Megacraspedus peyerimhoffi Le Cerf, 1925

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 : 172-174

Megacraspedus peyerimhoffi Le Cerf, 1925

Megacraspedus peyerimhoffi Le Cerf, 1925: 12, figs 1-19.

Examined material.

Lectotype ♂, Megacraspedus peyerimhoffi , here designated, “TYPE” "Megacraspedus Peyerimhoffi ♂ Le Cerf" “MUSÉUM PARIS F. LE CERF" "chenille dans alfa Boaira-Sahari V-VI-24 P. de Peyerimhoff áclos Paris 12/13-VI-1925" genitalia slide PGCG 7964 (MNHN) [photographs examined]. Non-type material. Algeria. 1 ♂, Guelt-es-Stel, 27-30.ix.1929, leg. Zerny; 1 ♂, same data, but 2-10.x.1929, genitalia slide Mus. Vind. 16.654 (NHMW). Tunisia. 1 ♀, 40 km S Tuni, 29.ix.2007, leg. B. Schacht (ZSM); 12 ♂, 7 ♀, prov. Beja, 7 km W Nefza, W lake Sidi el Barrak, 30 m, 4.x.2007, leg. B. Schacht, genitalia slides 5262 ♂, 5267 ♂ Stübner, GEL 1267 ♂, GEL 1268 ♀ Huemer (TLMF, ZSM); 1 ♂, 2 ♀, prov. Nabeul, Umg. Soliman, Boj-Cedria, 0-20 m, 5.x.2007, leg. B. Schacht (ZSM). Spain. 12 ♂, 5 ♀, prov. Almería, Tabernas, 'Mini Hollywood’, 230 m, 14-15.x.1992, leg. M. Fibiger; 1 ♂, same data, but leg. F. Schepler; 1 ♂, prov. Almería, Rambla de Tabernas, 24-25.x.2003, leg. J. Viehmann; 1 ♂, prov. Almería, El Pozo del Esparto, 20 m, 1.xi.2005, leg. B. Skule & P. Skou (all ZMUC); 2 ♂, 2 ♀, prov. Almería, Desierto de Tabernas, 471 m, 14.x.2006, leg. M. Rondós (TLMF); 3 ♂, Almería, 6 km S Serón, at A1178, 1300 m, 16.ix.2009, leg. P. Skou, genitalia slide GU 13/1351 Huemer (ZMUC); 3 ♂, 1 ♀, prov. Almería, Tabernas, env., Rambla de Tabernas, 18-19.x.2009, leg. J. Šumpich, genitalia slide GU 16/1409 ♀ Huemer (NMPC, TLMF); 1 ♀, same data, but 100 m, 24.x.2016, leg. J. Viehmann; 1 ♂, 2 ♀, prov. Castellon, Cati-Morella, 700 m, leg. J. Viehmann (all RCWS); 1 ♂, prov. Granada, Almunecar, 150 m, 22- 27.x.2000, leg. G. Jeppesen; 1 ♀, prov. Granada, Sierra de Los Guájares, 1100 m, 20-25.ix.2004, leg. A. Cox (all ZMUC); 5 ♂, 2 ♀, same data, but 1160 m, 26.viii.-15.ix.2005, leg. G. Jeppesen, genitalia slide 6489 Hendriksen (TLMF, ZMUC); 1 ♂, prov. Granada, 10 km NE Baza, 700 m, 20.ix.2012, leg. J. Tabell, genitalia slide Tabell 5017; 1 ♂, prov. Lleida, Castelldans, Les Garrigues, 353 m, 29.x.2010, leg. J. J. Péres De-Gregorio, genitalia slide 1950 Requena (RCER); 1 ♂, prov. Madrid, Perales de Tarjuna, 2.x.1995, leg. J. Wolschrijn; 1 ♀, prov. Málaga, Marbella, El Mirador, 700 m, 29.ix.1982, leg. E. Traugott-Olsen, genitalia slide 5836 Traugott-Olsen; 1 ♂, 8 ♀, same data, but 100 m, 15.x.1984, leg. E. Traugott-Olsen, genitalia slide 5834 Traugott-Olsen; 1 ♀, same data, but Camino de Ojen, 150 m, 15.x.1984; 1 ♂, 1 ♀, same data, but Casa y Campo, 100 m, 17.x.1984 (all ZMUC); 1 ♀, prov. Málaga, 4 km W El Burgo, 800 m, 4.x.1993, leg. H. van der Wolf (RCHW).

Redescription.

Adult. Male (Figure 145). Wingspan 18-25 mm. Labial palpus comparatively small; segment 2 with long scale brush, dark brown on outer surface, white mottled with brown on inner and lower surface, white on upper surface; segment 3 dark brown mottled with some white especially at base. Antenna brown, indistinctly ringed lighter. Head, thorax and tegula light grey-brown, the latter with blackish base. Forewing elongate, grey-brown, blackish near base, lighter towards dorsum, with scattered black scales; costa white in middle; fringes grey. Hindwing grey with light grey fringes.

