Sphaleroptera orientana meridionalis, Timossi & Ruzzier, 2023

Timossi, Giovanni & Ruzzier, Enrico, 2023, Description of Sphaleroptera orientana meridionalis subs. n. (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae: Cnephasiini) from the Pale di San Martino Mountain plateau (Dolomites, NE Italy), Zootaxa 5249 (1), pp. 1-11 : 2-8

Sphaleroptera orientana meridionalis ssp. nov.

Type material. Holotype: adult ♁, Italy, Trento , PPPSM, Rifugio Pedrotti 46.2679 11.8409, 2581 m; 20.VIII.2019: legit Timossi G.; genitalia slide number 1730. Day fly.

Paratype: adult ♀, Italy, Trento , PPPSM, Rifugio Pedrotti, 46.2679 N, 11.8409 E, 2581 m; 20.VIII.2019: legit Timossi G.; genitalia slide number 1950. Attracted to UV lights .

Description. Adult ♁ ( Fig. 1–2 ). Head: frons and palpi dark grey with few scales with light grey ends, black antennae with little white innellation; legs black with few light grey scales, tarsi with white rings, spurs light grey. Abdomen grey. Forewing: wingspan 16.8 mm, ground colour grey with few light grey, black and yellow scales. Forewing pattern (see Razowski 2002, page 9, fig. 6, 8): basal blotch and median fascia slate gray edged in black, subapical blotch and apical area confluent slate grey, fringe grey. Hindwing grey.

Male genitalia: elongated uncus ( Fig. 3A ), broad and elongated socius, slightly sclerotic gnathos, narrow tegumen, elongated pedunculus. Valva very broad basally, with a short terminal part (Fog. 3B); sacculus bilobed. Vinculum large; juxta pentagonal, with one incision at the posterior margin. Aedeagus sclerotized, gun-shaped ( Fig. 3C ), with protruding apical process bent at the distal end and passing through the stem: aedeagus is 116.604 µm: the length is taken following the indications of Whitebread (2006).

Adult ♀ ( Fig. 4–5 ). Head: frons light grey, second segment of the palps dark grey externally for half length, third segment slate grey, black antennae with white bands; prothoracic and mesothoracic legs with tarsus and tibia light grey, tarsi black with white rings, metathoracic legs light grey. Abdomen grey with light bands. Forewing: wingspan 14.4 mm, ground colour light grey, post basal fascia and median fascia dark grey, fringe dark and light grey. Hindwing white.

Female genitalia: ( Fig. 6 ) ovipositor telescopic, short. Papillae anales flat, hairy; posterior apophyses about twice the anterior; Strongly sclerotic antrum, asymmetrical V-shaped, tubular, and slightly flared at the end, incised and with a cap-shaped protrusion; ductus burse short, ductus seminalis very close to the extremity of the antrum. Bursa about as long as the antrum without signum.

DNA barcoding and phylogenetic analysis. The DNA barcoding resulted in a sequence of 630 bp deposited in GenBank as Sphaleroptera sp. (ON721387).

The phylogenetic reconstruction, inclusive of Sphaleroptera dentana as outgroup, resulted in the consensus tree shown in Fig. 7 . The topology of the whole tree is highly supported with Sphaleroptera orientana meridionalis forming a separate lineage in the respect of the orientana-suborientana cluster (bootstrap = 71%).

Both S. orientana orientana and S. orientana meridionalis , both with specimens from two different localities, show very low intraspecific variability with a genetic distance of 0.2% and 0.1% respectively. Sphaleroptera orientana meridionalis is equally divergent from the previously mentioned taxa, with a genetic distance of ~1.1%. Genetic distances among the three subspecies are summarised in Table 1 .

Diagnosis. The new ssp. resembles S. orientana suborientana both in external appearance as well as in the male genitalia. Sphaleroptera orientana meridionalis in comparison with Sphaleroptera orientana suborientana is distinguished by the darker grey background colour of forewing, which bear a few grey–white scales, the darker palps, head, femurs and tarsi. In the male of S. orientana meridionalis the uncus is more elongated and the phallus is longer than that of S. o. orientana and S. o. suborientana (see Whitebread 2006 for comparison). The female of S. o. meridionalis is similar in the general appearance to that of S. o. orientana , but it can be clearly separated by the latter on the base of genitalia morphology: in Sphaleroptera orientana orientana the antrum is rounded, Ushaped ( Fig. 8A–B ) while in S. orientana meridionalis is markedly asymmetrical V-shaped ( Fig. 6 , 8C ). Moreover, the antrum of new subspecies is narrowed and incised at its proximal end, a unique feature when compared to the other Sphaleroptera species (see Whitebread 2006, figure 8, pag. 191). The female of S. o. suborientana remains unknown.

Etymology. The new subspecies has the southernmost distribution among those known, hence the name meridionalis.

Biology. Unknown. One generation observed. In the available literature ( Razowski 2002, Whitebread 2006) Sphaleroptera are described as diurnal, but during the research the female of S. o. meridionalis was collected at night in the proximity of the light trap.

Habitat. Habitats are rock formations on a karst limestone plateau with sparse vegetation at elevations of about 2500 m cod. 8120: Calcareous and calcschist screes of the montane to alpine levels (Thlaspietea rotundifolii, cod. 8210: Calcareous rocky slopes with chasmophytic vegetation) ( Fig. 9 ).

Conservation notes. The locus typicus of Sphaleroptera orientana meridionalis is in the proximity of the Pedrotti refuge and close to the arrival station of the cable car connecting the area with San Martino di Castrozza (Trento Province, Trentino Alto Adige). Especially during summer, the whole area is subject to a significant influx of tourists, often associated with cultural and sporting events. Fortunately, the disturbance caused by tourists is still quite limited and localised above all thanks to the important extension of the plateau and the total lack of structures, with the exception of the refuge, which limit the usability of the environment. However, it cannot be excluded that an increase in the tourist load, combined with a reckless use of the area for recreational purposes, could threaten the survival of S. orientana meridionalis and other species present in the area, many of which are endemic. On the other hand, the global rise in temperatures may constitute a serious threat for this taxon which has a very low dispersal capacity due to the brachypterous females.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Sphaleroptera orientana meridionalis sp. nov. holotype, male, dorsal habitus.

FIGURE 2. Sphaleroptera orientana meridionalis sp. nov. holotype, labial palpus.

FIGURE 3. Sphaleroptera orientana meridionalis sp. nov. holotype, male, genitalia slide number 1730.A) uncus; B) valva; C) aedeagus in lateral view; length 116.6 µm (blue line).

FIGURE 4. Sphaleroptera orientana meridionalis sp. nov. paratype, female, dorsal view.

FIGURE 5. Sphaleroptera orientana meridionalis sp. nov. paratype, labial palpus.

FIGURE 6. Sphaleroptera orientana meridionalis sp. nov. paratype, female genitalia (slide number 1952).

FIGURE 7. Maximum Likelihood tree of Sphaleroptera orientana.

FIGURE 8. Comparison table of Sphaleroptera orientana female genitalia: A-B. Sphaleroptera orientana orientana from Austria (Whitebread, 2006; modified); C. Sphaleroptera orientana meridionalis sp. nov.

FIGURE 9. Pale di San Martino plateau, locus typicus of Sphaleroptera orientana meridionalis sp. nov.