Scythris ammobia, Falkovitch, 1972

D’Entrèves, P. & Roggero, A., 2006, New And Little-Known Species Of Scythridid Moths Collected By Z. Kaszab In Mongolia (Lepidoptera: Gelechioidea, Scythrididae), Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 52 (1), pp. 49-75 : 63-64

S. ammobia Falkovitch, 1972

Scythris ammobia FALKOVITCH, Trudy zool. Inst. 52: 323.

Material. 1 m (Genital slide no. 9374 Passerin d’Entrèves), MONGOLIA: South Gobi aimag, 25 km N of somon Bulgan, Schovongin chooloi, 1030 m, 1964 Kaszab Expedition , 18.VI.1964 ; 1 m (Genital slide no. 4095 Passerin d’Entrèves), MONGOLIA: South Gobi aimag, 100 km E of Ovot Chuural Checkpoint, 1250 m, 1967 Kaszab Expedition , 22.VI.1967 ; 9 mm (Genital slides no. 4077, 4089, 4092, 4101, 4106, 4107, 4112, 4115 and 4116 Passerin d’Entrèves), 2 ff (Genital slides no. 4084 and 4090 Passerin d’Entrèves), MONGOLIA: Ovorhangay aymag, 130 km ESE of somon Bajanleg, 1150 m, 1967 Kaszab Expedition , 3.VII.1967 .

Distribution. S. ammobia is known from Uzbekistan and southern Mongolia. The specimen reported by BENGTSSON (1997 b: 91) from Russia surely does not belong to S. ammobia , but is very similar to the females of S. gorbunovi NUPPONEN , S. sinevi NUPPONEN and S. cervella NUPPONEN et NUPPONEN. The sterigma of the S. ammobia type specimen reported in FALKOVITCH (1972 a: 324) is spindle-shaped, evenly sclerotized, with two paired, elongate and lightly divergent appendices. Moreover, S8 shows a characteristic sclerotization, entirely lacking in the female specimen reported by BENGTSSON (1997 b).

Remarks. In Mongolia, the species was collected in June in sandy areas with Tamarix , Haloxylon , Caragana and Zygophyllum vegetation in July near a dry salt basin. FALKOVITCH collected the species in May and June in the Bukhara region, Uzbekistan.