Ozadelpha van Nieukerken

van Nieukerken, Erik J., Doorenweerd, Camiel, Nishida, Kenji & Snyers, Chris, 2016, New taxa, including three new genera show uniqueness of Neotropical Nepticulidae (Lepidoptera), ZooKeys 628, pp. 1-63 : 22-24

Taxon classification Animalia Lepidoptera Nepticulidae

Ozadelpha van Nieukerken gen. n.

Type species.

Ozadelpha conostegiae van Nieukerken & Nishida, sp. n. by present designation.

Differential diagnosis.

Ozadelpha is recognised by the collar with lamellar scales (as in Enteucha and Stigmella ), usually two fascia’s on forewing; forewing venation without closed cell, but usually a very long separate CuA. Male genitalia are characterised by separate vinculum and tegumen, large vinculum, bilobed uncus and V-shaped gnathos.

Description.

Adult (Figs 68, 69). Rather small nepticulid moths, forewing length 1.4-2.8 mm. Head with collar comprising lamellar scales, but piliform in Ozadelpha ovata . Antenna with 21-32 segments in male, 19 in female (no more data available). Forewing usually with two pale, often metallic fasciae, sometimes joined along dorsal margin. Hindwing in male sometimes with androconial scales on wing (in Ozadelpha guajavae and Ozadelpha ovata ) or a hairpencil near frenulum ( Ozadelpha conostegiae ). Venation (Figs 66, 67): R+Rs+M coalescent from base, kinked at junction of R, with 5 branches: R, Rs1+2, Rs3, Rs4 and M, CuA separate and long, approaching Rs+M (what looks like a cross-vein between CuA and Rs+M in Fig. 68 is probably an artefact), absent in the drawing of Ozadelpha guajavae ( Puplesis et al. 2002a); A thickened; Hindwing very narrow, with 2 veins only (Rs+M and CuA), Rs+M close to costa.

Male genitalia. (Figs 70-73). Vinculum lateral arms articulate with sides of tegumen; ventral plate expanded, not bilobed. Tegumen band shaped. Uncus variously bilobed. Gnathos an inverted V. Valva more or less triangular, transtilla with transverse bar present or weakly sclerotised, sublateral processes absent or short. Phallus relatively short, without distinct carinal processes; cathrema a normal striate thickening around base of ejaculatory duct, vesica with variable number of cornuti.

Female genitalia (Figs 74-79). T8 with or without row of setae; no setose anal papillae. Anterior apophyses often broadened, posterior apophyses usually narrow, straight, and longer than anterior ones. Vestibulum folded, more strongly staining in Chlorazol Black, with indistinct or no sclerotizations; corpus bursae asymmetric, curved; wall completely devoid of spines or pectinations or with a group of numerous, large, blunt pectinations as in Ozadelpha guajavae ( Remeikis et al. 2014). Ductus spermathecae with 1-3.5 convolutions.

Larva. Green, where known.

Biology.

Leafminers on Melastomataceae and Myrtaceae , both belonging to the order Myrtales . See also Remeikis et al. (2014).

Distribution.

Central and South America, known from Costa Rica, Ecuador and Argentina, probably widespread.

Composition.

We describe here one new species, Ozadelpha conostegiae , as type species, plus a second one from the same host that we do not name. Both Stigmella ovata Puplesis & Robinson, 2000 and Enteucha guajavae Puplesis & Diškus, 2002 share many characters with the type species: an almost identical venation (albeit without recognisable CuA in the drawing of Enteucha guajavae ) and very similar male genitalia. We therefore transfer both to this genus as Ozadelpha ovata (Puplesis & Robinson, 2000), comb. n. and Ozadelpha guajavae (Puplesis & Diškus, 2002), comb. n. It is possible that some species associated with the Myrtaceae genus Myrceugenia from Patagonia ( Nielsen 1985) belong here as well, although we observe some differences in the few specimens avail able to us. The Vilnius group is planning to revise this group of species (J.R. Stonis, personal communication).

Etymology.

Ozadelpha , a noun. The name is based on a combination of the Greek adelphe (αδελφη), meaning sister with the colloquial abbreviation “Oz” as often used for Australia. This to indicate the sister group relationship between Ozadelpha and the Australian clade with Roscidotoga Hoare, 2000, Pectinivalva Scoble, 1983, Menurella Hoare, 2013 and Casanovula Hoare, 2013. The name is to be treated as feminine.

Remarks.

The series reared from Conostegia that KN reared and sent via the Museo de Zoología, Universidad de Costa Rica, to EvN was at first considered to constitute a single species. We were only able to successfully amplify several genes from one large female (RMNH.INS.24680) that on closer inspection appeared to be different from the rest of the series, even though the differences externally are small, apart from the size. The position of the genus as sister of the Australian genera was strongly supported on the basis of this specimen; however, we do not name that by lack of a male specimen and life history data. The few genes that we did amplify from other specimens show that both species belong to the same clade, and thus the same genus. In fact, there are probably more species feeding on different species of Conostegia throughout its distribution area; just before finalising this manuscript, Kenji Nishida reared another species from another species of Conostegia .

In the morphology Ozadelpha shows similarities with both Stigmella , Enteucha and the Australian genera. The venation resembles Stigmella , but also Pectinivalva , apart for the thickened A in forewing. In our molecular phylogeny Ozadelpha always groups with the Australian genera, either as sister to all of them together, or as sister to Roscidotoga ( Doorenweerd et al. 2016). Where both Ozadelpha and Pectinivalva in the old sense feed on Myrtales , it is possible that the ancestral hosts were also Myrtales and that the ancestor was a rainforest inhabitant (Hoare and van Nieukerken 2013).