Acalyptris janzeni van Nieukerken & Nishida

van Nieukerken, Erik J., Doorenweerd, Camiel, Nishida, Kenji & Snyers, Chris, 2016, New taxa, including three new genera show uniqueness of Neotropical Nepticulidae (Lepidoptera), ZooKeys 628, pp. 1-63 : 45-47

Taxon classification Animalia Lepidoptera Nepticulidae

Acalyptris janzeni van Nieukerken & Nishida sp. n.

Holotype male.

Costa Rica, Guanacaste Province, ACG Santa Rosa Station, 10°50'22.30"N, 085°37'6.43"W, 293 m, 22.vi.2003, light sheet, Kenji Nishida, Genitalia slide EvN3673, RMNH.INS.23673 (RMNH).

Differential diagnosis.

Externally a dull species, not distinguishable from others without obvious colour pattern. The male genitalia are characterised by the bifid pseuduncus, lateral support rods and several large curved carinal spines.

Description.

Male (Figs 142, 143). Head: frontal tuft and collar pale yellow, scape and pedicel white, flagellum brown, antenna with 35-40 segments (n=4). Thorax and forewing irrorate yellowish white with brown, caused by dark tipped scales; an indistinct cilia line, terminal fringe white. Hindwing grey brown, no special scales; costal bristles present.

Female. Unknown.

Measurements. Male: forewing length 1.7 mm, wingspan: 4.2 mm.

Male genitalia (Figs 144-149). Capsule length 250-280 µm. Vinculum ventral plate deeply bilobed; a pair of lateral support rods running from valval attachment to gnathos. Tegumen forming a bilobed pseuduncus. Uncus inverted Y-shaped, with lateral arms expanded, and central process distally widened. Gnathos with narrow triangular central element. Valva length ca 250-255 µm, narrow, with prominent setal sockets along inner margin, tip straight and pointed; sublateral processes distinct, transverse bar of transtilla absent. Phallus length ca 300 µm, carinal processes excluded; phallus wall ventrally with finger-shaped medial process; in total 5 long and curved carinal processes, the dorsal pair curving almost 180 degrees; vesica with indistinct plate-like sclerotisation, no cornuti observed.

Biology.

Host plant. Unknown.

Voltinism and habits. Adults found from late June to early August and again November to mid-March. Collected at light and in malaise traps.

Distribution.

Costa Rica: Guanacaste Province, Área de Conservación Guanacaste. Coordinates type locality: N10.83400, W85.61200. It is a sub-humid to humid tropical dry (deciduous) forest with five to six months of dry season ( Herrera Soto and Gómez Pignataro 1993).

DNA barcode.

We have DNA barcodes of all ten known specimens, the holotype differs 2.3% from the other specimens.

Remarks.

The combination of the venation, absence of transverse bar of transtilla and presence of lateral support rods makes this a typical New World Acalyptris species, probably belonging to the Acalyptris scirpi group. The DNA barcode does not place it close to any Acalyptris species of which the barcode is known. Morphologically there are similarities to several species described from Belize: Acalyptris bifidus Puplesis & Robinson, 2000 and Acalyptris unicornis Puplesis & Robinson, 2000. It is remarkable that the holotype barcode has a 2.3% distance to the Malaise trapped specimens, found in almost the same locality. More material is needed to see whether this is a case of cryptic species, or a unusual high variation in the population.

Etymology.

Janzeni: a noun in genitive case, based on the family name Janzen, to honour Daniel H. Janzen, collector of part of the material, for his long time dedication to study the tropical Lepidoptera fauna of the Guanacaste Conservation area in great detail, both ecologically and taxonomically, and his enthusiastic support of DNA barcoding (eg. Janzen et al. 2009).

Other material examined.

6♂ [DNA barcoded ethanol material]: Costa Rica, Guanacaste, Área de Conservación Guanacaste, Sector Santa Rosa, Bosque San Emilio, Forest, Malaise trap, 300 m, 10.8438, -85.6138, Dan Janzen: 1♂, trap GMP#00624, 31. vii– 6.viii.2012, BIOUG05419-H06, genitalia slide JCK8232; 1♂, trap GMP#01813, 6-13.xi.2012, BIOUG09432-B01; 2♂, trap GMP#01815, 20-27.xi.2012, BIOUG09436-B12, BIOUG09436-C06; 1♂, trap GMP#01817, 4-11.xii.2012, BIOUG09441-C02; 1♂, trap GMP#01825, 29. i– 5.ii.2013, BIOUG10108-C05 (RMNH).

More data from BOLD

[specimens not examined, same BIN] 3 adults, same locality: trap GMP#01824, 22-29.i.2013, BIOUG18276-D11; trap GMP#01826, 5-12.ii.2013, BIOUG18337-A10; trap GMP#01830, 12-19.iii.2013, BIOUG18605-F04 (BIOUG).