Scythris mongholica, D’Entrèves & Roggero, 2006

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 : 55-56

Scythris mongholica sp. n.

( Fig. 4 )

Holotype. m MONGOLIA: Uburchangaj aimak 130 km OSO von Somon Bajanleg, 1150 m Exp. Dr. Z. KASZAB, 1967 / Nr. 882 3.VII.1967 / Prep. Gen. N. Passerin d’E. / 4111 m / Genital slide no. 4111 Passerin d’Entrèves / Holotypus Scythris mongholica P.E. & R .

Paratypes. 1 m MONGOLIA: Uburchangaj aimak 130 km OSO von Somon Bajanleg, 1150 m Exp. Dr. Z. KASZAB, 1967 / Nr. 882 3.VII.1967 / Prep. Gen. N. Passerin d’E. / 4100 m / Genital slide no. 4100 Passerin d’Entrèves ; 1 m MONGOLIA: Uburchangaj aimak 130 km OSO von Somon Bajanleg, 1150 m Exp. Dr. Z. KASZAB, 1967 / Nr. 882 3.VII.1967 / Prep. Gen. N. Passerin d’E., 4110 m / Genital slide no. 4110 Passerin d’Entrèves ; 1 m MONGOLIA: Uburchangaj aimak 130 km OSO von Somon Bajanleg, 1150 m Exp. Dr. Z. KASZAB, 1967 / Nr. 882 3.VII.1967 / 9370 m / Genital slide no. 9370 Passerin d’Entrèves ; 1 m MONGOLIA: Uburchangaj aimak 130 km OSO von Somon Bajanleg, 1150 m Exp. Dr. Z. KASZAB, 1967 / Nr. 882 3.VII.1967 / 9371 m / Genital slide no. 9371 Passerin d’Entrèves .

Description – Male. Wingspan 10 mm. Fore wings and hind wings whitish and glossy, with light brown dots on the whole surface. Fringes light tawny. Head, thorax and abdomen very light brown. Legs whitish. Antennae light brown, as long as the fore wings.

Female. Unknown.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 4 A, B , and C). Uncus laminar, elongate, Y-shaped, with a very long basal branch and two well-sclerotized, paired protuberances at base. Gnathos well developed, very enlarged at base, narrowing abruptly toward apex, down-turned at two thirds of the length and sharp. Tegumen conical with dorso- and ventroanterior incisions, as long as the uncus; valvae symmetrical, arched and narrow at apex, bearing setae in distal half. Aedeagus bifid at apex, curved, as long as uncus. T8 triangular and elongate, S8 triangular, narrow and long, apex rounded and slightly protruding.

Female genitalia. Unknown.

Distribution. Known only from Mongolia.

Biology. The specimens were collected in southern Mongolia at the beginning of July, near a dry salt basin.

Remarks. Although the female of S. mongholica sp. n. is unknown, the species is surely related to S. ammobia FALKOVITCH , S. asema FALKOVITCH , S. asthena FALKOVITCH , S. hypolepta FALKOVITCH and S. physalis FALKOVITCH , on the basis of the genitalia features. These species are known only from Eastern Palaearctic region. S. mongholica and S. ammobia FALKOVITCH are sister-species and can be distinguished by many diagnostic characters. The superior edge of uncus is four-lobate in S. ammobia , and U-shaped in S. mongholica . The features of the base of uncus are very different in the two species: enlarged and bearing a sclerotized structure narrowed in the middle in S. mongholica , rectilinear on the sides with an up-curved sclerotized structure in S. ammobia . Gnathos, tegumen and aedeagus are very similar in shape in both the species. The valvae are far more arched and enlarged in the proximal half in S. ammobia than in S. mongholica , and the apex is more rounded and enlarged in the former species than in the latter one. Furthermore, the setae are short on the inner edge and long on the outer edge in S. mongholica , but long on the inner edge and short on the outer one in S. ammobia .

Etymology. The species is named after the state of Mongolia, where it was collected for the first time by KASZAB.

Figures

Fig. 4. Male genitalia of S. mongholica sp. n. A = uncus-tegumen-gnathos-aedeagus-valvae complex; B = T8 and S8; C = uncus and gnathos, lateral view. Scale bar = 0.5 mm