Morophaga choragella (DENIS & SCHIFFERMÜLLER, 1775)

Gaedike, Reinhard, 2009, New or poorly known Tineidae from Mauretania, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia (Lepidoptera), Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology 59 (2), pp. 489-512 : 491-492

Morophaga choragella (DENIS & SCHIFFERMÜLLER, 1775)

Morocco: 1 ♀, Mittl. Atlas, Ifrane, 22.v.1997, leg. SAKSIDA, Coll. KELLER ; Tunisia: 1 ♀, Maknassy, 28.viii.1937, MNHN: First records for North Africa .

Nemapogon algerica sp. n.

Material:

Holotype ♂, “ Museum Paris , Algérie Edough, P. LESNE 1908” [printed label]; “10. 08”[handwritten label]; “ Tinea cloacella HW. ”[handwritten label]; “Gen.präp. [genitalia slide] GAEDIKE NR. 6337”; “ Holotypus Nemapogon algerica sp. n. det. R. GAEDIKE 2009”; MNHN.

Paratypes: 1♀ with the same dates, on the same stage; MNHN ; 1♂, “ Museum Paris , Algérie Edough, P. LESNE 1908” [printed label]; “oct. [19]08”[handwritten label]; “Gen.präp. [genitalia slide] GAEDIKE NR. 6264”; “ Paratypus Nemapogon algerica sp. n. det. R. GAEDIKE 2009”; DEI .

Description ( Fig. 1 ):

Wingspan 12-13 mm; head creamy, laterally darker, palpi inside creamy, outside darker, second segment with some outwards-directed bristles; legs inside creamy, outside darker, tips of tarsal segments also creamy; thorax creamy, overlaid with numerous grey-brown scales, tegulae dark grey-brown, apex lighter; forewing with the pattern of dark brown and brown patches and stripes, characteristic for the genus: at 1/2 an oblique dark brown band, nearly reaching dorsum, the second half lighter brown, from 1/2 to apex costa with five short dark brown stripes; fringes creamy, with a dark brown line; the apical half of forewing overlaid with dark and light brown patches; hindwing white.

Male genitalia ( Figs 9-12 ): Uncus broad, apically cut; gnathos arms after the first third bent, with a long pointed spur-shaped processus, the distal part narrower as the proximal part, with curved tip; saccus short; valve with pointed tip, the bristled digitus on valva with enlarged rounded tip, anellus with two blunt tips, basally rounded; phallus two times longer than valva, after 1/2 with a break, the distal part more strongly sclerotized than basal part, with broad tooth-like lateral processus, the shape is variable (see Fig. 12 ).

Female genitalia ( Figs 13-14 ): Eighth tergite proximally with short narrow apophysae-like sclerotizations; ostium convex, curved distally, laterally edged, more strongly sclerotized than other parts, funnel-shaped, antrum also more strongly sclerotized; in ductus bursae at 1/2 of the length

an area with some rows of scale-shaped sclerotization, hardly more strongly sclerotized than the other ductus.

Life history: Unknown.

Etymology: Named after the country in which the specimens were collected.

Remarks:

The general structure of male genitalia is characteristic for the genus, but the shape of the gnathos arms differs from all other known species, phallus with the tooth-like lateral sclerotization and the break at 1/2. In female genitalia the shape of ostium is similar to several species of the gravosaella -group.

Figures

Fig. 1: Nemapogon algerica sp. n.

Figs 9-14: Nemapogon algerica ♂: (9: uncus-tegumen-saccus - 10: valva and anellus - 11-12: phallus with variability in the tooth-like processus), ♀: (13: VIII segment and ostium - 14: scale-shaped sclerotizations in ductus bursae).