Megacraspedus lativalvellus Amsel, 1954

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 : 76-77

Megacraspedus lativalvellus Amsel, 1954

Megacraspedus lativalvellus Amsel, 1954: 54, fig. 4.

Examined material.

Holotype ♂, "MALTA SALINA 16.III.52. Coll. Delucca" “Type” "Gen. prep. Nr. 5092 ♂ O. Karsholt" (RCCDL). Paratype. 1 ♂, same data as holotype, but 31.iii.1952, genitalia slide 1850 Amsel (SMNK). Non-type material. Spain. 1 ♂, prov. Cadiz, 10 km NW Tarifa, Punta Paloma, 30.iii.-4.iv.1994, leg. H. van der Wolf, genitalia slide 5347 Karsholt (RCHW).

Redescription.

Adult. Male (Figure 59). Wingspan 14 mm. Segment 2 of labial palpus with scale brush about same length as segment 3, brown on outer and inner surface, white on lower and upper surface; segment 3 cream-white mottled with some brown. Antennal scape with pecten of 1-2 hairs, flagellum finely ciliate, brownish, indistinctly ringed lighter. Head, thorax and tegula cream coloured, mottled with light brown. Forewing light yellowish brown mottled with some greyish, especially in costal third and towards apex; veins and costa white; fringes grey. Hindwing grey with light grey fringes.

Female. Unknown.

Variation. Unknown.

Male genitalia (Figure 195). Uncus approximately 1.5 times longer than broad, with parallel lateral margins, apex shallow sinusoid; gnathos hook evenly slender, more than twice length of uncus, bent at right angles at about 2/5; tegumen with broad and shallow U-shaped anterior margin, anteromedially small additional emargination; pedunculi small, sub-triangular, posteriorly divided by sclerotised ridge; valva extend ing to middle of uncus, basally weakly inflated, digitate distal part weakly tapered to slightly pointed apex; sacculus absent; posterior margin of vinculum with distinct lateral hump, vincular sclerite broadly sub-triangular, without strongly sclerotised posterior margin; saccus sub-triangular, with pointed apex, short, ratio maximum width to length approximately 1.4, posterior margin with weakly sinusoid mediolateral humps, medial part smooth, without sclerotised ridge, lateral sclerites slightly shorter than maximum width of saccus; phallus with strongly inflated coecum, about three times wider than distal part, oblong sclerotisation in distal part with a short spine.

Female genitalia. Unknown.

Diagnosis.

Megacraspedus lativalvellus is similar overall to M. dolosellus and related species. It can be separated from these by the longer segment 3 of the labial palpus, and by having a pecten of one or a few hairs on the antennal scape. The male genitalia are easily recognized by the characteristic gnathos hook, only shared by a few other species such as M. leuca (Figure 237) from which they differ in several characters. Furthermore, the short and broad, smoothly sclerotised saccus, and the spine of the phallus are characteristic of M. lativalvellus .

Molecular data.

Not available, no suitable specimen was available for barcoding.

Distribution.

Malta and South Spain.

Biology.

Host plant and early stages are unknown. The few examined specimens were collected in March to early April at unreported altitudes.

Remarks.

Megacraspedus lativalvellus was described from three males collected in Malta in March 1952 by C. De Lucca (Amsel, 1954). The holotype and one paratype were kept in the collection of Carmello De Lucca. After his death in 1971 the collection stayed with the family and was not curated, with the result that it suffered much from attack by pest insects (P Sammut in litt.). With the help from Paul Sammut we were able to borrow these two type specimens, but only the pins and labels were left - apart from the tip of the abdomen of the holotype, from which an almost complete genitalia slide could be prepared, however, leaving the apex of the phallus broken. The second paratype in SMNK is in relatively good condition.

The type locality, Salina in northern Malter is now a nature reserve, and there is thus a possibility that M. lativalvellus is still present there.