Megacraspedus multispinella Junnilainen & Nupponen, 2010

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 : 126-128

Megacraspedus multispinella Junnilainen & Nupponen, 2010

Megacraspedus multispinella Junnilainen& Nupponen, 2010: 11, figs 19, 26.

Examined material.

Holotype ♂, "RUSSIA S-Ural Bashkiria Sakmara river Jantyshevo village 20.-21.6.1996 K. Nupponen, J.-P. Kaitila, J. Junnilainn & M. Ahola" "Prep. no. 03022406 ♂ Det. J. Junnilainen" "Megacraspedus aholai sp. n. ♂ Det. J. Junnilainen" "HOLOTYPE Megacraspedus aholai Junnilainen" "DNA sample KN00022 Lepid. Phyl." (RCKN). Paratype. Russia. ♂, S-Ural, Cheliabinsk distr., near Moskovo vill., 18.vi.1998, leg. T. & K. Nupponen (RCKN). Non-type material. Russia. 19 ♂, 6 ♀, Tuva rep., 52°04'N, 94°22'E, Ust-Uljuk, steppe hills, 670 m, 3-5.vi.1995, leg. J. Jalava & J. Kullberg, genitalia slides GU 16/1418 ♂ Huemer, GU 16/1419 ♀ Huemer, genitalia prep. (in glycerin) (MZH); 1 ♀, Tuva rep., 51°43'N, 94°27'E, Kyzyl, Nanophyton steppe, 700 m, 5-6.vi.1995, leg. J. Jalava & J. Kullberg (MZH).

Redescription.

Adult. Male (Figure 103). Wingspan 14-15 mm. Segment 2 of labial palpus with sub-rectangular scale brush longer than segment 3, blackish, white on upper surface; segment 3 half as long as segment 2, white mottled with black. Antennal scape with pecten of several hairs; flagellum light brown, indistinctly ringed with black. Head, thorax and tegula whitish grey mottled with blackish brown. Forewing whitish grey mottled with brown- or blackish-tipped scales, especially along apical margins; black spots in fold and at 2/3 and 3/4 in middle of wing; fringes whitish grey with two grey fringe lines. Hindwing light grey with concolorous fringes.

Female (Figure 104). Wingspan 10-11 mm. Labial palpus whitish mottled with some blackish brown on lower, outer and inner surfaces. Antenna with flagellum ringed white and light brown. Head, thorax, and tegula cream-white. Forewing ellipsoid with pointed apex, whitish mottled with some darker scales especially along apical margins; fold light yellowish; a black spot at end of cell. Hindwing nearly lanceolate. Fringes on both wings reduced.

Variation. There is a slight variation in the intensity of dark scales on the forewing.

Male genitalia (Figure 231). Uncus large, sub-square, apical edge evenly rounded; gnathos hook evenly slender, apically pointed, almost twice length of uncus, bent at right angles at about one-quarter; anterior margin of tegumen with broad and shallow U-shaped emargination, anteromedially small additional emargination; pedunculi moderately small, suboval; valva stout, extending slightly beyond base of uncus, basally weakly inflated, broadly digitate distal part weakly tapered to slightly pointed apex; saccular area densely covered with setae, without separated sacculus; posterior margin of vinculum with U-shaped medial emargination, without distinct lateral humps, vincular sclerite elongated, digitate, with sclerotised posterior edge; saccus large, slightly shorter than valva, basally broad, distally evenly tapered with broadly rounded apex, ratio maximum width to length about 1, posterior margin with rounded shallow projections, separated by small incision, medial part with long sclerotised ridge from posterior margin to subapical area of saccus, lateral sclerites almost length of maximum width of saccus, with massively bulged apex; phallus with distinctly inflated coecum, about two times wider than distal part, distal three-quarters digitate, slightly swollen subapically, with tapered apex, medial part with numerous small teeth.

Female genitalia (Figure 290). Papilla analis weakly sclerotised, large, apically rounded; apophysis posterior slender rod-like, short, approximately 1.1 mm long, posterior end with small sclerotised zone; segment VIII short, approximately 0.4 mm long, large sclerotised dorso- and ventrolateral zone, medially largely membranous, covered with microtrichia; subgenital plate with sub-triangular subostial sclerotisation, posteriorly extended into very short, distally pointed sub-medial sclerites, anteriorly with rounded sclerotised and projected ring delimiting ostium bursae, anterior margin with broadly rod-like edge connected with apophysis anterior; apophysis anterior moderately stout, rod-like, about length of segment VIII, posteriorly broadly connected with segment VIII by sclerotised band; colliculum short, sclerotised; ductus bursae gradually widening to weakly delimited, slender corpus bursae, entire length of ductus and corpus bursae approximately 2.5 mm; signum moderately small, oblong and weakly spiny plate.

Diagnosis.

Megacraspedus multispinella is characterised by the short segment 3 of the labial palpus, by the antennal scape with pecten having several hairs, and by the whitish grey forewings mottled with brownish- or blackish-tipped scales along apical margins. It resembles M. leuca (Figs 111-112), but differs in the more greyish forewings, and by the distinct blackish scaling along the margins in the apical part of the wing. The male genitalia differ from related species of the M. consortiella species group in particular in the numerous teeth-like sclerites of the phallus. The female genitalia are characterised in particular by the short segment VIII as well as the short apophysis posterior and anterior. The latter character is the major diagnostic feature for separating M. multispinella from M. nupponeni sp. n. (Figure 232).

Molecular data.

BIN BOLD:ACM0852 (n = 1) The distance to the nearest neighbour M. nupponeni sp. n. is 8.1% (p-dist).

Distribution.

Russia (S. Ural, Tuva rep.).

Biology.

Host plant and early stages are unknown. The adults have been collected in early June at altitudes of ca. 700 m.

Remarks.

Megacraspedus multispinella was described from two males collected in the southern Ural Mountains, Russia ( Junnilainen and Nupponen 2010). We have been able to examine several females, all of which are more or less worn. The holotype of M. multispinella has a label "HOLOTYPE Megacraspedus aholai Junnilainen", which is a nomen nudum.