Megacraspedus longivalvellus, 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 : 170-172

Megacraspedus longivalvellus sp. n.

Examined material.

Holotype ♂, "Morocco [Middle Atlas] 1400-2000 m Azrou/Ifrane area 17-19.iv.1989 Zool. Mus. Copenh. Exp." "GU 16/1422 ♂ P. Huemer" (ZMUC). Paratypes. Morocco. 1 ♂, High Atlas, Oukaïmeden, 2400 m, 7-17.vi.1965, leg. Y. de Lajonquière (SMNK); 3 ♂, prov. Al Haouz, Imlil, 1680 m, 30.vi.2016, leg. J. Tabell, genitalia slide GEL 1249 Huemer (TLMF, ZMUC); 5 ♂, prov. Ouarzazate, 1 km ESE Aguelmouss, 2150 m, 3.vii.2016, leg. J. Tabell (TLMF, ZMUC); 1 ♂, Ifrane, 23.-24.vi.1972, leg. F. Hahn (ZSM).

Description.

Adult. Male (Figure 144). Wingspan 13-17 mm. Labial palpus long, porrect, blackish brown, white on upper surface; segment 3 reduced. Antennal scape without pecten; flagellum whitish brown ringed with black. Head, thorax and tegula white. Forewing white with a yellowish white tinge and mottled with white black-tipped scales between veins; sub-costal and apical streaks black; small black dots at end of fold and at end of cell; fringes whitish grey with scattered black at base. Hindwing light grey, with light grey fringes.

Female. Unknown.

Variation. The amount of black scales and the distinctness of the black spots on the forewing are variable. The yellowish white tinge on the forewing is only present in fresh specimens.

Male genitalia (Figs 259-260). Uncus moderately large, sub-rectangular, apically evenly rounded; gnathos hook strongly sclerotised, stout, nearly 2 times length of uncus, weakly curved, medially widened, apically pointed; tegumen with medially confluent sclerotised anterior ridges, anterior margin with moderately shallow emargination, medially additional shallow excavation; pedunculi weakly demarcated, suboval; valva digitate, extraordinarily long, extending far beyond apex of uncus, broader basal part straight, tapered apical quarter weakly curved, apex pointed, distal area covered with setae medially and apically, saccular area weakly bulged but not clearly separated from valva; posterior margin of vinculum emarginated, with weakly rounded lateral humps, vincular sclerites broadly sub-rectangular; saccus sub-triangular, with long and pointed rod-like apex, ratio maximum width to length approximately 0.65, posterior margin weakly arched, with shallow medial emargination, medial part without sclerotised ridge, lateral sclerites slightly shorter than maximum width of saccus; phallus slender, straight, coecum weakly defined, distal three-quarters digitate, without specialised structures.

Female genitalia. Unknown.

Diagnosis.

Megacraspedus longivalvellus sp. n. is similar to M. skulei sp. n. (Figure 142), but differs in being larger, by the white head, thorax and tegulae, and by its more black-striped forewings. Megacraspedus knudlarseni sp. n. (Figure 94) also has a reduced segment 3 of the labial palps, but lacks the black stripes on the forewing. The male genitalia are almost unique within Megacraspedu s and can be easily recognized by the extremely long and distally curved valva. They differ from the closely related M. skulei sp. n. (Figure 258) in the less rounded shape of the uncus, the larger gnathos hook, and the longer and apically rod-like saccus.

Molecular data.

BIN BOLD:ADF1825 (n = 2). The intraspecific divergence of the barcode region is moderate with mean 0.9%. The distance to the nearest neighbour M. skulei sp. n. is 2.3% (p-dist).

Distribution.

Morocco (Middle Atlas and High Atlas).

Biology.

Host plant and early stages are unknown. The type material was collected in the middle of April and from June to early July at altitudes ranging from ca. 1400 to 2400 m.

Etymology.

The species name is derived from a combination of the Latin words longus and valva, indicating the characteristically elongated valva, and the diminutive suffix -ellus. The name is a noun in apposition.

Remarks.

DNA barcode divergence and diagnostic characters of adults including the male genitalia support a separate specific status of M. skulei sp. n. and M. longivalvellus sp. n.