Landryia ankylosauroides Nupponen, sp. nov., genus combination, 2022

Nupponen 1, Kari & Sihvonen, Pasi, 2022, Revision of Neotropical Scythrididae moths and descriptions of 22 new species from Argentina, Chile, and Peru (Lepidoptera, Gelechioidea), ZooKeys 1087, pp. 19-104 : 19

Landryia ankylosauroides Nupponen, sp. nov., genus combination incertae sedis

Figs 10 , 42 , 65

Type material.

Holotype. Argentina • ♂; prov. Santiago del Estero, Pozo Honda village S, by salt lake; 27°17.2'S, 64°28.0'W; 260 m a.s.l.; 20 Sep. 2017; K. Nupponen & R. Haverinen leg.; [BOLD sample ID] KN01059; [genitalia slide] K. Nupponen prep. No. 4/13 Jan. 2019; coll. NUPP (MZH).

Paratypes. Argentina • 20 ♂, 9 ♀; same data as for holotype; [BOLD sample ID] KN01060; [genitalia slide] K. Nupponen prep. No. 2/13 Jan. 2019 ♂; coll. NUPP; • 21 ♂, 12 ♀; same data as for holotype except collecting date; 19 Sep. 2017; [BOLD sample IDs] KN01061, KN01062; [genitalia slide] K. Nupponen prep. No. 1/15 Dec. 2019 ♀; coll. NUPP; • 1 ♀; prov. La Rioja, valley east of Sierra de Sanogasta; 29°51.7'S, 67°09.9'W; 670 m a.s.l.; 22 Sep. 2017; K. Nupponen & R. Haverinen leg.; coll. NUPP.

Diagnosis.

A pale streak in forewing is diagnostic. In the male genitalia of L. ankylosauroides , the S-shaped distal arm of gnathos is distinctive, and similar structure is found only in L. chilensis . The two taxa are readily separated by several details in the male genitalia: in L. ankylosauroides the left valva is much shorter than the right one (in L. chilensis valvae ca. equal length) and the right valva is without large distal lobe (in L. chilensis a large distal lobe is present), tergum VIII has narrow lateral arms with melanised spikes (in L. chilensis spikes are absent and posterior margin is deeply concave). In the female genitalia of L. ankylosauroides , sterigma is an inverted cone, which resembles that of R. pozohondaensis , but differs by trapezoid posterior flap (parallel triangular flaps in R. pozohondaensis ) and absence of cleavage at anterior tip.

Description.

Wingspan 10.5-12 mm. Head, collar, tegula and thorax pale fuscous; few white scales around eye, and small blotch of same colour at medioposterior margin of thorax. Neck tuft and haustellum white. Scape dorsally dark brown, ventrally dirty white, pecten longer than diameter of scape. Flagellum dark brown, 0.65 × length of forewing, in male ciliate, sensillae ~ 0.75 × as long as diameter of flagellum. Labial palps: palpomere I white; lower surface of posterior 1/2 of palpomere II and palpomere III dark brown, otherwise white. Legs cream, upper surfaces more or less mixed with different tones of brown. Abdomen dorsally fuscous, ventrally dirty white. Forewing grey, costal area slightly darker than dorsal one; more or less distinct white streak in forewing from base to termen, in dorsal margin edged by interrupted dark brown line; few white scales at apical area. Hindwing pale grey.

Male genitalia. Uncus heavily sclerotised, subtriangular, basal part heart-shaped. Gnathos base small belt; distal arm long, strongly sigmoid (S-shaped), tip club-shaped covered by minute spines. Tegumen rectangular. Phallus 0.7 × length of right valva, straight, shaped as elongated bottle. Valvae asymmetrical, fused at basal 1/2, dorsal margins setose; left valva short, oval; right valva 1.4 × longer than left, of constant width, subapically with small extension, apex bent, heavily sclerotised, tip shallowly indented. Saccus as long as right valva, triangular. Sternum VIII large hexagonal plate, medioposteriorly deeply U-shaped; posterior margin with two asymmetrical and diverging extensions, longer one with numerous long and thin setae; latero-anterior corners with parallel long and narrow extensions, tips spatulate. Tergum VIII trapezoid basally, anterior margin concave; medioposteriorly with digitate extension; mediolaterally at both sides long and upwards directed extensions, distal 1/2 with ~ ten long and heavily sclerotised spiniform setae.

