Agathiphagama perdita, Mey & Léger & Lien, 2021

Mey, Wolfram, Leger, Theo & Lien, Vu Van, 2021, New taxa of extant and fossil primitive moths in South-East Asia and their biogeographic significance (Lepidoptera, Micropterigidae, Agathiphagidae, Lophocoronidae), Nota Lepidopterologica 44, pp. 29-56 : 36-37

publication ID	https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/nl.44.52350
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/E2B4216F-F4E6-5494-9BA4-8E658139E78D
treatment provided by	Nota Lepidopterologica by Pensoft
scientific name	Agathiphagama perdita
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Agathiphagama perdita sp. nov. Figs 12-17 View Figures 12–17 , 32 View Figure 32 , 33 View Figure 33

Type material.

Holotype ♀, Burmese amber, NIGP 173715 View Materials , ( NIGP); paratype ♀, # 7095 ( TF) .

Etymology.

The specific name is the Latin adjective “perditus”, lost, in singular, feminine nominative, referring to the species as an extinct taxon.

Preservation.

The holotype is embedded in a large, polished and oval piece of amber (Fig. 32 View Figure 32 ). The adult insect is nearly completely preserved, somewhat distorted and mainly visible in lateral view. The right side from head to thorax is macerated with right fore- and middle legs missing. The right head side is damaged forming a hole into the head capsule. The hindwings are partly covered by the forewings. One small, black Coleoptera species (3 mm length) is present.

Description.

Length of forewings 10.2 mm, head capsule extending far above eyes (Fig. 12 View Figures 12–17 ), ocelli absent; antennae filiform, longer than 0.5 of forewing length, more than 40 flagellomeres, clothed with small, lamellar scales, scape short, pedicel not larger than following flagellomeres. Maxillary palpi 5-segmented, basal segment with long bristles, terminal segment annulated, labial palpi 3-segmented, dorsal side of basal segment with short, erect, terminally hooked bristles. Foretibia with broad, scaled epiphysis and lateral and apical spines, spurs 1.3.4., meso- and metatibiae with lateral and apical spines (Figs 13 View Figures 12–17 , 14 View Figures 12–17 ). Scales on wings of different shape and length, apical margins with serrations (Fig. 16 View Figures 12–17 ). Wing venation (Fig. 15 View Figures 12–17 ) in forewing with Sc simple, R 1 shortly branched, accessory cell present, tips of R 4 and R 5 enclosing apex of forewing, M with four branches; hindwing with unbranched Sc and R 1.

Female genitalia (Fig. 17 View Figures 12–17 ): segment VIII dorso-ventrally flattened, densely covered by short, lamellar scales, segment IX and X forming a long, telescoping oviscapt with unpaired apophysis posterior, visible in the midline of the interior of segments IX and X.

Remarks.

This is the first fossil species of the family. It is also the first evidence of the occurrence of the family Agathiphagidae in South-East Asia in the Mesozoic about 100 Ma ago. The morphological differences to Agathiphaga are significant and justify at least the establishment of a separate genus. According to Cruickshank and Ko (2003), the palynological record from the Burmese amber mines in northern Myanmar includes palynomorphs of Araucariaceae. Poinar et al. ( 2007) confirmed the araucarian source of the amber and suggested a species of the genus Agathis Salisbury as the resin-producing tree ( Poinar 2019b). Extant species can secrete large quantities. Mechanical damage such as cutting into the bark of A. dammara (Chambert, 1803) results in large outpourings of resin (Fig. 38 View Figure 38 ). This genus is present in South-East Asia with a number of species occurring in Malaysia and maritime South-East Asia (Michaux 2001). Agathis was considered by Morley (1998) as Gondwanan element which dispersed into South East Asia in the Tertiary. The seeds in the female cones of the trees are the food resource of the two extant species of Agathiphaga , A. vitiensis Dumbleton, 1952 ( Fidji, and further West Pacific Islands) and A. queenslandensis Dumbleton, 1952 ( Australia, Queensland). The host-plant of Agathiphagama perdita sp. nov. could have been also a species of the gymnosperm family Araucariaceae. Judging from the fairly restricted range of Agathiphaga in the Australian Region (e.g. Dumbleton 1952) the species seems unlikely to have managed to disperse together with its host-plant into South East Asia. Discrepancy in the distribution of host plants and their associated Lepidoptera species is a frequently observed phenomenon. However, the distribution of herbivorous species is not only determined by the occurrence of the host plant but by the combined action of additional biotic and abiotic factors. Missing data, however, can account as well for a seeming absence in an area. The Microlepidoptera fauna of the region is inadequately researched and new records including surprising discoveries seem to be always possible.

The fossil Agathiphagama gen. nov. and the extant Agathiphaga are the only genera of Agathiphagidae . Both genera exhibit the characters of the family, but are probably not closely related due to the differences indicated in the diagnosis. The annulated terminal segments of the maxillary palpi of Agathiphagama gen.nov. seems to be a derived character. It resembles the terminal maxillary palpi of Annulipalpia and some Integripalpia genera (e.g. Athripsodes Billberg, 1820, Ceraclea Stephens, 1829) in Trichoptera. Kristensen (2003: 51) considered the annulated surface of the fourth segment as a lepidopteran ground plan character, but this character is not visible in the fossil specimens.

The Agathiphagidae are the only known family in extant Lepidoptera with four veins in the forewings including remarkable variation in branching pattern ( Schachat and Gibbs 2016). This plesiomorphic character is, however, present in the Jurassic families Mesokristenseniidae and Ascololepidopterigidae . The former differs from Agathiphagama and Agathiphagidae in its spur formula 1.1.4 and in the absence of an epiphysis ( Huang et al. 2010). The latter differs from Agathiphagidae and Mesokristenseniidae by lacking medial spurs on the metatibiae ( Zhang et al. 2013).