Breyeriana patagonica Penco, Yakovlev & Naydenov, 2019

Penco, Fernando C., Yakovlev, Roman V. & Naydenov, Artem E., 2019, New species of genus Breyeriana Orfila, 1957 (Lepidoptera: Cossidae: Hypoptinae) from Argentina, Ecologica Montenegrina 20 (2019), pp. 114-118 : 115-118

Breyeriana patagonica Penco, Yakovlev & Naydenov sp. nov.

( Figs. 3 , 6 , 8 )

Material. Holotype 1 ♂, Argentina, Chubut, Comodoro Rivadavia , 21.ii.1953, Col. “V. O.” (Prep. Gen. INTA Nº 1 F. C. Penco), ( IMZA) ( Figs. 3 , 6 ).

49 Paratypes: 3 ♂, Argentina: Neuquén, Zapala , 25.x.1962, Leg. Schajovskoi ( MACN) ; 4 ♂, Los Catutos , 15.xii.1961, Leg. M. Gentili ( MACN) ; 2 ♂, Covunco (usina), 24.xi.1964, Leg. Schajovskoi ( MACN) ; 1 ♂, Pucará (630 m), iii.1968, Leg. Schajovskoi ( MACN) ; 12 ♂, Las Lajitas , 14.xii.1969, Leg. Schajovskoi ( MACN) ; 1 ♂, Pampa Pilmatue , 25.xii.1964, Leg. Schajovskoi ( MACN) ; 1 ♂, Catan-Lil , 25.i.1965, Leg. Schajovskoi ( MACN) ; 13 ♂, Loncopué , 05.xii.1959, Leg. M. Gentili ( IMZA) ; 7 ♂, 14 Nov 1959, Leg. M. Gentili ( IMZA) ; 1 ♂, Rio Negro, Paso Limay , 09.xi.1967, Leg. Schajovskoi ( MACN) ; 1 ♂ ( IMZA) ; 1 ♂, 13.xii.1937, Col. “V. O.” ( IMZA) ; 1 ♂, 22.i.1938, Km 27, Col. “V.O.” ( IMZA) ; 1 ♂, 19.ii.1938, Col. “V. O.” ( IMZA) .

Description. Male. Head: forehead and vertex ash grey; color of antenna rod and palpi scaling grey with scattered black scales; tips of palpi darker, antenna bipectinate, crest process four times longer than antenna rod diameter. Thorax covered with long ash grey hairs, mixed with scarce creamy and black hairs; patagia grey with blurry black thin lines; terminal portion of scutellum II with black hairs forming a defined transverse and curved band which separates thorax from abdomen chromatically; postnotum II with short creamy white hairs; firsts two segments of abdomen ends with long dark hairs mixed with grey dorsally, forming two blurry transverse bands; both sides of abdomen with long white hairs, the rest of abdomen grey with scarce brown hairs; anal tuft short, darker than the rest of abdomen, with grey and black hairs; ventral surface whiter than dorsum, uniform, in the same white tone of hind wings; fore femur and tibia uniformly grey with long hairs; tarsal segments intercalated in creamy-grey and black. Wingspan: 36 mm; Fore wing: length from base to apex: 16−17 mm, ground color whitish with some disperse dark scales basally and discally, turning grey postdiscally, with three dark blurry stripes, formed by sparse grey scales, dark hazel brown and black scales: one parallel to costa, from the base on Sc and R1+R2 and to the end of the cell, the second parallel to the dorsum, joining 1A and not reaching the postdiscal area. The third blurry band lighter than the others, curved lightly inwards, begin at end of the cell from M3 to the subapical area and reaching the vein R5. Veins marked with black; medial veins with a white thin fringe at both sides, interspaces of veins ash grey, darkening at the apex. The marginal end of veins from R3 to Cu1A widening in triangular shape. The cilias are long and interleave by grey and white fringes, being the grey ones at the end of the veins, continuing the size of the wider side of the triangular marks. Ventral view: White from base to medial area, ash grey from cell to apex. The only band repeated from the dorsal view is the blurry one until the subapical area, blurry band widening and be defined over the veins; veins marked in black and ended in a triangular shape on margin; cilias ash grey; Hind wing: triangular, uniform white with nacarated reflex; veins and margin marked with thin hazel brown color; edge with long white cilias. Ventral View: uniformly white at base and cell, clear grey the rest of the wing with marked veins in black.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 6 ). Uncus long, thin, apically strongly curved, apex uncinately bent; tegumen of medium size; gnathos arms of medium length, not fused; valve apically rounded, abdominal and dorsal edges almost smooth; mastoid harpe in medium third of valve; small distinctly sclerotized tubercle in medium third of sacculus; saccus long, narrow; juxta robust, with wide lamellar lateral processes; phallus of medium length, strongly curved in distal third.

