Rhamphura spiniuncus Nupponen, 2022

Nupponen 1, Kari & Sihvonen, Pasi, 2022, Revision of Neotropical Scythrididae moths and descriptions of 22 new species from Argentina, Chile, and Peru (Lepidoptera, Gelechioidea), ZooKeys 1087, pp. 19-104 : 19

Rhamphura spiniuncus Nupponen sp. nov.

Figs 6 , 39

Type material.

Holotype. Argentina • ♂; prov. San Juan, Andes Mts., salt lake by Cordillera del Tigre; 30°52.8'S, 68°52.4'W, 1620 m a.s.l.; 26 Jan. 2017; K. Nupponen & R. Haverinen leg.; [BOLD sample ID] KN01045; [genitalia slide] K. Nupponen prep. no. 4/12 Dec. 2019; coll. NUPP (MZH).

Diagnosis.

Wings mottled beige and brown forewing and an indistinct pale beige streak in fold. Genitalia examination is needed for a reliable identification. In the male genitalia, the bifurcate, robust uncus with heavily sclerotised ventral spines and falcate shape of the valvae are unmistakable.

Description.

Wingspan 10 mm. Head brown, few white scales around eye. Haustellum pale fuscous. Neck tuft white. Collar, tegula and thorax pale brown. Scape dorsally brown, ventrally pale fuscous; pecten dirty cream and longer than diameter of scape. Flagellum dark brown, 0.55 × length of forewing, ciliate, sensillae ~ 0.65 × as long as diameter of flagellum. Labial palp white, except palpomeres II and III brown at lower surface and terminally. Legs white, shallowly mixed with fuscous. Abdomen whitish fuscous, ventrally paler. Forewing brown of various tones, fold and terminal 1/3 mixed with dirty pale beige scales; indistinct dark brown dash in fold at 0.5; small blackish spot in cell end. Hindwing fuscous. Fringes darker than wings.

Male genitalia. Uncus robust, 0.6 × as long as valva, bifurcate; at base of furcation ~ 15 heavily sclerotised minute spines. Phallus heavily melanised, short. Valva long and narrow, subbasally a little broadened, then evenly tapered, distal quarter bent downwards, tip pointed. Saccus short, semi-circular. Juxta narrow, 0.8 × length of phallus. Sternum VIII basally a rectangular plate; reinforcement continues posterolaterally at backwards directed extensions; long anterolateral apodemes with spatular tips. Tergum VIII trapezoid, 1.4 × wider than high.

Etymology.

A noun in apposition. The species name refers to the spinose uncus of the male genitalia.

Distribution.

NW Argentina.

Habitat.

The collecting site is a xerothermic habitat with sparse halophytic shrubs near a dry salt lake at medium altitude of the Andes (Fig. 78 ).

Genetic data.

BIN: BOLD:ADY6426 (n = 1 from Argentina). Nearest neighbour: An unidentified Rhamphura sp. ( Scythrididae ) from North America (BIN: BOLD:AAA9059, 3.05%).

Remarks.

Female unknown. Based on the COI maximum likelihood phylogeny, the South American taxa Rhamphura subdimota , Rhamphura depressa , Rhamphura pozohondaensis , Rhamphura spiniuncus , Rhamphura angulisociella , Rhamphura tetrafasciella , and Rhamphura curvisociella group together, associating next to the North American taxa classified in Rhamphura on BOLD (Suppl. material 2). Structurally these taxa are heterogeneous and the external characters, male and/or female genitalia show varying degrees of similarities to the North American Rhamphura , as diagnosed and illustrated in Landry (1991). With regard to Rhamphura spiniuncus , it has a bifurcate uncus with ventral spines, male sternum VIII with long, anteriorly directed, free apodemes, which are diagnostic for Rhamphura . We therefore classified this taxon as Rhamphura spiniuncus .

Figures

Figure 78. Collecting site of Scythris bicoloristrigella sp. nov. and Rhamphura spiniuncus sp. nov.: Argentina, Andes Mts. (1620 m), salt lake by Cordillera del Tigre, 26 Jan. 2017.

Figures 1 - 6. Scythrididae adults, genus Rhamphura 1 A R. depressa (Meyrick, 1931), male, holotype 1 B R. depressa (Meyrick, 1931), male, holotype 2 R. dimota (Meyrick, 1931), male, lectotype 3 R. subdimota Nupponen, sp. nov., male, holotype 4 R. immunis (Meyrick, 1916), male, lectotype 5 R. pozohondaensis Nupponen, sp. nov., female, holotype 6 R. spiniuncus Nupponen, sp. nov., male holotype.

Figures 39 - 40. Male genitalia of Rhamphura 39 R. spiniuncus Nupponen sp. nov., holotype, slide 4 / 12 Dec. 2019 KN) 40 R. angulisociella Nupponen sp. nov., genus combination incertae sedis, holotype, slide 1 / 10 Dec. 2019 KN.