Landryia chilensis Nupponen, sp. nov., genus combination, 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

Landryia chilensis Nupponen, sp. nov., genus combination incertae sedis

Figs 11 , 43

Type material.

Holotype. Chile • ♂; Coquimbo district, near Comparbala village; 30°52.4'S, 71°10.9'W; 660 m a.s.l.; 1 Feb. 2017; K. Nupponen & R. Haverinen leg.; [BOLD sample ID] KN01096; [genitalia slide] K. Nupponen prep. no. 3/18 Dec. 2019; coll. NUPP (MZH).

Diagnosis.

Wings without any distinct pattern, and may be confused with several patternless, similarly sized species, e,g., S. tigrensis . In the male genitalia of L. chilensis , the shape of distal arm of the gnathos is distinctive; a similarly shaped narrow and curved gnathos is found only in L. ankylosauroides. The two taxa are readily separated by several details in the male genitalia: in L. chilensis , the valvae are subequal in length (in L. ankylosauroides the left valva is much shorter), the right valva has large sclerotised lobe (absent in L. ankylosauroides ), and shape of both tergum VIII and sternum VIII are unique.

Description.

Wingspan 14.5 mm. Head, collar, haustellum, tegula and thorax fuscous mixed with dirty white. Few white scales exist around eye. Neck tuft white. Scape fuscous mixed with dirty white, pecten pale cream and longer than diameter of scape. Flagellum dark brown, 0.65 × length of forewing, ciliate, sensillae 1/2 as long as diameter of flagellum. Labial palps with palpomere I and base of palpomere II white, otherwise fuscous more or less mixed with white. Legs fuscous, lower surface suffused with dirty white. Abdomen dorsally lead grey, each segment posteriorly edged by greyish white; ventrally dirty white. Forewing narrow, grey; scattered with dirty white scales densely in fold and at apical area, and sparsely in costal area. Hindwing fuscous.

Male genitalia. Uncus small, heavily sclerotised rectangular plate. Gnathos base uneven plate; distal arm 1.65 longer than valva, sigmoid and somewhat unevenly thick, apex club-shaped, covered with microtrichia. Tegumen hood-shaped. Phallus short, drop-shaped, laterally with narrow extensions. Valvae asymmetrical, short and straight, dorsally with subbasal triangular lobes, subapically with small transverse flaps, distally setose; right valva basally with complex heavily sclerotised lobe. Saccus rectangular, broad. Sternum VIII hexagonal basally, medioposteriorly with large U-shaped depression, posterior shanks somewhat asymmetrical; mediolaterally extended as small flaps at both sides, attached to two long and narrow medio-anterior apodemes. Tergum VIII narrow, tongue-shaped, lateral and posterior margins folded and furnished with ~ twelve long heavily sclerotised spiniform setae; anteriorly with two long and narrow diverging apodemes.

Etymology.

Latinised adjective in the nominative singular. The species name refers to the country in which the taxon was discovered.

Distribution.

Central Chile.

Habitat.

The habitat is a shrubby riverside spot with sparse vegetation in the Andes foothills.

Genetic data.

BIN: BOLD:ADZ5419 (n = 1 from Chile). Nearest neighbour: Landryia JFL138 from USA: California (BIN: BOLD:AAE6120, 6.18%).

Remarks.

Female unknown. Based on COI maximum likelihood phylogeny, the South American taxa Landryia ankylosauroides and Landryia chilensis group inside a large clade, whose taxa are classified in Landryia on BOLD (Suppl. material 2). However, Landryia ankylosauroides and Landryia chilensis do not have the diagnostic morphological characters of Landryia , such as greatly enlarged bulbus ejaculatorius (unless accidentally removed during dissection) in the male genitalia and the pincer-like projections on caudal margin of female sternum VII ( Landry 1991). Also, male sternum VIII of Landryia ankylosauroides and Landryia chilensis are distinct with their spiniform setae and long apodemes, but such are not present in North American Landryia ( Landry 1991). We therefore classified these two taxa in Landryia (incertae sedis), highlighting the need for further research.

Figures

Figures 7 - 11. Scythrididae adults, genera Rhamphura and Landryia 7 R. angulisociella Nupponen, sp. nov., genus combination incertae sedis, male, holotype 8 R. curvisociella Nupponen, sp. nov., genus combination incertae sedis, male, holotype 9 R. tetrafasciella Nupponen, sp. nov., genus combination incertae sedis, female, holotype 10 A L. ankylosauroides Nupponen sp. nov., genus combination incertae sedis, male, holotype 10 B L. ankylosauroides Nupponen, sp. nov., genus combination incertae sedis, male, paratype 11 L. chilensis Nupponen, sp. nov., genus combination incertae sedis, male, holotype.

Figures 43 - 44. Male genitalia of Landryia and Scythris 43 L. chilensis Nupponen sp. nov., genus combination incertae sedis, holotype, slide 3 / 18 Dec. 2019 KN 44 S. directiphallella Nupponen sp. nov., holotype; slide 3 / 28 Dec. 2019 KN.