Thiotricha dissobola Meyrick, 1935

Lee, Ga-Eun & Li, Houhun, 2024, A taxonomic review of Thiotricha Meyrick, 1886 (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae, Thiotrichinae) from China, with descriptions of 84 new species, Zootaxa 5449 (1), pp. 1-222 : 157-159

Thiotricha dissobola Meyrick, 1935

( Figs 22C , 27W , 46A, B , 62G , 68A, B , 75B )

Thiotricha dissobola Meyrick, 1935: 561 ; Gaede, 1937: 305; Clarke, 1969: 456; Ivinskis et al., 1984: 38; Kanazawa & Heppner, 1992: 70; Hua, 2005: 8. TL: Formosa (Taiwan), China. TD: NHMUK.

Type material ( Figs 68A, B , 75B ). Lectotype ♂, CHINA, Formosa , Sinten, 24.xi.1933, leg. S. Issiki, genitalia slide no. J. F.G.C. 8354 ( NHMUK).

Additional material examined. CHINA: Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region : 1 ♀, Shaoping Forest (22.06°N, 106.98°E), 280 m, Pingxiang , 22.v.2012, leg. Xiaofei Yang , genitalia slide no. LGE18556. Hainan Province: 1 ♀, Maoyang Town (18.94°N, 109.51°E), 225 m, Wuzhishan City , 20.iv.2009, leg. Qing Jin and Bingbing Hu , genitalia slide no. LGE16125; 1 ♂, Forestry Bureau, 137 m, Bawangling , 24.iv.2009, leg. Qing Jin and Bingbing Hu , genitalia slide no. LGE18555; 1 ♂, Wuzhishan Nature Reserves (18.88°N, 109.65°E), 742 m, 18−22.v.2015, leg. Peixin Cong, Wei Guan and Sha Hu , genitalia slide no. LGE16124; 1 ♂, Limushan Forest Park (19.17°N, 109.73°E), 607 m, 26.x.2016, leg. Xia Bai, Shuonan Qian and Wanding Qi ; 1 ♂, Butterfly Ecological Pasture (18.87°N, 109.67°E), 680 m, Wuzhishan City , 27.x.2016, leg. Xia Bai, Shuonan Qian and Wanding Qi ; 1 ♀, Wuzhishan Nature Reserves (18.90°N, 109.67°E), 738 m, 29.x.2016, leg. Xia Bai, Shuonan Qian and Wanding Qi , genitalia slide no. LGE18517; 2 ♂♂, Sangengluo Town (18.86°N, 110.19°E), 185 m, Wanning City , 27, 28.viii.2017, leg. Xia Bai, Shuai Yu and Ping Liu , genitalia slide nos. LGE17147, LGE17166; 2 ♂♂, Jianfengling (18.75°N, 108.87°E), 810 m, Ledong County, 15.vi.2018, leg. Ping Liu, Xia Bai and Shuai Yu ; 2 ♂♂, Mt. Wolong (19.46°N, 110.12°E), 126 m, Tunchang County, 20.vi.2018, leg. Ping Liu, Xia Bai and Shuai Yu ; Yunnan Province: 1 ♂, Jingpozhai (24.71°N, 97.79°E), 231 m, Nabang Town , Yingjiang County, 8.viii.2013, leg. Shurong Liu, Yuqi Wang and Kaijian Teng ; 3 ♂♂, Bubang (21.60°N, 101.59°E), 656 m, Xishuangbanna , 22, 24.vii.2014, leg. Kaijian Teng, Wei Guan, Xiuchun Wang and Shurong Liu , genitalia slide nos. LGE17009, LGE18516; 1 ♀, Baihualing (25.30°N, 98.80°E), 1473 m, Baoshan , 5.viii.2014, leg. Kaijian Teng, Shurong Liu and Hua Rong , genitalia slide no. LGE18518.

