The first records on the genus Acalyptris from the Caribbean (Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae)
Author
Stonis, Jonas R.
Author
Remeikis, Andrius
text
Zootaxa
2015
4057
1
79
90
journal article
39306
10.11646/zootaxa.4057.1.4
f6d555e9-08f4-45e4-a3d1-2f9bfb455101
1175-5326
237924
ABFF8E12-3DCE-446E-9D0D-431F2772F807
Acalyptris nigrisignum
Remeikis & Stonis
,
sp. nov.
(
Figs 1–17
)
Type
material
.
Holotype
: ♂,
CURAÇAO
(formerly
the Netherlands
Antilles), Coral Specht,
3 km
E. Willem stad, Malaise trap in mesquite-acacia desert scrub near coast,
6–15.ii.1987
, W. E. Steiner & J. M. Swearinger, genitalia slide no. RA
614♂
(
USNM
).
Paratypes
:
7 ♂
, 4 ♀, same label data, genitalia slide nos RA
615♂
, RA616♀ (
USNM
).
FIGURES 2–13.
Acalyptris nigrisignum
Remeikis & Stonis
,
sp. nov.
2, moth, paratype; 3, 4, forewing, upper side; 5, hindwing, upper side; 6, forewing and hindwing, underside; 7, male genitalia, capsule, holotype, genitalia slide no. RA614; 8, same, juxta; 9, same, uncus and gnathos in glycerol; 10, 11, caudal part of genital capsule, holotype, genitalia slide no. RA614; 12, 13, same, phallus.
FIGURES 14–17.
Female genitalia of
Acalyptris nigrisignum
Remeikis & Stonis
,
sp. nov.
, paratype, genitalia slide no. RA616. 14, general view; 15, complex vaginal sclerite; 16, coils of ductus spermathecae and signa; 17, signa.
Diagnosis.
In male genitalia, the new species is distinguished from all known Neotropical
Acalyptris
except
A. bicornutus
(Davis, 1978)
by juxta with two spine-like processes. It differs from
A. bicornutus
by its distinctly asymmetrical juxta and the broadly triangular lobes of vinculum (not very slender and long as in
A. bicornutus
, see the pictorial key in
Fig. 34
). The male’s hindwing and underside of forewing are with peculiar androconia (see
Figs 5 and 6
) which, along with the genital characters, can be useful in the diagnostics of this new species.
Male
(
Figs 3–6
). Forewing length
1.8–1.9 mm
, wingspan
4.2–4.9 mm
. Head: palpi cream; frontal tuft dark grey-brown to fuscous comprising a few pale ochre piliform scale on frons; collar fuscous, formed by piliform scales; eye-cap cream; antenna as long as half of forewing; flagellum with ca. 34 segments, pale brown to grey on upper side (darker at basal part), brownish cream to cream on underside. Thorax, tegula and forewing glossy, golden cream, speckled with black to grey-brown scales (sometimes more dense on tegula and forewing base, sometime on apical part of forewing). Fascia absent; cilia golden cream; underside of forewing cream, with black to grey androconia covering large area in basal half (see
Fig. 6
). Hindwing with cilia glossy cream, with black androconia on both sides; on upper side androconia form a small irregular basal patch (see
Fig. 5
); on underside androconia mostly collected in two parallel lines along wing’s margins (see
Fig. 6
). Legs cream with grey to fuscous darkenings on upper side of foreleg, sometimes on midleg too. Abdomen greyish cream to pale brown on upper side, cream to yellowish cream on underside; anal tuft short, cream; anal plates large, triangular, cream.
Female
(
Fig. 2
). Forewing length
2.1–2.2 mm
, wingspan
4.7–4.9 mm
. Frontal tuft fuscous on vertex, beigeorange on frons or entirely beige-orange. Flagellum with ca. 30 segments, pale brown on upper side, brownish cream to cream on underside. Forewing more densely speckled with black to grey-brown scales than in males; no androconia. Apex of abdomen broad, truncate. Otherwise as male.
Male
genitalia
(
Figs 7–13
). Capsule longer (320 µm) than wide (200 µm). Vinculum with two triangular lateral (anterior) lobes (
Figs 7, 8
). Uncus large, slightly rounded, almost truncate (
Figs 10, 11
). Gnathos with large caudal process and very small central plate (
Fig. 9
). Valva very simple (
Fig. 7
), ca. 215–220 µm long, 44 µm broad at basal third which is the broadest part, without processes except short basal ones (
Fig. 7
); transverse bar of transtilla present (long and slender). Lateral apodeme very prominent (
Figs 7, 10, 11
). Phallus (
Figs 12, 13
) ca. 340–360 µm long, 90–100 µm wide, with five sinuous and straight spine-like apical carinae; vesica with four or five spine-like cornuti and large cathrema.
Female genitalia
(
Figs 14–17
). Total length ca. 640 µm. Apex of abdomen very broad, slightly rounded. Vestibulum very broad, with complex sclerite and two large and two small clusters of spines (
Fig. 15
). Corpus bursae elongate, with two very large reticulate signa (ca. 300 and 365 µm long) (
Figs 16, 17
). Ductus spermathecae with 4.5 unusually large coils (
Fig. 16
).
Bionomics.
All
type
series specimens were collected in February at Malaise trap in mesquite-acacia desert scrub near coast.
Distribution
. Known from
Curaçao
(formerly
the Netherlands
Antilles), about
40 km
from the coast of
Venezuela
(
Fig. 1
).
Etymology.
The species name is derived from Latin
nigra
(black) and
signum
(a sign/picture/trace) in reference to the small but distinctive and diagnostic basal spot of black androconia on the hindwing upper side.