Rhamphura pozohondaensis Nupponen, 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 pozohondaensis Nupponen sp. nov.

Figs 5 , 63

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.; 19 Sep. 2017; K. Nupponen & R. Haverinen leg.; [BOLD sample ID] KN01047; [genitalia slide] K. Nupponen prep. no. 1/14 Dec. 2019; coll. NUPP (MZH).

Diagnosis.

Externally easily separated from other species treated herein by the blackish brown forewings with a distinct whitish dirty pale beige streak in fold, and blackish hindwings. In the female genitalia of S. pozohondaensis , sterigma resembles that of S. ankylosauroides , but differs by parallel triangular posterior flaps (trapezoid flap in S. ankylosauroides ) and presence of cleavage at anterior tip.

Description.

Wingspan 11 mm. Head and thorax blackish brown, Few dirty white scales exist around eye. Collar, neck tuft and tegula dark fuscous, paler than head. Haustellum white. Scape dorsally dark brown, ventrally pale fuscous; pecten dirty cream and ca. as long as diameter of scape. Flagellum dark brown, 0.55 × length of forewing. Labial palp white, except lower surfaces of palpomere III and distal 1/2 of palpomere II dark brown. Legs dirty white, upper surfaces of foreleg and midleg mixed with fuscous. Abdomen dorsally fuscous, ventrally white. Forewing blackish brown, distinct whitish dirty pale beige streak in fold from base to 0.75; scattered dirty pale beige scales at apical 1/3. Hindwing blackish brown.

Female genitalia. Sterigma triangular, posterolateral corners laterally elongate; posteriorly two large parallel flaps; anterior tip with narrow cleavage. Ostium small, situated at anterior tip of sterigma. Sternum VII quadrangular; posterior margin shallowly concave. Apophyses anteriores 0.55 × length of apophyses posteriores.

Etymology.

Latinised adjective in the nominative singular. The species is named after the type locality, the village of Pozo Honda.

Distribution.

NW Argentina.

Habitat.

The habitat at the collecting site is a dry shrubby area near a salt lake shore (Fig. 77 ).

Genetic data.

BIN: BOLD:ADY8268 (n = 1 from Argentina). Nearest neighbour: Rhamphura depressa (BIN: BOLD:ADY6755, 3.3%).

Remarks.

Male unknown. Based on COI maximum likelihood phylogeny, the South American taxa Rhamphura subdimota , Rhamphura depressa , Rhamphura pozohondaensis , Rhamphura spiniuncus , Rhamphura angulisociella , Rhamphura tetrafasciella , and Rhamphura curvisociella group together, associating next to the North American taxa classified in Rhamphura on BOLD (Suppl. material 2). Structurally these taxa are heterogeneous and the external characters, male and/or female genitalia show varying degrees of similarities to the North American Rhamphura , as diagnosed and illustrated in Landry (1991). With regard to Rhamphura pozohondaensis , it has female sterigma as triangular cone, projected anteriorly, which is diagnostic in Rhamphura . We therefore classified this taxon as Rhamphura pozohondaensis .

Figures

Figure 63. Female genitalia of Rhamphura pozohondaensis Nupponen sp. nov., holotype, slide 1 / 14 Dec. 2019 KN.

Figure 77. Collecting site of Rhamphura depressa Meyrick, R. pozohondaensis sp. nov., R. subdimota sp. nov., R. curvisociella sp. nov., Scythris directiphallella sp. nov., S. angustivalvella sp. nov., Landryia ankylosauroides sp. nov. Argentina, Pozo Honda vill. S (259 m), 19 Sep. 2017.

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.