Coleophora submendica Tabell, 2023

Tabell, Jukka, Kullberg, Jaakko, Mutanen, Marko, Tokár, Zdenko & Sihvonen, Pasi, 2023, New and little known Coleophora Hübner, 1822 species from Morocco. Part I (Lepidoptera, Coleophoridae), Zootaxa 5374 (2), pp. 151-195 : 166-167

Coleophora submendica Tabell , sp. nov.

Barcode Index Number: BOLD:ABV9537

Figs. 9, 23, 39, 40, 57

Material studied. Holotype ♂ (GP 6199 J. Tabell, DNA sample 24538 Lepid Phyl): Anti-Atlas, Tiznit Prov. , Tafraout 24 km SW, 1125 m, [29.5806 N 9.1727 W], 13.IV.2015, J. Tabell leg. http://id.luomus.fi/GBT.18 (coll. MZH). Paratypes: 1 ♂ (DNA sample 24539 Lepid Phyl) same data as holotype; 2 ♂, 3 ♀ (GP 5808 J. Tabell, DNA sample 27132 Lepid Phyl) Anti-Atlas, Souss-Massa-Drâa, Idikl 16 km E Tafraoute , 1580 m, 8.–10.III.2017, C. Hviid, O. Karsholt, K. Larsen, D. Nilsson leg. (all coll. TAB) .

Diagnosis. C. submendica is similar to C. feomicrella Baldizzone, 1988, known from Algeria, and C. mendica Baldizzone & van der Wolf, 2000, known from Spain. In the male genitalia, the sacculus is narrower and longer than in C. feomicrella and broader than in C. mendica. The ventrocaudal angle is rectangular in C. mendica, rounded in C. feomicrella and obtuse-angled in C. submendica . The phallotheca rods are unarmed (with two teeth in C. mendica) and longer in C. submendica , and the cornutus is longer than in C. feomicrella and markedly longer than in C. mendica. In the female genitalia, the sterigma is longer, the ostium broader, the colliculum narrower and less sclerotized, and the ductus bursae markedly longer than in C. mendica. The female genitalia of C. submendica are similar to those of C. feomicrella, but the corpus bursae is markedly longer.

Molecular data. Three samples were sent for barcoding, resulting in 658 bp (n=2) and 652 bp (n=1) barcodes. The nearest neighbour to C. submendica is C. mendica, with a 1.4 % minimum divergence. The barcodes of C. submendica exhibit 0.15 % maximum intraspecific variation. In BOLD there are no barcodes for C. feomicrella.

Description.Adult. Wingspan 9.5–11 mm.Antenna white, annulated with dark brown. Scape pale brown, below brown, not tufted. Labial palp pale brown mixed with white, second article 1.5x longer than third article. Head, thorax and tegula pale brown, mixed with white. Forewing white, covered with pale brown, brown and dark brown scales, at base a narrow blackish brown stripe. Costal stripe white. Costal fringe cilia white, towards apex pale brown, dorsal fringe cilia pale brown. Hindwing pale grey, fringe cilia pale greyish brown.

Abdominal structures. Sternal bar long, no tergal latero-posterior bar. Transverse bar curved, proximal edge evenly and strongly sclerotized, distal edge medially unsclerotized and strongly arched in male. Tergal sclerite narrow, about 7x as long as wide (in female 4x), covered with about 20 (in female 35) conical spines (on T3).

Male genitalia. Gnathos knob oval. Tegumen constricted medially, reinforced by a sclerotized ”Y”, pedunculum broad, crescent-shaped. Transtilla upcurved, parallel-sided. Valvula markedly broader than cucullus, short, ventral margin evenly rounded, sclerotized. Cucullus moderately broad, ear-shaped, slightly tapered basally. Ventral margin of sacculus evenly curved, ventrocaudal angle obtuse, lateral margin straight, short, dorsocaudal angle rounded. Phallotheca with two narrow, evenly arched rods, exceeding the outer margin of sacculus. In vesica one very long, narrow, curved cornutus.

Female genitalia. Papilla analis narrow, covered with bristles of different length. Anterior apophysis as long as sterigma, posterior apophysis 2.5x as long as anterior one. Sterigma 1.8x wider than long, distally slightly tapered, proximal margin slightly convex, distal margin rounded, distal 1/5 covered with long bristles, medial excavation U-shaped. Ostium situated at upper half on sterigma. Colliculum weakly sclerotized, tubular. Ductus bursae membranous, narrow, very long, close to corpus bursae more sclerotized and expanded, coiled twice. Corpus bursae bag-shaped, narrow, without signum.

Biology. Unknown.

Distribution. Morocco, known from the Anti-Atlas Mountains.

Etymology. The specific epithet refers to a close affinity with C. mendica.