Megacraspedus consortiella Caradja, 1920

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 : 133-134

Megacraspedus consortiella Caradja, 1920

Megacraspedus consortiella Caradja, 1920: 117.

Examined material.

Holotype ♂, [Kyrgyzstan] "Alai [mountains]" "HOLOTYPE Megacraspedus consortiella ♂ Car. DES. Dr. A. POPESCU-GORJ Romania" “176436” "CIS-Korea Microlep. 4218 Megacraspedus consortiella Car. - Alai, Himalaya K. T. Park ‘96” (MGAB) [photographs examined].

Non-type material. Kyrgyzstan. 1 ♂, Alai mts, Tengiz-Bai Gate, 2800-2900 m, 12.vii.2011, leg. A. Pototski (RCAP); 3 ♂, Alai mts, Ak-Bosogo, 2725 m, 31.vii.2010, leg. A. Pototski (RCAP, ZMUC); 2 ♂, Alai mts, Pamirsky trakt, near Ak-Bosogo village, 2725 m, 20.vii.2010, leg. K. Nupponen & R. Haverinen, genitalia slide GU 17/1498 ♂ Huemer (RCKN).

Redescription.

Adult. Male (Figure 109). Wingspan 13-15 mm. Segment 2 of labial palpus with scale brush longer than segment 3, blackish on outer and inner surface, white on upper surface; segment 3 white with some black towards tip. Antennal scape with pecten of a single hair; flagellum blackish grey, indistinctly ringed lighter. Head grey; thorax and tegula as forewing. Forewing grey with slightly lighter fold; costa white from 1/5; an indistinct black dot in fold, and a black spot at end of cell; a few black scales along termen; fringes light grey with darker fringe line. Hindwing grey with grey fringes.

Female. Unknown.

Variation. In four of the examined specimens the black dot at end of the fold (which is present in the holotype) is almost obsolete and the hair at the base of the antennal scape is missing, but these specimens are rather worn.

Male genitalia (Figure 235). Uncus large, sub-rectangular, approximately 1.5 times longer than broad, latero-apically convex, apex weakly excavated; gnathos hook slender, about one-third longer than uncus, strongly bent at about one-quarter, distal part straight, apically pointed; anterior margin of tegumen with shallow, rounded emargination and small additional emargination medially; pedunculi of moderate size; valva moderately stout, distally weakly curved, extending to basal third of uncus; saccular area densely covered with setae, without separated sacculus; posterior margin of vinculum with shallow medial emargination, with lateral humps, knob-like sclerite, vincular sclerite elongated sub-triangular, with weakly sclerotised edges; saccus prominent, nearly V-shaped, evenly tapered to broadly rounded apex, ratio maximum width to length approximately 0.65, posterior margin with broadly rounded mediolateral projections, separated by shallow incision, medial part with long sclerotised ridge from posterior margin almost to apex of saccus, lateral sclerites nearly length of maximum width of saccus, with distinctly bulged apex; phallus with weakly bulbous coecum, distal two-thirds slender, straight, medial part with group of minute spinules.

Female genitalia. Unknown.

Diagnosis.

Megacraspedus consortiella is characterised by the grey forewings with a black dot at the end of the cell, and by having most of the margin of the costa white. It is very similar to and hardly separable from M. pototskii sp. n. (p 141). The male genitalia are similar to M. cerussatellus (Figure 233) and M. attritellus (Figure 234) from which they differ e.g., in the sub-rectangular shape of the uncus. They are easily distinguished from M. leuca (Figure 237) by the distinctly smaller saccus.

Molecular data.

BIN BOLD:ADG5879 (n = 1). The distance to the nearest neighbour M. leuca is 6.6% (p-dist).

Distribution.

Kyrgyzstan (Alai mountains).

Biology.

Host plant and early stages are unknown. The few adults known to date were collected from the middle of July to the end of July at altitudes from ca. 2700 to 2900 m.

Remarks.

Megacraspedus consortiella was described from one male in good condition from “Alai” (= Alai Mountains in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan) ( Caradja 1920: 117). Park (1996) figured the genitalia of the holotype.