Stigmella damocles Remeikis, 2020

Stonis, Jonas R., Remeikis, Andrius, Diškus, Arūnas & Navickaitė, Asta, 2020, Documenting new and little known leaf-mining Nepticulidae from middle and southwestern areas of the Asian continent, Zootaxa 4881 (3), pp. 401-452 : 407-408

Stigmella damocles Remeikis , sp. nov.

( Figs 35–37, 103–108)

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:2167AC23-7E27-4750-BB6B-9770F4EA76DB

Type material. Holotype: ♂, Turkmenistan, western Kopet Dag range, 40 km E Garrygala (Kara Kala), 21.v.1993, R. Puplesis and A. Diškus, genitalia slide no. AN459 ( ZIN).

Diagnosis. Belongs to the Stigmella sanguisorbae group. Externally, this new species can be confused with many other, similarly speckled nepticulid species with an ill-defined fascia of the forewing. In the male genitalia, the combination of long, slender lobes of the vinculum ( Fig. 108) and absence of cornuti in the phallus distinguishes S. damocles sp. nov. from all known species of the S. sanguisorbae group.

Male ( Figs 35–37). Forewing length 2.3 mm; wingspan 5.1 mm (n = 1).

Head. Frons, palpi and pecten grey cream; frontal tuft brown-grey, collar and scape white cream; flagellum cream.

Thorax. Tegula and thorax covered with dark brown scales. Forewing greyish cream, irregularly speckled with brown, ochre-glossy scales; fascia wide, ill-defined, greyish cream; fringe cream; forewing underside grey cream, without spots or androconia. Hindwing and fringe grey cream on upper side and underside, without androconia. Legs greyish cream.

Abdomen. Colour of scaling unknown. Genitalia ( Figs 103–108) with capsule 240 µm long, 130 µm wide. Vin- culum with very long and slender lateral lobes ( Figs 103, 108). Uncus with small triangular lobes ( Fig. 103). Gna- thos with two slender, apically pointed caudal processes ( Figs 107, 108). Valva ( Fig. 105) about 130 µm long, with a slender apical process; inner lobe of valva rounded and ribbed ( Fig. 105). Transtilla with short, triangular, distally pointed sublateral processes ( Figs 103, 108). Phallus ( Figs 104, 106) about 175 µm long, vesica without cornuti.

Female. Unknown.

Bionomics. Adults occur in late May. Otherwise, biology is unknown.

Distribution. Known from a single locality in the western Kopet Dag Range, Turkmenistan, Garrygala, at the elevation of about 800 m ( Fig. 1: Ko).

Etymology. The species is named after Damocles, a character in the story “The Sword of Damocles”, in reference to the unusually long and pointed, sword-like lateral lobes of vinculum, also distinctly pointed and slender processes of valva and gnathos in the male genitalia.