Revision of Neotropical Scythrididae moths and descriptions of 22 new species from Argentina, Chile, and Peru (Lepidoptera, Gelechioidea)
Author
Nupponen 1, Kari
Merenneidontie 19 D, FI- 02320 Espoo, Finland
Author
Sihvonen, Pasi
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2237-9325
Finnish Museum of Natural History, P. O. Box 17, Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu 13, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
pasi.sihvonen@helsinki.fi
text
ZooKeys
2022
2022-02-22
1087
19
104
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1087.64382
journal article
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1087.64382
1313-2970-1087-19
94F2384E640E4A58B8B4D9D06675D2C2
ECD9B4DC2A3357AABC04DB88FB7D40B1
Rhamphura tetrafasciella Nupponen, sp. nov., genus combination
incertae sedis
Figs 9
, 64
Type material.
Holotype
.
Argentina • ♀; prov. La Rioja, valley east of Sierra de Sanogasta;
29°51.7'S
,
67°09.9'W
; 670 m a.s.l.; 22 Sep. 2017; K. Nupponen & R. Haverinen leg.; [BOLD sample ID] KN01040; [genitalia slide] K. Nupponen prep. no. 3/13 Dec. 2019; coll. NUPP (MZH).
Diagnosis.
Externally distinctive species, readily recognised by four transverse dark brown fasciae on forewing. The female genitalia are characterised by the funnel-shaped sterigma attached anteriorly to an arched plate.
Description.
Wingspan 10 mm. Head dark brown, forehead mixed with white. White scales around eye. Neck tuft white. Collar, haustellum, tegula and thorax dark brown with scattered white. Scape dark brown, ventrally mixed with white; pecten as long as diameter of scape. Flagellum dark brown, 0.6
x
length of forewing. Labial palp white, palpomere III mixed with dark brown. Legs: femur and tarsi white, each tarsus two dark brown patches at upper surface; tibiae mixed with fuscous. Abdomen anterior 1/2 of each segment dorsally dark brown, otherwise white. Forewing dirty white, cut by four irregular transverse dark brown fasciae belts subbasally, at 0.45, 0.7, and subapically. Hindwing pale fuscous.
Female genitalia
.
Sterigma funnel-shaped, distally tapered, posterior 1/2 more sclerotised; anteriorly attached to arched sclerotisation. Ostium small, situated at tip of sterigma. Sternum VII trapezoid, 1.3
x
wider than high. Apophyses anteriores 0.7
x
length of apophyses posteriores.
Etymology.
Diminutive noun in apposition. The species name refers to the forewing patterning of the moth.
Distribution.
NW Argentina.
Habitat.
The collecting site is a xerothermic saline valley at foothills of the Andes, with rather sparse vegetation.
Genetic data.
BIN: BOLD:ADZ0119 (
n
= 1 from Argentina). Nearest neighbour:
Scythris
sp. (BIN: BOLD:ADZ0118, 5.65%).
Remarks.
Male unknown. Based on COI maximum likelihood phylogeny, the South American taxa
Rhamphura subdimota
,
Rhamphura depressa
,
Rhamphura pozohondaensis
,
Rhamphura spiniuncus
,
Rhamphura angulisociella
,
Rhamphura tetrafasciella
, and
Rhamphura curvisociella
group together, associating next to the North American taxa classified in
Rhamphura
on BOLD (Suppl. material 2). Structurally these taxa are heterogeneous and the external characters, male and/or female genitalia show varying degrees of similarities to the North American
Rhamphura
, as diagnosed and illustrated in
Landry (1991)
. With regard to
Rhamphura tetrafasciella
, the structural differences are notable and we therefore took a conservative view and classified this taxon in
Rhamphura
(incertae sedis), highlighting the need for further research.