Acalyptris nigrisignum Remeikis & Stonis

Stonis, Jonas R. & Remeikis, Andrius, 2015, The first records on the genus Acalyptris from the Caribbean (Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae), Zootaxa 4057 (1), pp. 79-90 : 81-83

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4057.1.4

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:ABFF8E12-3DCE-446E-9D0D-431F2772F807

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6112026

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/15B70662-39F3-4C00-AFFD-E3676683B1CB

taxon LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:act:15B70662-39F3-4C00-AFFD-E3676683B1CB

treatment provided by

Plazi

scientific name

Acalyptris nigrisignum Remeikis & Stonis
status

sp. nov.

Acalyptris nigrisignum Remeikis & Stonis View in CoL , sp. nov.

( Figs 1–17 View FIGURE 1 View FIGURES 2 – 13 View FIGURES 14 – 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).

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 View FIGURE 34 ). The male’s hindwing and underside of forewing are with peculiar androconia (see Figs 5 and 6 View FIGURES 2 – 13 ) which, along with the genital characters, can be useful in the diagnostics of this new species.

Male ( Figs 3–6 View FIGURES 2 – 13 ). 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 View FIGURES 2 – 13 ). Hindwing with cilia glossy cream, with black androconia on both sides; on upper side androconia form a small irregular basal patch (see Fig. 5 View FIGURES 2 – 13 ); on underside androconia mostly collected in two parallel lines along wing’s margins (see Fig. 6 View FIGURES 2 – 13 ). 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 View FIGURES 2 – 13 ). 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 View FIGURES 2 – 13 ). Capsule longer (320 µm) than wide (200 µm). Vinculum with two triangular lateral (anterior) lobes ( Figs 7, 8 View FIGURES 2 – 13 ). Uncus large, slightly rounded, almost truncate ( Figs 10, 11 View FIGURES 2 – 13 ). Gnathos with large caudal process and very small central plate ( Fig. 9 View FIGURES 2 – 13 ). Valva very simple ( Fig. 7 View FIGURES 2 – 13 ), ca. 215–220 µm long, 44 µm broad at basal third which is the broadest part, without processes except short basal ones ( Fig. 7 View FIGURES 2 – 13 ); transverse bar of transtilla present (long and slender). Lateral apodeme very prominent ( Figs 7, 10, 11 View FIGURES 2 – 13 ). Phallus ( Figs 12, 13 View FIGURES 2 – 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 View FIGURES 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 View FIGURES 14 – 17 ). Corpus bursae elongate, with two very large reticulate signa (ca. 300 and 365 µm long) ( Figs 16, 17 View FIGURES 14 – 17 ). Ductus spermathecae with 4.5 unusually large coils ( Fig. 16 View FIGURES 14 – 17 ).

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 View FIGURE 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.

USNM

Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Lepidoptera

Family

Nepticulidae

Genus

Acalyptris

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