Niveas Rota

Rota, Jadranka & Miller, Scott E., 2013, A new genus of metalmark moths (Lepidoptera, Choreutidae) with Afrotropical and Australasian distribution, ZooKeys 355, pp. 29-47 : 32-33

Niveas Rota gen. n. Figs 1-9

Type species.

Niveas kone .

Material examined.

See Table 1.

Distribution.

Kenya, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands.

Diagnosis.

Niveas can be easily distinguished from most genera of choreutids by the wing pattern (Figs 1, 3). Superficially, species of Niveas are similar to some species of Anthophila and Choreutis , but there is no known species in either of the latter two genera with a black terminal band enclosing white spots in the forewing as in Niveas agassizi and Niveas kone . (Figs 1, 3). Forewing venation with only four radial branches or with R4 and R5 fused in the basal half is also diagnostic for the genus. Female genitalia with paired concave sclerotizations on A7 sternite are also unique to Niveas .

Description.

Head. Labial palpi with projecting ventral scale tufts (Figs 2, 4). Wings. Forewing veins R four-branched in Niveas kone (Fig. 5), five-branched in Niveas agassizi (Fig. 6), with R4 an R5 fused in basal 3/5; CuP present at termen for 1/3 to 1/5 wing length, extending as fold further towards base. Hindwing ten-veined, with M2 in close proximity to the basally fused M3 and CuA1 ( Niveas agassizi ) or nine-veined, apparently with M3 and CuA1 completely fused into a single vein (Figs 5, 6). Male genitalia. Tegumen rounded on top, tuba analis extending beyond tegumen; vinculum as inverted trapezoid ventrally emarginate; valva with costal margin straight, ventral margin rounded, ending with a horn-like projection; phallus twice as long as valva (Fig. 7). Female genitalia. Apophyses anteriores slightly longer than posteriores; ostium bursae on A7 with a more or less strongly sclerotized antrum; ductus bursae straight, not coiled, with strong lateral sclerotizations; corpus bursae as a single sac ( Niveas agassizi ) or divided into two sacs ( Niveas kone ) with one or more signa. A7 sternite with paired, somewhat rounded, concave sclerotizations proximally, clearly visible in Niveas kone (Fig. 8), and slightly less so in Niveas agassizi (Fig. 9).

Host plants.

Genus Ficus ( Moraceae ).

Etymology.

The generic name is derived from Latin niveum, meaning snowy, in reference to speckles of white-tipped scales in the wings of the type species; it is not treated as a Latin word and is feminine in gender.