groups) (Fig. 6). The females are more or less brachypterous, and in many cases seldom observed or unknown. In the male genitalia, the sacculus is fused with the valva, the valva is clavate with more or less distinct excavation at the basal margins, the saccus is subtriangular and rather large, and the aedeagus is robust and usually almost straight with a bulbous caecum. In the female genitalia, the signum is a sub-oval, dentate and convex plate.

There are about 24 species of Megacraspedus in Europe ( Karsholt & Riedl 1996). However, it is well known that there still remain several undescribed species in private and institutional collections (see Huemer & Karsholt 2001). Six new species are described in this paper. We consider the genus Chilopselaphus Mann, 1867 a subordinate group within Megacraspedus (like, e.g. the attritellus -group). The three previously known species of that genus, C. fallax Mann, 1867 , C. balneariellus Chrétien, 1907 and C. lagopellus (Herrich- Schäffer, 1860), are transferred to Megacraspedus . Furthermore, Trichembola niphorrhoa Meyrick, 1926 is transferred to Megacraspedus and Trichembola neurophanes Meyrick, 1926 is considered a junior synonym of Megacraspedus fallax ( Mann, 1867) (see Junnilainen et al. 2010).