Catatinagma kraterella Junnilainen & Nupponen

Junnilainen, Jari & Nupponen, Kari, 2010, The gelechiid fauna of the southern Ural Mountains, part I: descriptions of seventeen new species (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), Zootaxa 2366, pp. 1-34 : 6-8

Catatinagma kraterella Junnilainen & Nupponen sp. n.

Figs. 7–9

Type material. Holotype: 3 (Fig. 7): Russia, S-Ural, Orenburg district, 51°13’N 57°37’E, 350 m, Mednogorsk 20 km S, near Kidriasovo village, 29.V.1998, T. & K. Nupponen leg. ( TKN, to be deposited in ZMH). Genitalia slide: K. Nupponen prep. no. 1/ 30.IV.2006. Paratypes (31 3; Fig. 8): Russia, S Buryatia, 50º58–59’N 106º38–40’E, 550–600 m, Chikoy valley, Novoselenginsk village 10 km S, sand dunes/sandy steppe, 23.VI.2002 (6 3), 24.VI.2002 (4 3), 02.VI.2006 (11 3), 03.VI.2006 (10 3), K. Nupponen leg. ( TKN). Two genitalia preparations preserved in glycerol.

Other material studied. Catatinagma conchylidella (O. Hofmann, 1898) : Turkey, Aksehir 30 km SW, 1200 m, 06–07.V.1996 (16 3, 1 Ƥ), 19–20.V.1997 (4 3, 1 Ƥ), K. Nupponen & J. Junnilainen leg. ( TKN, JJ). Turkey: Konya 25 km E, 23.V.1997 (1 Ƥ), K. Nupponen & J. Junnilainen leg. ( JJ). Turkey, Aksehir 35 km SW, Cetince, 1200m, 09–13.V.2000 (3 3), J. Junnilainen leg. ( JJ). Genitalia slide: K. Nupponen prep. no. 4/ 20.XI.2008.

Diagnosis. Catatinagma kraterella sp. n. is placed in Catatinagma based on the extended frontal part of the head in the middle of which is a miniature crater-like structure. Externally this species is rather easy to separate from C. conchylidella by greyish and narrower forewings with a more indistinct pattern. The male genitalia of C. kraterella differ from those of C. conchylidella in many details, such as much slenderer and digitate valvae without apical setae, a longer tegumen, and the saccus being longer than wide (in conchylidella vice versa).

PLATE 2. Figures 7–9. Catatinagma kraterella Junnilainen & Nupponen sp. n. 7. Imago (holotype); 8. Imago (paratype, S Buryatia); 9. Male genitalia (holotype, slide KN 1/ 30.IV.2006). Figures 10–11. Catatinagma conchylidella (O. Hofmann, 1898) .10. Imago ( Turkey); 11. Male genitalia ( Turkey; slide KN 4/ 20.XI.2008).

Description. Wingspan 11–14 mm. Head, thorax and collar whitish, sparsely covered with brown-tipped scales. Extended frontal part of head with a miniature crater-like structure at middle. Labial palp almost straight, whitish, covered with brown-tipped scales; segment II 2x as long as white-tipped segment III. Haustellum longer than labial palp. Antenna whitish grey, ringed with brown; scape brown, pecten a brushlike row of 17–20 yellowish white hairscales. Forewing lanceolate; ground colour greyish white, sparsely sprinkled with brown-tipped scales, without distinct pattern; pale yellowish brown scales in fold form indistinct streak from base to subapical area; sometimes indistinct brown spot below fold at 0.4 from base. Fringe whitish, densely sprinkled with brown-tipped scales. Hindwing lanceolate, pale brown, outer margin of hindwing angled 90° inwards. Abdomen pale fuscous.

Male genitalia (Fig. 9). Uncus membranous, 1.5x longer than broad. Gnathos reduced. Tegumen subtriangular, as long as uncus and about twice as wide as long. Valva slender, digitate, as long as uncus and tegumen together, apex blunt. Sacculus distinctly separate from valva, 0.5x length of valva; basal half large and sparsely setose, distally slender and slightly curved. Vinculum basally membranous; distally two parallel, subrectangular, sclerotized processes. Saccus short, rectangular, longer than wide. Aedeagus more or less stout, 0.7 length of valva, gradually tapering towards blunt apex.

Female genitalia. Unknown.

Bionomy. The majority of type specimens came to artificial light just after dark. Some specimens were swept from low vegetation at dusk. The habitat in Southern Ural is a grassy steppe slope with open, gravelly patches, and in Southern Buryatia a sandy steppe.

Distribution. Russia (S Ural, S Buryatia).

Etymology. Gr. krater = crater. The species name alludes to a miniature crater-like structure located on the extended frontal part of the head.

Remarks. The external appearance and male genitalia of a closely related Catatinagma conchylidella (O. Hofmann, 1898) are illustrated here for comparison (Figs. 10–11). The description of C. conchylidella is based on a single female specimen deposited in the BMNH and collected from Central Turkey close to the locality where here illustrated C. conchylidella specimens originate. C. conchylidella has been reported from Transbaikalia by Bidzilya & Budashkin (1998), but this record probably refers to C. kraterella .