Metanarsia guberlica Nupponen

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 : 8-9

Metanarsia guberlica Nupponen sp. n.

Figs. 12–13

Type material. Holotype: 3 (Fig. 12): Russia, S Ural, 51°09–12’N 58°02–08’E, 320 m, Orenburg district, Orsk 40 km W, near Guberlja village, rocky steppe slope, 26.VI.2003, K. Nupponen leg. ( TKN, to be deposited in ZMH). Paratype (1 3): Same data as holotype except for date: 25.VI.2003. Genitalia slide: K. Nupponen prep. no. 1/ 06.I.2005 ( TKN).

Diagnosis. M. guberlica sp. n. is placed in Metanarsia because its male genitalia exhibit characteristics typical for the genus, such as a reduced gnathos, a broad and robust sacculus and a distinct subapical tooth of the aedeagus (see Bidzilya 2005), as well as short labial palps and broad hindwings with its outer margin angled slightly inwards. Externally M. guberlica resembles the other two species in the genus with very indistinct pattern of the forewings, M. kosakewitshi Piskunov, 1990 and M. scythiella Ponomarenko, 2000 . M. guberlica differs from these by pale reddish brown ground colour of the forewings (brown in kosakewitshi , yellow in scythiella ) and smaller size. M. dahurica Bidzilya, 2005 has reddish brown forewings too, but the pattern is more distinct and the moth is much larger. The other known species of Metanarsia can easily be separated from M. guberlica by colour and/or more distinct pattern of the forewing and size of the moth. The male genitalia of M. guberlica are close to those of M. kosakewitshi , M. dahurica and M. scythiella , but differ in details: in M. guberlica the aedeagus is longer and slenderer, the saccus is distally elongated, the valvae are broader and straight, and the medial processes of the vinculum are triangular.

Description. Wingspan 15.5–16.0 mm. Head, collar, tegula, neck tuft, thorax, abdomen and legs pale beige mixed with a few pale reddish brown scales. Scape reddish brown, distally paler. Antenna pale brown with numerous dark brown rings from base to apex. Labial palp 1.5x longer than diameter of eye, gently curved upwards; segment I pale beige with scattered reddish brown scales; segment II about 2x longer than segment III, laterally broad, brown, basally and dorsally mixed with reddish brown, terminally paler; segment III short, pale beige. Forewing pale reddish brown; markings consisting of three indistinct dark brown spots: at 0.3 between fold and costa, at 0.45 in fold, and at 0.7 between fold and costa; fringe pale fuscous, paler than forewing. Hindwing 1.1x broader than forewing, fuscous, basal area paler.

Male genitalia (Fig. 13). Uncus broad, subrectangular, posterior margin incised. Gnathos reduced, membranous. Tegumen broad; anterior margin almost straight, with a slight extension at middle. Pedunculus elongated, foot-like. Valva straight, rather thick, extending to tip of uncus, tip rounded. Sacculus extending to 0.7 of valva, robust, with one rather large lateral and four smaller apical teeth. Vinculum with setose, triangular medial processes, divided by a large emargination extending to 0.7 of saccus. Saccus 5/6 length of valva, basally thick, tapering towards apex, tip pointed. Aedeagus 5/6 length of valva, medially bent, subapically with a distinct tooth; base bifurcated, another furcation arm very short; caecum 2x broader than apical half; cornuti absent.

Female genitalia. Unknown.

Bionomy. The moths were collected by artificial light at night. The habitat is a rocky steppe slope.

Distribution. Russia (S Ural). Only known from the type locality.

Etymology. The species name refers to the locality where the moth was discovered, Guberlinsky Mountains in the Southern Ural range.

Remarks. Based on both the external appearance of the moth and the male genitalia, M. kosakewitshi and M. dahurica are the closest relatives of M. guberlica .