Tinissa Walker, 1864

Yang, Linlin & Li, Houhun, 2012, Review of the genus Tinissa Walker, 1864 (Lepidoptera, Tineidae, Scardiinae) from China, with description of five new species, ZooKeys 228, pp. 1-20 : 2-6

Tinissa Walker, 1864

Tinissa Walker, 1864: 780. Type-species: Tinissa torvella Walker, 1864: 780, by monotypy.

Polymnestra Meyrick, 1927: 331. Type species: Polymnestra perilithas Meyrick, 1927: 331, by monotypy. [Synonymized by Gozmány and Vári 1973: 85.]

Generic characters.

Medium to large tineid moths.

Head (Figs 2−3): Vertex and frons white of various shade, usually mixed with grayish brown scales (Fig. 2a). Compound eye large (Fig. 3a). Antenna about 0.5 × length of forewing; scape with pecten more than 10 bristles; flagellum with elongate cilia (Fig. 3b). Labial palpus segmental ratio 1:2:2 (Fig. 3c), second segment with a few bristles and dense tuft, third segment upturned to about 60° (Fig. 2b). Maxillary palpus (Fig. 3d) with three to five segments.

Forewing (Figs 4−5): Index 0.25−0.30, somewhat rectangular, with termen slightly concave inward, or lanceovate, with termen obliquely blunt; color brown in general, with a purplish sheen, with scattered white dots (Fig. 4a); M absent or with weak trace in cell, R5 to costa or apex or just on to termen (R5 to costa near apex in all the seven Chinese species), R4 and R5 separate, stalked or completely fused (Fig. 5); with elongate oval patch of small, flat, ovate scales on ventral surface between A1+2 and dorsum (Fig. 4b). Hindwing (Figs 4−5) index 0.3−0.35, costa with distal half slightly concave; grayish brown, shining purplish; with a patch of rough, pale scales opposite forewing patch, anterior to Sc+R1 (Fig. 4c); all veins present (Fig. 5), M stem usually present, branched or not, weak or conspicuous. Male frenulum with one slender bristle, female frenulum with two or three bristles (female frenulum with two bristles in all Chinese species). Legs yellowish white to white; mid tibia usually with a brown spot at base and two oblique brown bands on outer surface; hind leg elongate, tibia bearing large tufts of erect scales at apex.

Abdomen (Fig. 6): Second sternite elongate, twice length of other sternites, with sclerotized eyepatch-shaped trace on anterior half, with small tuft of forward-directed setae medially (Fig. 6a); corema present or absent in eighth segment in male, eighth sternite with (Fig. 6b) or without (Fig. 6c) processes; corethrogyne present or absent in seventh segment in female. Male genitalia (Fig. 7) with tegumen and gnathos absent; uncus bilobate, being a pair of lobes of highly interspecific diversity attached to vinculum by membrane or fused with vinculum; subscaphium elongate and conspicuous, diagnostic at species level; saccus broad and triangular, or slightly narrow and rodlike; juxta large, closely appressed to valva, diversely modified; valva usually short and conical; a pair of variously shaped processes arising from membrane between valva and juxta; labides present, dorsal to aedeagus, usually a pair of lobes, sometimes fused. Aedeagus of various shape and size, with or without carina, cornuti absent. Female genitalia with variously shaped eighth sternite, usually ventrally protuberant; ostium similarly diverse; antrum usuallypresent, often divided by a narrow, oblique membranous ring at point of junction with ductus seminalis; ductus bursae usually with transverse, regular constrictions. Corpus bursae with or without signum.

Diagnosis.

Members of Tinissa are medium to large sized robust tineid moths that can be easily recognized by having an elongate, brown-colored forewing with purple sheen and patterned with faint white dots; the hind legs are elongate and bear large tufts of erect scales at tibia apex; the male genitalia are characterized by the bilobate uncus, and the enlarged juxta being a pair of processes, forming a complex with the valva. Tinissa shares the above characters with Leptozancla , but differs from Leptozancla by the antenna about 0.5 × length of forewing, the forewing with elongate oval patch of small, flat, ovate scales, the hindwing with patch of rough, pale scales opposite to the forewing patch; the male genitalia with reduced valva, and the labides present as a pair of lobes. In Leptozancla , the antenna is as long as the forewing, the forewing lacks the ovate patch, the hindwing lacks the patch opposite to the forewing patch, the valva is absent, the labides are present as elongate, posteriorly directed spines in the male genitalia.

Biology.

One species was reared from fungus on bamboo ( Robinson 1976).

Distribution.

Afrotropical, Oriental and Australian regions, as far east as the Solomon Islands, and as far south as Queensland ( Robinson 1986).

Remarks.

Robinson (1976) described that the maxillary palpus has three or five segments. Our whole body dissection of Tinissa indica shows that the maxillary palpus has four segments in this species (Fig. 3d).