Pleurota andalusica Back, 1973

Tabell, Jukka, Wikström, Bo, Mutanen, Marko, Bruckner, Harald & Sihvonen, Pasi, 2021, Subspecies of Pleurota bicostella (Clerck, 1759) revisited and descriptions of nine new species in the P. bicostella species group (Lepidoptera: Gelechioidea Oecophoridae: Pleurotinae), Zootaxa 4941 (4), pp. 451-486 : 459-461

Pleurota andalusica Back, 1973 stat. nov.

Barcode Index Number: BOLD:ACY5987

Table 1, Figs. 3 , 35 , 52 , 65

Pleurota bicostella andalusica Back, 1973: 103–105 , pls. H (♂ genitalia), Bb 1 (♀ genitalia). Type locality: Spain: Granada, Diezma. Holotype ♂ (ZSM; not found). Here raised from subspecies to species, based on congruent differences in habitus, genitalia structure, and DNA barcodes (stat. nov.).

Material studied. 4 ♂ (GP 5625 J. Tabell, DNA sample 24568 Lepid Phyl), 7 ♀ (GP 5478 J. Tabell, DNA sample 23569 Lepid Phyl; GP 5775 J. Tabell), Spain, Granada, Sierra Nevada 1490 m, 4 km SW G̹ejár-Sierra, 2.VII.2015, J. Tabell leg.; 4 ♂, 8 ♀ (GP 5879 J. Tabell; DNA sample 24570 Lepid Phyl; DNA sample 24571 Lepid Phyl), same collecting data, but 9.VII.2015; 2 ♂ (GP 5711 J. Tabell, DNA sample 25599 Lepid Phyl; DNA sample 25600 Lepid Phyl), Spain, Aragon, Huesca , 4.5 km E Castejón de Monegros, 540 m, 5.VII.2016, J. Tabell leg. (all coll. TAB) .

Diagnosis. According to Back (1973), the taxon can be distinguished from P. b. bicostella by its smaller size, longer labial palp and more contrasted and brightly coloured forewing, in the male genitalia by longer and differently shaped gnathos and longer posterior lobe of juxta, and in the female genitalia by longer ventral longitudinal sclerotization and longer apophysis posterioris. Judging from these characters, combined with the shape of valval lobe in the male genitalia and barcoding information, the systematic position of andalusica is not in the bicostella group but in the P. aristella s.l. species group (see Kaila et al. 2019).

Molecular data. Six specimens of andalusica were sequenced, resulting in 658 bp, full-length barcode sequences for all specimens. The results revealed 7.74 %–10.94 % divergence between andalusica and the other barcoded taxa of the bicostella species group ( Table 1). The nearest neighbour to andalusica is a Moroccan species P. ochreopalpella Tabell, 2019 , which belongs to the aristella species group ( Kaila et al. 2019), with a 4.26 % divergence. The divergence between andalusica and bicostella is 8.95 % ( Table 1). There exists a 1.24 % barcode gap between the populations of Sierra Nevada and Sierra de los Monegros, which may indicate cryptic diversity. The intraspecific variation within these clusters is 0.46 % (n=4) and 0.15 % (n=2), respectively.

Description. Adult. Wingspan 13.9–21.2 mm. Labial palpus long, off-white, mixed with brown, ventrally brown, mixed with white, 8 x as long as diameter of eye (1 st and 2 nd palpomeres), 3 rd palpomere 0.3 x length of 1 st and 2 nd palpomeres. Scape off-white, flagellum smooth, brown, slightly serrate. Head and thorax white, tegula mixed with pale brown. Forewing white, dispersed with brown and blackish brown scales, discal spot distinct, blackish brown, hind margin with several blackish brown scales forming a fringe line; costal line white, narrow, from near base to 0.75; subcostal line brown, broad, basally slightly narrower. Costal fringe brown, dorsal fringe pale brown, apically off-white. Hindwing brownish grey, margin brown, fringe concolorous. Abdomen grey, slightly lustrous, each segment with a transverse row of ochre scales.

Male genitalia. Uncus triangular from ventral view, markedly shorter than gnathos, covered with several long bristles, apex with parallel-sided stout protuberance. Gnathos elongate, funnel-shaped from ventral view, with extensive scobination, evenly tapered towards apex, apex stout. Valva elongate, upwardly oblique, ventral margin medially bulged, costa straight, oblique; cucullus narrow; sacculus broad, covered with several bristles; valval lobe well delineated, club-shaped, distally covered with several bristles. Juxta tuning-fork-shaped; posterior lobe moderately narrow, long, exceeding the base of uncus. Phallus slightly arched, with one plate-shaped cornutus and two patches of small spines, at apex and around cornutus.

Female genitalia. Papilla analis ovoid, covered with short and long bristles. Apophysis posterioris 4.7 x as long as papilla analis and 1.4 x as long as apophysis anterioris, which is 1.4 x as long as segment 8. Segment 8 longitudinally rectangular, dorsolaterally reinforced by sclerotized band, distally covered with a few short bristles, proximal margin deeply U-shaped; ventral longitudinal sclerotization narrow and long.Antrum as long as segment 8, posterior third membranous, anterior part slightly sclerotized, with two crescent-shaped opposite patches of different size. Ductus bursae short. Corpus bursae ovoid, with one arched robust signum bearing two long moderately broad thorn-like protuberances, and two narrow leaf-shaped posterior signa of different size.

Biology. Unknown.

Distribution. Spain, Sierra Nevada (Granada) and Sierra de los Monegros (Aragon), locally abundant.

Note. Back (1973) stated that the type material was in ZSM, but it has not been found there despite searching efforts (Ulf Buchsbaum and Axel Hausmann, pers. comm.).

Figures

FIGURE 65. Neighbor-joining tree based on the barcoding fragment of the COI gene (p-distance model) of all available species of the Pleurota bicostella species group. “MM26262” etc. are BOLD sample IDs.

FIGURES 1–8. Adults and labels of Pleurota spp. 1–2. P. bicostella (Clerck). 1. ♂. 2. ♀. 3. P. andalusica Back, ♂. 4–5. P. asiatica Back. 4. ♂ holotype. 5. ♀ paratype. 6–8. P. aragonella Chrétien. 6. ♂ holotype. 7. ♂. 8. ♀.

FIGURES 35–36. Male genitalia of Pleurota spp. 35. P. andalusica Back, GP 5625 J. Tabell. 36. P. aragonella Chrétien, GP 5575 J. Tabell.

FIGURES 51–53. Female genitalia of Pleurota spp. 51. P. bicostella (Clerck), GP 6026 J. Tabell. 52. P. andalusica Back, GP 5879 J. Tabell. 53. P. aragonella Chrétien, GP 5878 J. Tabell.