Female genitalia. Sterigma triangular. Ostium small, situated at anterior tip of sterigma. Sternum VII trapezoid; lateroposteriorly small triangular flaps at both sides, anterior corners extended. Sternum VIII with two, suboval, sclerotised plates. Apophyses anteriores 0.35 × length of apophyses posteriores.

Etymology.

Latinised adjective in the nominative singular. The species name alludes to the shape of the gnathos arm, reminiscent of the tail of Ankylosauridae ( Reptilia: Dinosauria ).

Distribution.

NW Argentina.

Habitat.

The habitat at the type locality of Pozo Honda is a dry shrubby area near a salt lake shore (Fig. 78 ); the other collecting site is an open valley with halophytic vegetation.

Genetic data.

BIN: BOLD:ADZ2684 (n = 3 from Argentina). Genetically rather homogenous, maximum variation 0.32%. Nearest neighbour: North American Landryia matutella (Clemens, 1860) ( Scythrididae , BIN: BOLD:AAE6120, 1.25%).

Remarks.

Based on our COI maximum likelihood phylogeny, the South American taxa Landryia ankylosauroides and Landryia chilensis group inside a large clade, whose taxa are classified in Landryia on BOLD (Suppl. material 2). However, Landryia ankylosauroides and Landryia chilensis do not have the diagnostic morphological characters of Landryia , such as a greatly enlarged bulbus ejaculatorius (unless accidentally removed during dissection) in the male genitalia and the pincer-like projections on the caudal margin of female sternum VII ( Landry 1991). Also, male sternum VIII of Landryia ankylosauroides and Landryia chilensis are distinct with their spiniform setae and long apodemes, but such are not present in North American Landryia ( Landry 1991). Further, North American L. matutella , which is genetically the nearest neighbour to taxon Landryia ankylosauroides , is morphologically different. We therefore classified these two taxa in Landryia (incertae sedis), highlighting the need for further research.

Figures

Figure 65. Female genitalia of Landryia ankylosauroides Nupponen sp. nov., genus combination incertae sedis, paratype, slide 1 / 15 Dec. 2019 KN.

Figure 78. Collecting site of Scythris bicoloristrigella sp. nov. and Rhamphura spiniuncus sp. nov.: Argentina, Andes Mts. (1620 m), salt lake by Cordillera del Tigre, 26 Jan. 2017.

Figures 7 - 11. Scythrididae adults, genera Rhamphura and Landryia 7 R. angulisociella Nupponen, sp. nov., genus combination incertae sedis, male, holotype 8 R. curvisociella Nupponen, sp. nov., genus combination incertae sedis, male, holotype 9 R. tetrafasciella Nupponen, sp. nov., genus combination incertae sedis, female, holotype 10 A L. ankylosauroides Nupponen sp. nov., genus combination incertae sedis, male, holotype 10 B L. ankylosauroides Nupponen, sp. nov., genus combination incertae sedis, male, paratype 11 L. chilensis Nupponen, sp. nov., genus combination incertae sedis, male, holotype.

Figures 41 - 42. Male genitalia of Rhamphura and Landryia 41 R. curvisociella Nupponen sp. nov., genus combination incertae sedis, holotype, slide 1 / 12 Dec. 2019 KN 42 L. ankylosauroides Nupponen, sp. nov., genus combination incertae sedis, holotype, above (lateral view): slide 4 / 13 Dec. 2019 KN, below (ventral view): slide 2 / 13 Dec. 2019 KN (paratype).