Megacraspedus gibeauxi, Huemer, Peter & Karsholt, Ole, 2018

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 : 157-158

Megacraspedus gibeauxi sp. n.

Examined material.

Holotype ♂, "Tozeur [south-western] TUNESIA 15.-29.x.1988 P. Sunesen col. K. Larsen" "GU 16/1442 ♂ P. Huemer" (ZMUC). Paratypes. 2 ♂, Algeria, Biskra, 13.x.1911, genitalia slide 8046 Gibeaux (MNHN).

Description.

Adult. Male (Figure 132). Wingspan 15 mm. Segment 2 of labial palpus with scale brush of about same length as segment 3, white mottled with light yellow brown on outer and inner surface; segment 3 white with black tip. Antennal scape with pecten of several rather long hairs; flagellum whitish, ringed with light brown especially in apical half. Head cream-white; thorax and tegula as forewing. Forewing whitish, mottled with grey-brown especially in fold, along veins and in apical part; fringes whitish grey. Hindwing whitish grey with light yellowish fringes.

Female. Unknown.

Variation. The intensity of the grey-brown scales is variable.

Male genitalia (Figure 250). Uncus moderately small, basally constricted, suboval, about same length as width, sub-basally widend, apex broadly rounded; gnathos hook stout, about length of uncus, evenly curved, lateromedially widened, apically pointed; tegumen smooth, with weakly sclerotised medially confluent anterior ridges, anterior margin with broad and moderately shallow emargination, additional small and shallow excavation medially; pedunculi small; valva long, extending to about tip of uncus, broader at base, distal part slender, apically weakly curved with rounded apex; sacculus well developed, short, slender digitate; posterior margin of vinculum with shallow medial emargination, distinctly rounded lateral humps, vincular sclerites moderately broad; saccus broadly sub-triangular, with broadly V-shaped outer edge, evenly tapered to pointed apex, moderately short, ratio maximum width to length about 1, posterior margin broadly arched, with broad and shallow medial emargination, medial part smooth, without sclerotised ridge, lateral sclerites short, approximately 0.6 times length of maximum width of saccus; phallus with bulbous coecum, distal two-thirds stout, weakly curved, with sclerotised dorsal and ventral ridge and few microspines in distal part.

Female genitalia. Unknown.

Diagnosis.

Megacraspedus gibeauxi sp. n. is characterised by its whitish forewing with grey-brown scales along the veins and by the absence of black dots on the forewing, and by the antennal scape having a pecten of several rather long hairs. The male genitalia are very similar to other species of the M. pentheres species group and differ only in subtle characters, in particular the distinct humps of the vinculum and the comparatively slender phallus.

Molecular data.

Not available, barcoding failed.

Distribution.

Algeria, Tunisia.

Biology.

Host plant and early stages are unknown. The few specimens known were collected in October. The locality of the holotype is an oasis at the northern border of the Sahara.

Etymology.

The species (a noun in the genitive case) name is dedicated to Christian Gibeaux, France, in recognition of his invaluable help with dissection and photographs of type material from MNHN.

Remarks.

The two paratypes from Algeria were found in the collection of P. Chrétien in the MHNP. They are mounted on the same polyporus strip and bear additional labels "?Paltodora pectinatella 4923′" (in Chrétien’s handwriting) and “TYPE”. Chrétien apparently considered the specimens to belong to an undescribed species, but a description was not published.