Female unknown.

Distribution. Argentina: Rio Negro, Neuquén and Chubut provinces ( Fig. 8 ), found in the phytogeographic provinces of low monte and patagonian steppe ( Burkart et al. 1999).

Diagnosis. B. patagonica is well distinguished from B. cistransandina by its smaller size and wing pattern (in B. patagonica , cell is white coloured with few sparced grey and brown scales, in B. cistransandina , it is ash grey with dark black and brown cuneiform bands at the cell and interspaces of veins) and by the genital structures (in B. patagonica , the valve is apically rounded, its abdominal and dorsal edges are almost smooth; there is a mastoid harpe in the medium third of the valve, there is a small strongly sclerotized tubercle in the medium third of the sacculus, while in B. cistransandina , there is a strong cut in the medium third of the abdominal edge of the valve, and no harpe). Additionally, it is obvious that the genus Breyeriana Orfila, 1957 is not a synonym to Hypopta Hübner, 1818 (type species − Hypopta ambigua Hübner, 1818 ) ( Fig. 4 , 7 ). In the type species of the genus Hypopta , male genitals have significant distinctive characters: the robust lamellar transtilla processes with jagged abdominal edge, also the phallus in Hypopta ambigua is tubular and straight.

Etymology. The name refers to be native of the patagonian region, in southern Argentina.

Acknowledgment

The authors express their gratitude to Dr. Axel Hausmann and Ulf Buchsbaum ( ZSM), Geoff Martin ( NHMUK), Dr. Arturo Roig Alsina and Joanna Rodriguez-Ramirez ( MACN), Dr. Analía Lanteri and Jorge Salas ( MLP), Esteban Daniel Saini and Albano Giudici ( IMZA) and Dr. John B. Heppner ( Gainesville ). The authors are grateful to Anna Ustjuzhanina (Tomsk, Russia) for language improvements. We are indebted to the NHMUK Council of Trustees for being so kind and give the opportunity to publish images of type specimens stored in the Natural History Museum .

Figures

Figure 8. Distribution map of Breyeriana Orfila, 1957

Figures 1−4. Breyeriana and Hypopta, adults: 1. B. cistransandina Orfila, 1957, paratype, male, Argentina: Neuquén, Catan-Lil, 25.i.1963, Leg. Schajovskoi (NHMUK); 2. B. cistransandina Orfila, 1957, male, Argentina, Confluencia Traful, Prov. Neuquén, 13.ii.1956, leg. Fleiss (ZSM); 3. B. patagonica sp. nov., holotype, male, Argentina, Chubut: Comodoro Rivadavia, 21.ii.1953, Col. “V. O.” (IMZA); 4. Hypopta ambigua Hübner, 1818, Argentina, Tornquist, 22.ii.93 J.R (MWM).

Figures 5−7. Breyeriana and Hypopta, male, genitalia: 5. B. cistransandina Orfila, 1957, Argentina, Confluencia Traful, Prov. Neuquén, 13.ii.1956, leg. Fleiss (ZSM); 6. B. patagonica sp. nov. holotype, male, Argentina, Chubut: Comodoro Rivadavia, 21.ii.1953, Col. “V. O.” (Prep. Gen. INTA Nº1 F. C. Penco), (IMZA); 7. Hypopta ambigua Hübner, 1818, Argentina, Tornquist, 22.ii.93 J.R (GenPr-Heterocera MWM 26.729).