Diagnosis. Adult ( Fig. 22C ). Wingspan 6.0−8.0 mm. This species can be distinguished from other congeners by the forewing with large fuscous spots (or sometimes expanded as streaks) at basal 1/5 and 2/5 of dorsum, two inwardly directed V-shaped markings in distal 1/2 and two black spots, one at the apex and the other at the tornus. Males have forewings often darker than those of females in color and the labial palpi slightly thicker than those of females. In the male abdomen, the sternum VIII ( Fig. 27W ) is very short (approximately 1/10 length of abdomen) and semicircular. The male genitalia ( Fig. 46A, B ) are peculiar as the basal half of uncus has large petal-like scales and the distal half is T-shaped. The female genitalia ( Fig. 62G ) are diagnosed by the strongly elongate, U-shaped anterior margin of sternum VIII, the presence of a small sclerite at base of ductus bursae and the corpus bursae finely spinulate in anterior 1/2.

Variations. The forewing spots on dorsum can be broad or indistinct.

Distribution. China (Guangxi, Hainan, Taiwan, Yunnan), India.

Remarks. This species and the following species T. pyrphora were included in the phylogenetic study of Thiotrichinae ( Lee et al. 2021). In their molecular based results, these two species were positioned as sister to a group including the genera Tenupalpa and Palumbina , but in the morphological data they grouped with Pulchrala species. Although T. dissobola and T. pyrphora were clearly separated from all the Thiotricha species analyzed, their generic placement was not confirmed due to the lack of congruent evidence. Here we keep their original placement as Thiotricha .

Figures

FIGURE 22. Adults of Thiotricha spp. A, T. scotaea Meyrick, ♂; B, ditto, ♀; C, T. dissobola Meyrick, ♀; D, T. pyrphora Meyrick, ♀; E, F, ditto, ♂.

FIGURE 27. Male sternum VIII of Thiotricha spp.A, T. asymmetricosta sp. nov.; B, T. aurea sp. nov.; C, T. lata sp. nov.; D, T. emarginata sp. nov.; E, T. pediformis sp. nov.; F, T. curviciliaris sp. nov.; G, T. recticiliaris sp. nov.; H, T. clinopeda Meyrick; I, T. oxygramma Meyrick; J, T. parvimaculata sp. nov.; K, T. apicidisca sp. nov.; L, T. villosa sp. nov.; M, T. flaviterminata sp. nov.; N, T. hamatisigna sp. nov.; O, T. acicularis sp. nov.; P, T. rosegrammica sp. nov.; Q, T. canimaculata sp. nov.; R, T. hoplomacha Meyrick; S, T. embolarcha Meyrick; T, T. hexanesa Meyrick; U, T. acrantha Meyrick; V, T. scotaea Meyrick; W, T. dissobola Meyrick; X, T. pyrphora Meyrick.

FIGURE 46. Male genitalia of Thiotricha spp. A, T. dissobola Meyrick, slide no. LGE17147; B, ditto, enlarged view of uncus (folded), slide no. LGE18555; C, T. pyrphora Meyrick, slide no. LGE18707 (Scale bars = 0.2 mm).

FIGURE 62. Female genitalia of Thiotricha spp. A, T. embolarcha Meyrick, slide no. LGE18403; B−D, ditto, variation of signa, slide nos. LGE15072, LGE16297, LGE15074; E, T. acrantha Meyrick, slide no. LGE16080; F, T. scotaea Meyrick, slide no. LGE18201; G, T. dissobola Meyrick, slide no. LGE18518; H, T. pyrphora Meyrick, slide no. LGE16119 (Scale bars = 0.4 mm).

FIGURE 68. Type specimens and label data of Thiotricha spp. deposited in NHMUK.A, B, T. dissobola Meyrick, ♂, lectotype; C, D, T. pyrphora Meyrick, ♂, holotype.

FIGURE 75. Abdominal segments and genitalia of type specimens deposited in NHMUK. A, T. scotaea Meyrick, ♀, holotype, slide no. J.F.G.C. 8381; B, T. dissobola Meyrick, ♂, lectotype, slide no. J.F.G.C. 8354; C, T. pyrphora Meyrick, ♂, holotype, slide no. J.F.G.C. 8350.