Scythris furciphallella Nupponen, 2022

Nupponen 1, Kari & Sihvonen, Pasi, 2022, Revision of Neotropical Scythrididae moths and descriptions of 22 new species from Argentina, Chile, and Peru (Lepidoptera, Gelechioidea), ZooKeys 1087, pp. 19-104 : 19

publication ID

https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1087.64382

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:94F2384E-640E-4A58-B8B4-D9D06675D2C2

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/D8D83C42-B864-4ECD-85A8-90E0F26587CA

taxon LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:act:D8D83C42-B864-4ECD-85A8-90E0F26587CA

treatment provided by

ZooKeys by Pensoft

scientific name

Scythris furciphallella Nupponen
status

sp. nov.

Scythris furciphallella Nupponen sp. nov.

Figs 13 View Figures 12–17 , 45 View Figures 45–46 , 66 View Figure 66

Type material.

Holotype. Argentina • ♂; prov. Cordoba, Salinas Grandes SE shore; 29°50.5'S, 64°40.2'W; 185 m a.s.l.; 24 Sep. 2017; K. Nupponen & R. Haverinen leg.; [BOLD sample ID] KN01053; [genitalia slide] K. Nupponen prep. no. 2/16 Dec. 2019; coll. NUPP (MZH).

Paratypes. Argentina • 6 ♂, 2 ♀; same data as for holotype; [genitalia slides] K. Nupponen prep. no. 3/16-XII-2019 ♀, 3/13-I-2019 ♂; coll. NUPP; • 1 ♂; prov. La Rioja, Andes Mts., Sierra de Famatina , Famatina village 15 km NNW; 28°46.4'S, 67°35.0'W; 2085 m a.s.l.; 27 Jan. 2017; K. Nupponen & R. Haverinen leg.; [BOLD sample ID] KN01050; [genitalia slide] K. Nupponen prep. no. 1/17 Dec. 2019; coll. NUPP.

Diagnosis.

A grey species, externally indistinguishable from S. directiphallella . In the male genitalia, a posteriorly bifurcate phallus and large backwards directed ventral lobes of the valvae are diagnostic.

Description.

Wingspan 9.5-10.5 mm. Head, collar, neck tuft, haustellum, tegula and thorax grey. Scape grey, ventrally mixed with cream; pecten grey and longer than diameter of scape. Flagellum fuscous, 0.7 × length of forewing, ciliate, sensillae ~ 0.8 × as long as diameter of flagellum. Labial palp: palpomere I dirty white, palpomeres II and III fuscous mixed with dirty white. Legs fuscous, more or less suffused with dirty white. Abdomen fuscous, ventrally paler, anal tuft ventrally cream. Forewing grey, wing irrorated with black scales; in some specimens’ very indistinct whitish streak in fold at basal 1/3. Hindwing pale fuscous.

Male genitalia. Gnathos basally semi-circular; distally long, slender and bent downwards. Uncus rectangular plate, medioposteriorly with small indentation. Tegumen hood-shaped. Phallus 0.65 × length of valva, bent, apex bifurcate, slender branch twice longer than the other. Valva long and narrow, distally spatular; ventral margins subapically with huge, anteriorly-directed, slightly asymmetrical lobes. Saccus short, labiate. Juxta narrow, 0.5 × length of phallus. Sternum VIII pentagonal, paired posterior projections diverging, straight, tips pointed; anterior margin slightly concave. Tergum VIII trapezoid, elongated, posteriorly round and setose, anteriorly incurved.

Female genitalia. Sterigma long and straight, rather stout, at 0.65 a little broadened, terminal 1/3 sclerotised, tip blunt. Ostium round, margins sclerotised, situated at 0.65 of sterigma. Sternum VII rectangular, 1.35 × wider than high, posterior margin medially incurved, anterior margin concave and sclerotised. Apophyses anteriores 0.55 × length of apophyses posteriores.

Etymology.

Diminutive noun in apposition. The species name refers to a bifurcate phallus of the male.

Distribution.

NW Argentina.

Habitat.

The collecting site is a shore of a large salt lake, in the edge between dry bushy area and low saline vegetation (Fig. 75 View Figure 75 ).

Genetic data.

BIN: BOLD:ADY9699 (n = 2 from Argentina). The two barcode sequences are 0.96% distant. Nearest neighbour: Scythris salinasgrandensis Nupponen, sp. nov. (BIN: BOLD:ADY7738, 4.49%).

Remarks.

Based on COI maximum likelihood phylogeny, South American taxa Scythris salinasgrandensis , Scythris furciphallella , Scythris manchaoensis , Scythris angustivalvella and Scythris directiphallella group together, associating within a clade, whose taxa are classified in apparently non-monophyletic Scythris on BOLD (Suppl. material 2). We classify these taxa in Scythris .

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Lepidoptera

Family

Scythrididae

Genus

Scythris