Megacraspedus squalida Meyrick, 1926

Huemer, Peter & Karsholt, Ole, 2018, Revision of the genus Megacraspedus Zeller, 1839, a challenging taxonomic tightrope of species delimitation (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae), ZooKeys 800, pp. 1-278 : 152-154

Megacraspedus squalida Meyrick, 1926

Megacraspedus squalida Meyrick, 1926: 272.

Megacraspedus escalerellus Schmidt, 1941: 38, pl. 2, fig. 5, syn. n.

Examined material.

Holotype ♂, Megacraspedus escalerellus , [Spain] "Spain Montarco Madrid ix.1920 F. Escalera" "Genitalia slide Mus. Madrid 53788" (MNCN). Non-type material. Spain. 1 ♂, 1 ♀, prov. Alicante, Alcoj, Font Roja, W El Menejador, 1300 m, 4.ix.2005, leg. P. Huemer, genitalia slide GEL 1193 ♂ Huemer (TLMF); 1 ♂, prov. Alicante, Sierra de Orcheta, Finestrat env., 28.ix.2005, leg. J. Šumpich; 2 ♂, 1 ♀, prov. Almería, Tabernas env., Rambla de Tabernas, 18-19.x.2009, leg. J. Šumpich, genitalia slide GU 16/1428 ♀ Huemer (all NMPC); 1 ♂, prov. Almería, Tabernas, 'Mini Hollywood’, 230 m, 14-15.x.1992, leg. M. Fibiger; 1 ♂, 2 ♀, prov. Almería, 5 km N Carboneras, 10 m, 16.x.1992, leg. M. Fibiger, genitalia slide 6488 Hendriksen; 1 ♀, Almería, 7 km of Cabo de Gata, 0 m, 22.x.2003, leg. J. Viehmann; 8 ♂, prov. Almería, El Pozo del Esparto, 20 m, 1.xi.2005, leg. B. Skule & P. Skou; 5 ♂, prov. Almería, Sierra Alhamilla, 9 km above Turrillas, Colativi, 1000-1350 m, 1.ix.2001, leg. C. Hviid & B. Skule; 1 ♂, prov. Almería 6 km S Serón, at A 1178, 1300 m, 16.ix.2009, leg. P. Skou; 1 ♀, prov. Almería, 3 km SW Pulpi, 300 m, 5.x.2015, leg. J. Viehmann (all ZMUC); 1 ♂, prov. Almería, Rambla Tabernas, 100 m, 8.ix.2007, leg. J. Viehmann; 1 ♀, same data, but 6.x.2016; 1 ♀, same data, but 24.x.2016; 1 ♀, prov. Almería, Sierra de los Filabres, Gergal, 1800 m, 9.ix.2007, leg. J. Viehmann (all RCWS); 1 ♂, prov. Granada, Sierra Nevada, Camino de Valeta, 2250 m, 8.ix.1985, leg. E. Traugott-Olsen; 1 ♂, prov. Granada, Camino Baza-Benamaurel, 13.x.1988, leg. E. Traugott-Olsen; 2 ♂, prov. Granada, Sierra del Chaparral, 10 km W Lenteji, 900 m, 26. viii– 15.ix.2005, leg. G. Jeppesen; 1 ♂, 1 ♀, same data, but 30.viii.-4.ix.2009; 10 ♂, 1 ♀, prov. Granada, Sierra de Los Guájares, 1160-1220 m, 26. viii– 15.ix.2005, leg. G. Jeppesen; 2 ♂, prov. Granada, Moscaril, 500 m, 28. viii– 9.ix.2004, leg. G. Jeppesen; 1 ♂, same data, but 26. viii– 15.ix.2005, leg. G. Jeppesen; 1 ♂, prov. Granada, 22 km above Otivar, Granja Escula, Huerto Alegre, 1250 m, 30.viii.2001, leg. B. Skule (all ZMUC); 1 ♂, prov. Lleida, Castelldans, Les Garrigues, 353 m, 29.x.2010, leg. P. De-Gregorio & M. Bravo (RCER); 1 ♂, prov. Ma drid, Camporeal, 640 m, 19.ix.1979, leg. A. Vives, genitalia slide 1226 Vives; 1 ♂, prov. Madrid, Perales de Tarjuna, 2.x.1995, leg. J. Wolschrijn; 1 ♂, prov. Málaga, Marbella, Casa y Campo, 100 m, 11.ix.1976, leg. E. Traugott-Olsen, genitalia slide 5437 Traugott-Olsen; 1 ♂, prov. Málaga, Sierra de Marbella, El Mirador, 700 m, 4.ix.1977, leg. E. Traugott-Olsen; 1 ♂, prov. Málaga, Camino de Rhonda, Urb. Madronal, Loma del Colmenas, 500 m, 3.ix.1988, leg. E. Traugott-Olsen; 3 ♂, prov. Málaga, 2 km W Sedella, La Rahige, 650 m, 18.ix.2009, leg. P. Skou (all ZMUC); 1 ♀, prov. Valencia, Santa Pola, Playa del Pinet, 5 m, 5.ix.2005, leg. P. Huemer (TLMF). Tunisia. 1 ♂, prov. Kasserine, 20 km SW Kasserine, S NP Jebel Chambi, 900 m, 2.-3.x.2007, leg. B. Schacht, genitalia slide 5373 Stübner (ZSM); 5 ♂, 2 ♀, prov. Beja, 7 km W Nefza, W lake Sidi el Barrak, 30 m, 4.x.2007, leg. B. Schacht (TLMF, ZSM); 2 ♂, prov. Nabeul, Umg. Soliman, Boj-Cedria, 0-20 m, 5.x.2007, leg. B. Schacht, genitalia slide 5371 Stübner (ZSM).

