Acalyptris solaris Remeikis & Stonis, 2018

Stonis, Jonas R. & Remeikis, Andrius, 2018, Odd species of Nepticulidae (Lepidoptera) from the American rainforest and southern Andes, Zootaxa 4392 (3), pp. 458-468 : 462-464

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4392.3.2

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:C643ABBB-2CB9-4AB8-B96C-18D3BCF7384E

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5963612

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/370B6815-E0B8-4465-9BA1-7082E0A4E218

taxon LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:act:370B6815-E0B8-4465-9BA1-7082E0A4E218

treatment provided by

Plazi

scientific name

Acalyptris solaris Remeikis & Stonis
status

sp. nov.

Acalyptris solaris Remeikis & Stonis , sp. nov.

( Figs 18–30 View FIGURES 18–21 View FIGURES 22–30 )

Type material. Holotype: ♂, VENEZUELA, Estado Amazonas (Territorio Federal de Amazonas), Cerro de la Neblina, Basecamp, Malaise trap in rainforest, elevation ca. 140 m, 0°50'N, 66°10'W, 10–20.ii.1985, P. J. & P. M. Spangler, R. A. Faitoute and W. E. Steiner, genitalia slide no. RA 659 ♂ ( USNM).

Diagnosis. The combination of a small white frontal tuft on silvery shiny head, silvery shiny forewing, large rounded pseuduncus and two distinctive carinae in the male genitalia distinguishes A. solaris sp. nov. from all currently known nepticulid species, including all Acalyptris (also see Remarks).

Male ( Figs 18–21 View FIGURES 18–21 ). Forewing length 2.1 mm; wingspan 4.6 mm. Head: palpi silvery shiny; face large, smoothly scaled, silvery shiny; frontal tuft small, entirely white; collar comprised of piliform scales, grey-white; scape silvery shiny to grey silver (depending on an angle of view), distally and posteriorly grey; length of antenna and number of segments unknown (both antennae of the holotype specimen broken distally); flagellum dark grey to fuscous on upper side, pale grey on underside. Thorax, tegula and forewing dark silvery shiny with blue iridescence; forewing with subapical fascia comprised of fuscous scales; fringe dark grey, apically with some overlapping silvery shiny scales; underside of forewing fuscous, except two elongated basal spots which remain glossy cream. Hindwing with pale brown flagellum and fuscous bristles along costa, dark grey on upper side and underside, without spots or androconia; fringe dark grey. Legs pale brown on underside, darkened with fuscous scales on upper side; hindleg with five strong bristles and two sets of spurs. Abdomen fuscous on upper side, dark grey on underside; anal tufts very short, pale brown; genital plates grey.

Female. Unknown.

Male genitalia ( Figs 22–30 View FIGURES 22–30 ). Capsule about 300 µm long, 150 µm wide. Pseuduncus widely rounded, with long chaetae ( Figs 22, 24 View FIGURES 22–30 ). Uncus and gnathos overlapping ( Figs 22, 24 View FIGURES 22–30 ), each with short caudal process ( Figs 25, 26 View FIGURES 22–30 ). Valva ( Fig. 23 View FIGURES 22–30 ) 135–140 µm long, basally 50–55 µm wide, without processes. Juxta inverted V-shaped ( Fig. 28 View FIGURES 22–30 ). Vinculum with long lateral lobes ( Fig. 22 View FIGURES 22–30 ). Lateral apodeme ( Fig. 28 View FIGURES 22–30 ) distinctive. Phallus 300 µm long, 50–75 µm wide, with two distinctive ventral carinae ( Fig. 30 View FIGURES 22–30 ); vesica with some small spine-like cornuti.

Bionomics. Host plant: Unknown. Adults fly in February.

Distribution. This species is known from the Cerro de la Neblina, Amazon Basin, on the Venezuela-Brazil border (at an elevation about 140 m).

Etymology. The species name is derived from Latin solaris (solar) in reference to the widely rounded, setose pseuduncus in the male genitalia.

Remarks. This species is placed in Acalyptris Meyrick because the morphology of the male genitalia and the forewing venation match with the current Acalyptris concept. On the another hand, the shiny forewing and particularly the shiny head with a very short, Opostegidae-looking, frontal tuft make this species very unusual and odd.

USNM

Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Lepidoptera

Family

Nepticulidae

Genus

Acalyptris

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