Pacificulla Park

Park, Kyu-Tek & Lee, Sangmi, 2013, Pacificulla gen. nov. of Lecithoceridae (Lepidoptera, Gelechioidea) from New Guinea, with descriptions of six new species, Zootaxa 3599 (1), pp. 67-77 : 68

Genus Pacificulla Park , gen. nov.

Type species: Pacificulla flaviagera Park , sp. nov.

Description. Head: Usually dark brown or orange white. Antenna usually fasciculate- ciliated with whitish hairs on flagellum, cilia sometimes absent. Labial palpus sexually dimorphic: male with second segment normally thickened, extremely long, with acute apex, third segment reduced or absent ( Fig. 21 ); female with second and third segments slender, third as long as second or shorter than second. Thorax: usually dark brown or orange white dorsally. Forewing and hindwing with similar color pattern and markings, dark brown or purplish brown fascia in basal and posterior parts, or a large orange or dark orange patch in middle part of wing; venation with R2 and R3+4 stalked or sometimes approximated, R5 and M2 absent. Hindwing usually broader than forewing; venation with M2 absent. Abdomen: usually orange, often blackish on first and second segments, with blackish anal tuft, sometimes fuscous dorsally throughout, with spinous zones on tergites. Male genitalia: uncus usually elongate; gnathos absent; tegumen broad; valva elongate, densely setose, sometimes with strong bristles on surface; aedeagus usually broad at base, then narrower towards apex; cornuti consist of a sheaf of bristles, occupying 1/3 length of aedeagus or shorter.

Diagnosis. Pacificulla gen. nov. is related to Crocanthes Meyrick , sharing the apomorphic characters of long antennae and the absence of the gnathos in the male genitalia. The genus is defined by a combination of morphological characters as follows: 1) Wing color and pattern similar on upper surface of fore- and hindwings, with large orange or dark orange patch in the middle of wings; venation with R2 and R3+4 stalked or sometimes approximated; R5 and M2 absent; 2) labial palpi sexually dimorphic: male usually with the second segment normally thickened, long, with acute apex, and the third segment absent or reduced; third segment unmodified in female; and 3) male genitalia with elongate valva bearing a dense patch of strong bristles on the cucullus and the aedeagus with a row or sheaf of needle-like cornuti.

Distribution. New Guinea ( Papua New Guinea and Papua of Indonesia)

Etymology. The genus name is derived from the pacific with suffix, ullus.

Figures

FIGURES 15 − 30. Dorsal view of heads (15 − 18), lateral view of labial palpi (19 − 22, 25 − 27), and lateral view of antenna (23 − 24), and hind tibia (28 − 30). Heads (15 − 18): 15, P. flaviagera sp. nov. 16, P. e s d i p a r k i sp. nov. 17, P. callisomata sp. nov. 18, P. cervicalis sp. nov.; Labial palpi (19 − 22, 25 − 27) 19, Male of P. flaviagera sp. nov. 20, Male of P. e s d i pa rk i sp. nov. 21, Descaled male of P. e s d i p a r k i sp. nov. 22, Female of P. e s d i p a r k i sp. nov.; 23, Male of P. callisomata sp. nov. 24, Male of P. cervicalis sp. nov. 25, Female of P. kekamatana sp. nov.; Antenna (26 − 27): 26, P. e s d i p a r k i sp. nov. 27, P. searsi sp. nov.; Hind tibia (28 − 30); 28, P. callisomata sp. nov. 29, P. cervicalis sp. nov. 30, P. kekamatana sp. nov.