Rhamphura dimota (Meyrick, 1931),, 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

Rhamphura dimota (Meyrick, 1931), comb. nov.

Figs 2 , 36

Scythris dimota Meyrick, 1931. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 37: 282.

Material examined.

Lectotype. Paraguay • ♂; Chaco region , Makthlawaiya; •; GSC [G. S. Carter]; 5.27.; [genitalia slide] JFGC No. 8062; NHMUK ID 010922356; NHMUK slide ID 010316670; coll. NHMUK.

Paralectotype. Paraguay • 1 ♂; same data as for lectotype; coll. NHMUK .

Diagnosis.

Externally hardly separable from R. dimota and R. subdimota . Reliable determination can be achieved by genitalia examination (DNA barcode not available for R. dimota yet). Gnathos is labiate, short and sclerotised in R. depressa ; gnathos base is triangular hood, distal arm is short and bent in R. dimota ; absent in R. subdimota . Lateral processes of tegumen absent in R. depressa ; triangular, granulate and heavily sclerotised in R. dimota ; sub-oval, granulate, with longitudinal cleavage and heavily sclerotised in R. subdimota . Male tergum VIII trapezoid in R. depressa ; rectangular with long diverging anterior apodemes in R. dimota ((note: structures shown are not in comparable position, potentially deformed during dissection); pentagonal and medioposteriorly extended in R. dimota ).

Description.

The original description is quoted: "Wingspan 12 mm ♂, ♀. Head and thorax bronzy-fuscous, some white scales on posterior edge of thorax. Palpi dark fuscous, basal joint and base of second ochreous-white. Abdomen dark fuscous, ♂ beneath ochreous-white except last two segments. Forewings dark purplish-fuscous; a white streak along fold from base to near middle of wing, ♂ thicker and irregular, and its apex connected with dorsum by irregular white suffusion; some cloudy white suffusion about end of fold and tornus: cilia rather dark grey. Hindwings 0.66, 4 and 5 separate; dark fuscous; cilia rather dark grey."

Male genitalia. Uncus triangular. Gnathos base small triangular hood; distal arm short, bent, tip pointed. Tegumen hood-shaped, laterally broadly thickened, with two parallel triangular and heavily sclerotised processes. Between tegumen and valvae large formation, consisting of two parallel elongated, basally fused sclerotised pouches. Phallus short and thick, weakly sclerotised (illustrated in Clarke (1965: 472, fig. 4a)). Valvae ~ 1.5 × as long as tegumen and uncus together; narrow and straight, distal 1/3 somewhat broadened dorsally, apex slightly elongated and setose. Vinculum arched, short. Sternum VIII rectangular basally, posterior reinforcement extended laterally, lateral apodemes sclerotised and extended anteriorly forming prongs with spoon-shaped apices. Tergum VIII rectangular, ~ 2 × as wide as long, with long, diverging anterior apodemes.

Distribution.

Paraguay.

Remarks.

Female unknown. The original description states that one male and one female were available, but Clarke (1965) reported that both are males. The asymmetry in the male valvae (Fig. 36 ) is an artefact of preparation due to a partly folded left valva on the slide mount. R. dimota is morphologically similar to R. depressa , particularly the bronzy-fuscous wings, long and narrow valvae and free apodemes on sternum VIII. For these reasons, we reclassify Scythris dimota Meyrick, 1931 as Rhamphura dimota (Meyrick, 1931) new combination.

Figures

Figures 1 - 6. Scythrididae adults, genus Rhamphura 1 A R. depressa (Meyrick, 1931), male, holotype 1 B R. depressa (Meyrick, 1931), male, holotype 2 R. dimota (Meyrick, 1931), male, lectotype 3 R. subdimota Nupponen, sp. nov., male, holotype 4 R. immunis (Meyrick, 1916), male, lectotype 5 R. pozohondaensis Nupponen, sp. nov., female, holotype 6 R. spiniuncus Nupponen, sp. nov., male holotype.

Figures 35 - 36. Male genitalia of Rhamphura 35 R. depressa (Meyrick, 1931), holotype, slide JFGC No. 8061 36 R. dimota (Meyrick, 1931), lectotype, slide JFGC No. 8062.