Redescription.

Adult. Male (Figure 128). Wingspan 16-21 mm. Labial palpus comparatively strong; segment 2 with broad scale brush, dark brown on outer surface, white mottled with brown on inner and lower surface, white on upper surface; segment 3 white, slightly mottled with dark brown. Antennae thickened, black. Head light grey, dark brown towards eye; thorax and tegula as forewing. Forewing grey mottled with black, especially near base; veins and middle of costa indistinctly whitish; indistinct black dots in fold and at end of cell; fringes grey. Hindwing grey with light grey fringes.

Female (Figure 129). Wingspan 17-22 mm. Antennae thickened, ringed lighter and darker brown. Forewings slightly broader than in male, with more distinct lighter veins. Otherwise similar to male.

Variation. There is only slight variation. The black dots in fold and at end of the cell are not always visible.

Male genitalia (Figure 247). Uncus broad, distally weakly expanded, about same length as width, maximum width at about three-quarters length, apex strongly arched; gnathos hook about length of uncus, moderately slender, evenly curved, with apical point; anterior margin of tegumen with broadly convex excavation, pedunculi moderately large, rounded; valva broad and stout, exceeding base of gnathos, distal part tapered, apex rounded, saccular area hump like, with several long and stiff setae; flap-like sclerite with long, strongly sclerotised, curved thorn-like process near proximal base of valva; posterior margin of vinculum without distinct medial emargination; saccus broadly U-shaped, shorter than valva, posterior margin nearly straight, without medial emargination, medial part with short sclerotised ridge in posterior quarter, lateral sclerites about two-thirds length of maximum width of saccus; phallus with small coecum, distal three-quarter slender, rod-like, with distinct sclerotised tooth in middle of phallus on dorsal surface.

Female genitalia (Figure 298). Papilla analis moderately sclerotised, large, approximately 1.4 mm long, narrowing towards rounded apex, ventral edge convex, dorsal margin nearly straight; apophysis posterior rod-like, approximately 1.8 mm long, psoteriorly weakly widened at about one-fifth, anterior end weakly inflated; segment VIII approximately 0.6 mm long, smoothly sclerotised except from membranous anterioventral zone, oblique anteriordorsal edge strongly sclerotised ridge; subgenital plate reduced to lateral sclerotised zones, ostium bursae membranous, without delimiting sclerotisations; apophysis anterior rod-like, slightly longer than segment VIII; collicu lum small, sclerotised; ductus bursae gradually widening to weakly delimited suboval corpus bursae; entire length of ductus and corpus bursae approximately 3.1 mm; signum moderately small, suboval, spiny plate.

Diagnosis.

Megacraspedus squalida is characterised by its relatively large size and its blackish grey forewings with indistinctly lighter veins. The males, moreover, are recognizable by the thickened, black antennae. The species is somewhat similar to M. peyerimhoffi (p 181) and M. violacellum (p 157). The flap-like sclerite with thorn-like process in the male genitalia is unique in Megacraspedus . The female genitalia are unique in Megacraspedus with several diagnostic features such as the membranous area of the ostium bursae.

Molecular data.

BIN BOLD:ACM0982 (n = 6). The intraspecific divergence of the barcode region is low with mean 0.5% and maximum divergence of 1%. The distance to the nearest neighbour M. skulei sp. n. is 9.3% (p-dist).

Distribution.

Spain, Tunisia.

Biology.

The larva feeds within a stem of Macrochloa tenacissima (Loefl. ex L.) ( Poaceae ) ( Dumont 1928), see Remarks. The adults have been collected from late August to the middle of October at altitudes from sea level to 2250 m.

Remarks.

Megacraspedus squalida was described from one female collected by Ribbe in the Sierra Nevada, Spain (Meyrick 1926). The holotype and its genitalia were figured by Clarke (1969: 229, fig 3a, b). Megacraspedus escalerellus was described from one specimen collected in Montarco, province of Madrid, Spain on 20th September 1920 ( Schmidt 1941). The holotype fully corresponds with M. squalida and we thus consider M. escalerellus to be a junior synonym of the former (syn. n.).

The ‘allotype’ of Cauloecista chretienella Dumont, 1928 has proved to belong to M. squalida (see remarks on M. violacellum ). It was bred from Macrochloa tenacissima (Loefl. ex L.) ( Dumont 1928).