Megacraspedus tenuiuncus, 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 : 74-76

Megacraspedus tenuiuncus sp. n.

Examined material.

Holotype ♂, "Spain [prov.] Lerida Roni near Sort 7.vii.1993, 1000 m P. Skou" "GU 15/1402 ♂ P. Huemer" (ZMUC). Paratypes. France. 1 ♂, Dep. Pyrénées-Orientales, Les Queres, Angoustrine, 1410 m, 19.v.2004, leg. T. Varenne, gen italia slide 17979 Nel; 3 ♂, same data, but Les Fontêtes, 1500 m, 13.vii.2005, genitalia slide 19284 Nel (all RCTV). Spain. 1 ♂, same data as holotype, but 8.vii.1993, leg. P. Skou (ZMUC); 2 ♂, prov. Barcelona, Castellfollit de Riubregós, Bosc de Roters, 560 m, 14.vi.2012, leg. F. Vallhonrat & C. Coll, genitalia slide 2152 Requena and 26231 Nel (RCCR, RCJN); 1 ♂, prov. Barcelona, Castellfollit de Riubregós, Torrent del Magrà, 716 m, 15.vi.2012, leg. F. Vallhonrat & C. Coll (RCCR); 1 ♂, prov. Girona, La Molina, 1800 m, 23-26.vi.2004, leg. A. Blumberg, genitalia slide 5343 Karsholt (RCWS).

Description.

Adult. Male (Figure 58). Wingspan 13 mm. Segment 2 of labial palpus with scale brush about same length as segment 3, brown on outer surface, white mottled with brown on inner surface, white on upper surface; segment 3 rather short, white. Antennal scape without pecten; flagellum black. Head cream-white; thorax and tegula light brown, the latter with whitish tip. Forewing light greyish; costa white from base; fold and veins in apical part of wing whitish; an indistinct black dot in fold and a black dot at end of cell; termen with some blackish scales; fringes grey. Hindwing grey with concolourus fringes.

Female. Unknown.

Variation. The examined specimens show only slight variation.

Male genitalia (Figure 194). Uncus extraordinarily long and slender, about five times longer than broad, basally weakly widened, apex slighty pointed; gnathos hook bulky, with longitudinal grooves, straight, slightly longer and broader than uncus, apically strongly sclerotised, curved tip; anterior margin of tegumen with deep, U-shaped emargination, teguminal wall with two longitudinal ridges anteriorly, converging mediad; suboval pedunculi with small supplementing hump; valva straight, stout, extending to about middle of uncus, distorted apical part rounded; saccular area densely covered with setae, distally with short digitate sacculus; posterior margin of vinculum with deep U-shaped medial emargination, broadly rounded lateral humps, vincular sclerites elongated, posteriomedial edge strongly sclerotised; saccus sub-triangular, apically abruptly tapered, short, ratio maximum width to length approximately 1.1, posterior margin with pointed mediolateral projections, separated by moderately deep V-shaped incision, medial part with strongly sclerotised longitudinal ridge extending to anterior part of saccus, with weakly forked anterior end, lateral sclerites about three-quarters length of maximum width of saccus; phallus with weakly inflated coecum, about twice width of digitate distal four-fifths, distomedial part curved, with small spines ventrally, ductus ejucalatorius with contorted linear interior sclerotisation.

Female genitalia. Unknown.

Diagnosis.

Megacraspedus tenuiuncus sp. n. is characterised by its black antennae, and by its light greyish forewings with two black dots. It is similar to M. lanceolellus (Figs 7-16), but that species has ringed antennae, and less distinct black dots on the forewing. The male genitalia of M. tenuiuncus sp. n. are unmistakable and in particular the extremely long and slender uncus is unique in Megacraspedus . It furthermore differs from most other species of the M. pusillus species group by the presence of a short sacculus.

Molecular data.

BIN BOLD:ADF1915 (n = 1). The distance to the nearest neighbour M. heckfordi sp. n. is 7.7% (p-dist).

Distribution.

France ( Pyrénées), Northern Spain.

Biology.

Host plant and early stages are unknown. The adults have been collected from the middle of June to early July at altitudes from 560 m to 1800 m.

Etymology.

The species name is a compound word derived from the Latin words tenuis (meaning small) and uncus, referring to the slender uncus. The name is a noun in apposition.