Megacraspedus kazakhstanicus, Huemer, Peter & Karsholt, Ole, 2018

Huemer, Peter & Karsholt, Ole, 2018, Revision of the genus Megacraspedus Zeller, 1839, a challenging taxonomic tightrope of species delimitation (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae), ZooKeys 800, pp. 1-278 : 114-115

Megacraspedus kazakhstanicus sp. n.

Examined material.

Holotype ♂, "SW-KAZAKHSTAN 43°48'45"N 53°31'29"E Sengirkum sand, 70 m Terekurpa well 27.5.2011, K. Nupponen leg." "DNA Barcode TLMF Lep 23657" "GU 17/1496 ♂ P. Huemer" (RCKN).

Description.

Adult. Male (Figure 93). Wingspan 16 mm. Labial palpus long, about one-third length of antenna, porrect, white with medial part of outer surface dark brown; segment 3 reduced. Antennal scape with pecten consisting of 5 hairs; flagellum white. Head, thorax and tegula cream-white. Forewing light yellow mottled with brownish and black scales especially in costal and apical part; veins pure white; fringes whitish grey. Hindwing white with white fringes.

Female. Unknown.

Variation. Unknown.

Male genitalia (Figure 221). Uncus moderately broad, sub-rectangular, approximately 1.3 times longer than wide, apical corners distinctly rounded, apical edge weakly convex; gnathos hook massive, stout, slightly longer than uncus, medially curved at right angles, distal half projected to pointed apex; anterior margin of tegumen with broad and moderately shallow excavation, medially with additional small emargination, longitudinal sclerotised ridge from anterior edge to posterior third; pedunculi small, rounded, transverse sclerite; valva moderately slender, extending to about middle of uncus, apex slightly swollen, weakly rounded, setose; saccular area covered with setae, without separated sacculus; posterior margin of vinculum with shallow medial emargination, without demarcated lateral humps, sub-rectangular vincular sclerite with strongly sclerotised sub-posterior edge; saccus sub-triangular, with concave outer edge, basally broad, distally strongly tapered to pointed apex, ratio maximum width to length approximately 0.7, posterior margin arched, with weakly sinusoid mediolateral projections, separated by shallow emargination, medial part smooth, without sclerotised ridge, lateral sclerites long and slender, nearly same length as maximum width of saccus; phallus straight, with bulbous coecum, distal three-quarters slender, medially with group of about 8-9 small spinules, distally with rod-like sclerotisation with few minute subapical thorns, apex broadly rounded.

Female genitalia. Unknown.

Diagnosis.

Megacraspedus kazakhstanicus sp. n. is characterised by its light yellow, brownish, and blackish dusted forewings with pure white veins, giving it a striped look. It is very similar to M. albovenata (Figs 81-82), but can probably be separated by the white antenna having a pecten of five hairs on the scape. The male genitalia are similar to other species of the M. fallax species group, but differ in characters such as the distinctly broader and shorter uncus.

Molecular data.

BIN BOLD:ADJ1190 (n = 1). The distance to the nearest neighbour M. albovenata is 5.1% (p-dist).

Distribution.

South-western Kazakhstan.

Biology.

Host plant and early stages are unknown. The holotype was collected in late May in a sandy area at a low altitude of 70 m.

Etymology.

This species is named after its place of occurrence: the republic of Kazakhstan in Central Asia. The name is a masculine adjective.