Scythris atollicola Nupponen, Saldaitis & Fischer

Nupponen, Kari & Saldaitis, Aidas, 2013, Recent records of scythridids from the islands of Socotra and Maldives in the Indian Ocean, with descriptions of two new species (Lepidoptera: Gelechioidea, Scythrididae), Zootaxa 3626 (2), pp. 288-294 : 291-292

Scythris atollicola Nupponen, Saldaitis & Fischer sp. nov.

( Figs. 1–3 )

Type material. Holotype: 3 ( Fig. 1 ), Maldives, Meemu Atoll, Kureli Island, N 2° 46’ 49”, E 73° 22’ 24”, 15.- 16.XII.2011, H. & S. Fischer, A. & R. Saldaitis leg. (deposited in coll. T. & K. Nupponen, ZMH); (Slide No. KN 1/ 6.II.2012)

Description. Wingspan 10.5 mm. Head, collar, scape, neck tuft and thorax pale brown mixed with creamcoloured. Haustellum base cream-coloured. Labial palp cream, outer surface mixed with pale brown. Antenna 0.75 × length of forewing. Legs cream white, upper surface of forelegs brown and that of mid- and hind legs mixed with pale brown. Abdomen dorsally fuscous, ventrally white. Forewing rather mottled, basically pale brown – reddish brown; fold from base to cell end widely cream white, cut by dark brown spots subbasally, at 0.35, 0.55 and 0.7; dorsal margin medially mixed with fuscous; scattered cream white scales exist basally at dorsum, at terminal half of costa and in apical area. Fringe pale brown. Hindwing fuscous.

Male genitalia ( Figs. 2–3 ). Uncus broad, bifurcate, each prong with large posterolateral process. Gnathos base laterally swollen; distal arm of gnathos moderately thin, bent downwards, subapically tapered, tip pointed. Valvae slightly asymmetrical and bent; basal half of even width, distal half ventrally extended, apex elongate and blunt; apical third ventrally with a well-defined and bristled oval area; a narrow longitudinal median fold from subbasal area to 0.55; right valva distally little broader than left one. Phallus 0.7 × length of valva, sinuate, distal half thinner than basal one, apex bent and not cleft. Sternum VIII subpentagonal, terminally elongated, terminal quarter of even width, apex shallowly cleft; anterior margin deeply concave; at middle a sclerotized transverse reinforcement. Tergum VIII asymmetrical, basically quadrangular but one anterolateral corner reduced; anterior margin deeply incised. The female is yet unknown.

Diagnosis. Scythris atollicola sp. nov. is closely related to Scythris fissurella Bengtsson, 1996 based on morphology. The two taxa are readily distinguished from each other by several details of colouration and male genitalia. Externally S. atollicola is much darker brown and mottled, while S. fissurella is basically cream or beige with an indistinct pattern. In the male genitalia of S. atollicola , the phallus is distally not cleft, prongs and lateral processes of the uncus are broader, and tergum VIII is asymmetrical. The adult and the male genitalia of S. fissurella are illustrated by Bengtsson (1996). See also remarks below.

Bionomics and distribution. A single male specimen was attracted by artificial light in mid-December. The new species was collected in Meemu Atoll, Kureli Island ( Fig. 9 ) located in the southern part of Maldives Archipelago. Kureli Island is a small uninhabited island densely covered by coconut palms, different kinds of shrubs and bushes and virgin mangroves forest on the coast line. Scythris atollicola is hitherto endemic to Maldives. The early stages remain unknown.

Etymology. The species name refers to the habitat, the atoll in the southern Archipelago of the Maldives.

Remarks. Scythris atollicola is likely endemic to the Maldives, while a closely related S. fissurella is a Saharo–Sindian species, being widely distributed in Old World tropical and subtropical zones, from Sudan eastwards to Afghanistan. To our knowledge, S. atollicola is the only species of the family Scythrididae known from the Maldives.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Bengt Å. Bengtsson (Färjestaden, Sweden) for valuable comments on the present material; Lauri Kaila (Helsinki, Finland), Kimmo Silvonen (Espoo, Finland) and Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki for their help in processing the photographs. The authors are very thankful to Mr. Mohmmed Amer, Mr. Ahmed Saeid Suliman, Mr. Salem Dahag Ali and Mr. Fouad Naseeb Saeed Khamees (SCDP, Hadibo, Socotra, Yemen) for helping to make the Aidas Saldaitis expeditions to Socotra possible and to Mrs. Rasa Saldaitiene (Vilnius, Lithuania), Mrs. Svetlana Fischer, Mr. Heinz Fischer (Rottach, Germany) and Mr. Marius Butkevicius (Vilnius, Lithuania) for their companionship and unwavering enthusiasm and patience during those expeditions.

Fig. 1 . Imago, S. atollicola, male, holotype, Maldives, Meemu Atoll (coll. T. & K. Nupponen, ZMH); Fig. 2 . Male genitalia of S. atollicola, holotype, prep. KN 1/ 6.II. 2012;

Fig. 3 . Sternum VIII (left) and tergum VIII (right) of S. atollicola , holotype, prep. KN 1/ 6.II.2012; Fig. 4 . Imago, S. digitibasella , male, holotype, Socotra, Wadi Difarroha (coll. T. & K. Nupponen, ZMH); Fig. 5 . Imago, S. digitibasella , male, paratype, Socotra, Wadi Ayheft (coll. T. & K. Nupponen, ZMH); Fig. 6 . Male genitalia of S. digitibasella , holotype, prep. KN 1/ 24.II.2012;

Fig. 7 . Sternum VIII (left) and tergum VIII (right) of S. digitibasella , holotype, prep. KN 1/ 24.II.2012; Fig. 8 . Imago, S. neurogramma , male, Socotra, Wadi Ayheft (coll. T. & K. Nupponen, ZMH); Fig. 9 . Imago, C. kebirella , male, Socotra, Wadi Ayheft (coll. T. & K. Nupponen, ZMH);

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 9. Scythris ssp., imagos and genitalia.