Aureopterix bachmaensis, Mey & Léger & Lien, 2021

Mey, Wolfram, Leger, Theo & Lien, Vu Van, 2021, New taxa of extant and fossil primitive moths in South-East Asia and their biogeographic significance (Lepidoptera, Micropterigidae, Agathiphagidae, Lophocoronidae), Nota Lepidopterologica 44, pp. 29-56 : 33-34

Aureopterix bachmaensis sp. nov. Figs 1 , 2 , 3-11

Type material.

Holotype ♂, Vietnam, Thua Thien-Hue Province, Bach-Ma National Park, 12.vi.2018, above Rhododendron Trail , 1256 m, 16°11.757'N, 107°50.922'E, at light, leg. W. Mey, genitalia slide Mey 08/20, DNA voucher Lepidoptera , MFN LEP042 ( VNMN) .

Paratypes: 2 ♀, Vietnam, Thua Thien-Hue Province, Bach-Ma National Park, 10.vi.2018, Five Lakes Trail , 1190 m, 16°12.214'N, 107°50.441'E, at light, leg. W. Mey, genitalia slide Mey 09/20 , 1 ♀ in alcohol, DNA voucher Lepidoptera , MFNLEP041 ( MfN) .

Etymology.

The specific name is derived from the name of the Bach-Ma National Park.

Diagnosis.

Vietnam. Male with long genitalia, projecting half the length of abdomen in dried specimens; abdomen and genitalia with long, scattered setae; tergum X of males with single setal tuft on each ventro-lateral margin on a raised base at mid-length.

Forewing ground colour and fascial pattern (Figs 1 , 2 ) corresponding widely with the two other known species of Aureopterix Gibbs, 2010. The male genitalia of the new species are more similar to those of A. micans Gibbs, 2010, described from New Caledonia, and less similar to A. sterops (Turner, 1921) distributed in northern Queensland, eastern Australia. A. bachmaensis sp. nov. mainly differs from both species by the shape of the valvae and the slender segment X bearing one single setal brush on a knob-like process of the lateral margin in male genitalia.

Description.

(Figs 3-6 ) Length of forewings 3.9 mm (male) to 4.1 mm (females). Antennae with 34 flagellomeres in male, 32 in female, extending to two-thirds of forewings; first four basal flagellomeres fused, clothed with white lamellar scales, following flagellomeres brown, with long, dark sensillae and ascoids, female flagellomeres 4 to 6 black; head capsule dark brown, with dense tufts of white, piliform scales on frons and vertex; eyes hemispherical; epicranial suture and ocelli absent; clypeus separated from frons by a deep, arched suture extending between the tentorial pits; labrum long, triangular with rounded tip; mandibles present, apical portions hidden under labrum; maxillae with long, five-segmented palpi, held in vertical position close to frons, inner endites two short, rounded processes (= galea and subgalea); labial palpi short, three-segmented, terminal segment with a garland of stiff sensillae. Pronotum and basal part of tegulae brown, dorsum of thorax with silvery white, lamellar scales. Ground colour of forewings pale white, shining silvery, some brown spots at base of costa, apical part of forewings with oblique, bronzy fascia, fringes white, hindwings shining bronzy on upper- and underside. Wing venation (Fig. 7 ) with Sc and R 1 forked in forewing, simple in hindwing or absent ( R 1), R 4 and R 5 in both wings very short, forming forks encompassing the wing tips, hindwings with accessory cell absent, anal veins without looping. Wing coupling mechanism with short jugum of forewings and bundle of three erect bristles on costal base of male hindwings, females without those bristles. Legs with white coxae and femora, tibiae and tarsal segments dark brown, epiphysis present on foretibia, legs clothed with acute tipped scales, long or short spines in addition to spurs absent, spurs 0.0.4. Male abdomen with long bristles on ventral side, glands of sterna V present, orifice rounded, segment VIII of male present as tergum only, no traces of sternite visible.

Male genitalia (Figs 8-10 ): segment IX bulbous, not forming a closed ring, anterior margin of ventral side slightly excavated, valvae very long, club-shaped, tips acute in ventral view; segment X shorter than length of valvae, narrowly cleft at apex for half of its length, paired apices rounded, lateral margin with a brush of 3-4 short setae on a short process directed ventro-mediad; median plate weakly sclerotized, enclosed in basal part of segment X; phallic apparatus long and tubular, terminal part of phallocrypt with micro-spines on dorsal side, distal part of phallus membranous, cornuti absent.

Female genitalia (Fig. 11 ): segment I to VIII with sclerotized terga and sterna, segment IX elongate, membranous and telescoping, with a continuous sclerotized ring on distal margin, segment X with rounded, lateral sclerites of paired and setose terminal papillae (= papillae anales). (The bursa was completely macerated during boiling in KOH).

Molecular results.

(Fig. 2C , Table 1 ) We recovered only the COI-1a fragment (325bp) for both samples. In the best scoring RAxML-tree the genus Aureopterix is well supported as a monophylum with respect to Zealandopterix and Tasmantrix ( BS = 97). Relationships among A. bachmaensis sp. nov., A. micans and A. sterops remain unclear.

Remarks.

The locality in the Bach-Ma National Park will probably not remain the only record of this new species. Future field work will provide a more accurate picture of the species range, which is probably restricted to the Truong Son Mountain Range (= Annamite Range). This roughly north to south running mountain range along the Laos-Vietnam border is an area of endemism which gained global recognition in the early to mid-1990s with the discovery of six spectacular mammal species ( Sterling and Hurley 2005) that are confined to this range. The report of A. bachmaensis sp. nov. in the National Park is an example from Lepidoptera underpinning the significance of the area.

Figures

Figure 1. Map of the distribution of Aureopterix Gibbs, 2010 with disjunct ranges in Vietnam and (in yellow) Australia / New Caledonia, and locality of Burmese amber mines (1. Mine in Hukawng Valley, Kachin State, Myanmar; 2. New record of Aureopterix, Bach-Ma National Park, Vietnam).

Figure 2. Adults of Aureopterix bachmaensis sp. nov. and their phylogenetic placement. A. Male, holotype; B. Female, paratype; C. Phylogenetic tree of Aureopterix. Best scoring RAxML-tree with node calibration in millions of years displayed above branches. Sabatinca branch not represented for visual convenience.

Figures 3 - 11. Aureopterix bachmaensis sp. nov.; 3 - 5. Head, female; 3. Dorsal view; 4. Frontal view, right maxillary palpus omitted; 5. Lateral view; 6. Flagellomeres, mid-section; 7. Wing venation, holotype; 8. Male abdomen and genitalia, lateral view; 9. Segment X, dorsal view; 10. Male genitalia, ventral view; 11. Female abdomen, lateral view. Scale bars: 0.25 mm (3 - 5.); 10 µm (6.); 1 mm (7.); 0.5 mm (8.); 0.5 mm (10., 11.);