Female (Figure 146). Wingspan 20-24 mm. Similar to male.

Variation. There is only slight variation, apart from size. One female has a slender sub-costal line near base. Worn specimens become lighter.

Male genitalia (Figs 261-262). Uncus semi-oval, hardly demarcated from tegumen, about one-third shorter than maximum width, basally broad, evenly tapered to broadly rounded apical margin; gnathos hook moderately stout, apically pointed, about length of uncus, evenly curved; tegumen with broad and moderately shallow anterior emargination, additional emargination medially, with sclerotised edge; pedunculi small, suboval; valva long and moderately slender, extending slightly beyond apex of uncus, basally widened, distal part tapered, apical quarter weakly curved and contorted, setose; saccular area densely covered with setae, without separated sacculus; posterior margin of vinculum with small emargination, distinct lateral hump, vincular sclerites largely reduced, oblique sclerotised ridge; saccus massive, stout, broadly V-shaped with irregularly tapered distal part, slightly shorter than valva, ratio maximum width to length approximately 0.7, posterior margin shallow incised medially, with weakly sinusoid mediolateral humps, medial part with sclerotised ridges parallel to outer edge, lateral sclerites approximately 0.7 times maximum width of saccus; phallus massive, without special sclerotisations, largely inflated coecum, medial part constricted, sub-apical third with broadly sinusoid dorsal margin.

Female genitalia (Figure 303). Papilla analis large, apically rounded, slightly longer than segment VIII; apophysis posterior rod-like, posteriorly bordered by large sclerotised field, approximately 1.2 mm long, posteriorly weakly widened at about one-quarter, apex rounded; segment VIII approximately 0.6 mm long, posteriolaterally sclerotised, medially membranous; subgenital plate with sclerotised zone, from apo physis anterior extended sub-medially at anterior part, abruptly tapered to oblong and pointed sub-medial sclerite, almost extended to posterior edge of segment VIII, demarcating elongated suboval ostium bursae, surrounded by smoothly sclerotised zone with suboval anterior margin; apophysis anterior rod-like, maximum length of segment VIII; colliculum short, sclerotised; ductus bursae slender, approximately 2.5 mm long; corpus bursae approximately 1.8 mm long, broadly suboval, clearly delimited from ductus bursae; signum a small irregularly shaped spiny plate, in posterior part of corpus bursae.

Diagnosis.

Megacraspedus peyerimhoffi is characterised by its large wingspan and its elongate, greyish brown forewing without stripes or markings, apart from the slender white streak on the costa. It is often collected together with the somewhat similar to M. squalida (Figs 128-129), which has segment 2 of the labial palp broader and the veins on the forewing lighter. The male of the latter can also be recognized by the thickened, black antennae. It is furthermore similar to M. violacellum (p 157). The male genitalia are unmistakable and easily recognized by characters such as the shape of the uncus and the long valva without a sacculus, the latter character separating the species from members of the M. quadristictus species group. The female genitalia are similar overall to several species of Megacraspedus , but a combination of strutures such as the large and rounded papilla analis, the very long sub-medial sclerite of segment VIII and the short apophysis posterior and anterior are diagnostic.

Molecular data.

BIN BOLD:ACC5030 (n = 4). The intraspecific divergence of the barcode region is moderate with mean 0.6% and maximum divergence of 0.9%. The distance to the nearest congeneric neighbour M. skulei sp. n. is 9.5% (p-dist).

Distribution.

Algeria, Spain.

Biology.

The larva feeds within the lower part (above the earth surface) of a stem of Macrochloa tenacissima (L) Kunth ( Poaceae ), eating the pith and thereby hollowing the stem. It spins 4-7 opercula of silk within its mine. When fullfed it lines a chamber in the bottom of the mine with silk, gnaw an exit hole and pupates in the mine. The pupa is standing head upwards on excrements which are pressed together in the bottom of the mine. The exit hole is placed so that it is covered by a leaf sheat, which the hatching adult has to slide between to reach the outside ( Le Cerf 1925: 21-24).

Although Le Cerf (op. cit.: 21) stated that his observations on the behavior of the larvae of M. peyerimhoffi were incomplete, they are the most detailed given for any Megacraspedus species. The adults have been collected from early September to the beginning of November at altitudes from sea level to 1300 m.

Remarks.

Megacraspedus peyerimhoffi was described from one male and four females bred from larvae and pupae collected by M. de Peyerimhoff in the region of Bouira-Sahari (=Had sahari), northern Algeria ( Le Cerf 1925). We have been able to examine photographs of the male syntype from MNHN. This specimen is here designated as the lectotype in order to fix the identity of the species and conserve stability of nomenclature.