Megacraspedus granadensis, Huemer, Peter & Karsholt, Ole, 2018

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 : 72-73

Megacraspedus granadensis sp. n.

Examined material.

Holotype ♂, "Hispania. [prov. Granada] Andalucia. Sierra Nevada. Cam.d.Valeta 1600 m 14.6.1986 E. Traugott-Olsen" "GU 16/1458 ♂ P. Huemer" (ZMUC). Paratypes. Spain. 1 ♂, prov. Granada, Sierra Nevada, Camino de Valeta, 1600 m, 12.vi.1986, leg. E. Traugott-Olsen; 2 ♂, same data, but 13.vi.1986; 4 ♂, same data, but 14.vi.1986, genitalia slide 6535 Hendriksen (ZMUC).

Description.

Adult. Male (Figure 56). Wingspan 13-16 mm. Segment 2 of labial palpus with scale brush about length of segment 3, brown on outer surface, brown mottled with white on inner surface, white on lower and upper surface; segment 3 about same length as segment 2, white mottled with black especially on lower surface and at tip. Antennal scape without pecten; flagellum indistinctly ringed black and brownish. Head light brown mottled with white; thorax cream coloured slightly mottled with brown; tegula brown at base, whitish towards apex. Forewing light grey-brown from whitish brown- and black-tipped scales, lighter in dorsal part below fold; costa blackish brown at base, otherwise greyish white; fold indistinctly light yellowish; some black scales along termen; fringes light grey. Hindwing dark grey with concolorous fringes.

Female. Unknown.

Variation. The yellowish streak in the fold can be more or less distinct.

Male genitalia (Figure 192). Uncus evenly slender, digitate, about four times longer than broad, basally slightly widened, apically converged; gnathos hook massive, with longitudinal grooves, slightly longer than uncus, basally about two-third width, evenly tapered with pointed apex; anterior edge of tegumen with deep suboval emargination; pedunculi suboval; valva extending to about base of uncus, broad, apical sixth abruptly tapered, distorted, with rounded apex; saccular area densely covered with setae, without clearly separated sacculus; posterior margin of vinculum medially emarginated, laterally with hump, suboval vincular sclerites with sclerotised posterior and proximal edge; saccus sub-triangular, approximately 1.4 times longer than broad, posterior edge weakly sinusoid, medial part with strongly sclerotised ridge extending from posterior edge to apex, lateral sclerites slightly shorter than maximum width of saccus; phallus with weakly inflated coecum, about one-quarter length of broadly digiate and weakly curved distal part, medial part with large group of small sclerotised knobs, apex rounded, ductus ejucalatorius with two contorted linear interior sclerotisations.

Female genitalia. Unknown.

Diagnosis.

Megacraspedus granadensis sp. n. is characterised in having the forewings covered with whitish brown- and black-tipped scales, in having the costa blackish brown at base and whitish grey in middle, and having no black dots. Also the dark grey hindwings are characteristic. The male genitalia differ from the particularly similar M. spinophallus sp. n. (Figs 189-190) in the knob-like sclerites of the phallus which is furthermore of a different shape.

Molecular data.

Not available, barcoding failed.

Distribution.

Spain (prov. Granada).

Biology.

Host plant and early stages are unknown. The adults have been collected in the middle of June at an altitude of 1600 m.

Etymology.

This species is named after its place of occurrence: the province of Granada in southern Spain. The name is a masculine adjective.