Tenupalpa acutata Lee et Li 2022, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Lee, Ga-Eun
name: Li, Houhun
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Gelechiidae
Tenupalpa
Tenupalpa acutata

description: Tenupalpa acutata Lee et Li, sp. nov.
(Figs 20, 37, 57, 76, 92)
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: EF437C75-EE46-4D02-B16A-43EDE0946499
Type material. Holotype ♂, CHINA, Zhejiang Province, Quzhou City, Kaihua County, Gutianshan (29.23°N, 118.1°E), 310 m, 18.v.2017, leg. Shuonan Qian and Ga-Eun Lee, genitalia slide no. LGE18030. Paratypes. Zhejiang Province: 2 ♂♂, same data as holotype except 20.v.2017, genitalia slide no. LGE17045; 1 ♂, Gutianshan (29.24°N, 118.11°E), 412 m, Quzhou City, 25.viii.2017, leg. Shuonan Qian, Yanyan Jia and Juan Li, genitalia slide no. LGE17259; 1 ♂, Laofoyan Village (28.21°N, 118.41°E), 465 m, 11.viii.2018, leg. Shuai Yu, Mengran Xing and Chen Liu, genitalia slide no. LGE19005; 6 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀, Gutianshan (29.14°N, 118.07°E), 416 m, Kaihua County, 13,15. viii.2018, leg. Shuai Yu, Mengran Xing and Chen Liu, genitalis slide nos. LGE 18710m, LGE18846 f, LGE 19006 m, LGE 19008 m, LGE 19009 m. Fujian Province: 1 ♂, Sangang (27.45°N, 117.41°E), 740 m, Mt. Wuyi, 27.vii.2008, leg. Weichun Li, Yongling Sun and Haiyan Bai, genitalia slide no. LGE18005. Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region: 1 ♂, Qinmu Village (24.98°N, 109.98°E), 160 m, Yongfu County, 6.v.2008, leg. Hui Zhen and Li Zhang, genitalia slide no. LGE18702; 4 ♂♂, 1 ♀, Yangmeiao (25.29°N, 109.31°E), 1180 m, Huanjiang County, Hechi, 23−26.vii.2015, leg. Meiqing Yang and Ga-Eun Lee, genitalia slide no. LGE 17037m; 5 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀, Yangmeiao Protection Station, 1240 m, Rongshui County, Liuzhou, 27.vii.2015, leg. Meiqing Yang and Ga-Eun Lee, genitalia slide nos. LGE 16011m, LGE 16012 m, LGE16013 f, LGE19004 f. Guizhou Province: 1 ♂, Heiwanhe, Mt. Fanjing, 530 m, 2.vi.2002, leg. Xinpu Wang, genitalia slide no. ZJL05455; 1 ♂, Kuankuoshui Nature Reserves (28.23°N, 107.18°E), 1500 m, Suiyang County, 11.viii.2010, leg. Linlin Yang, genitalia slide no. LGE19002; 1 ♀, Dongdai, 720 m, Shuizu Town, Limingguan, Libo County, 19.vii.2015, leg. Meiqing Yang and Ga-Eun Lee; 5 ♂♂, Heiwanhe (27.82°N, 108.78°E), 528 m, Mt. Fanjing, 16, 17.viii.2018, leg. Meiling Zheng, Jiaqi Deng and Xiaoju Zhu, genitalia slide no. LGE18709. Hainan Province: 2 ♂♂, Tianchi, 810 m, Jianfengling, 30.iii.2008, leg. Bingbing Hu and Haiyan Bai, genitalia slide nos. LGE17039, LGE18003; 2 ♂♂, Tianchi (18.74°N, 108.84°E), 1050 m, Jianfengling, Ledong County, 29.iv.2013, leg. Yinghui Sun, Wei Guan and Tengteng Liu, genitalia slide nos. LGE19010, LGE19011; 1 ♂, 1 ♀, Jianfengling Nature Reserves (18.74°N, 108.87°E), 770 m, Ledong County, 15,17. vii.2014, leg. Peixin Cong, Linjie Liu and Sha Hu; 1 ♀, Wuzhishan Nature Reserves (18.88°N, 109.65°E), 742 m, 18.v.2015, leg. Peixin Cong, Wei Guan and Sha Hu, genitalia slide no. LGE19019; 3 ♂♂, Diaoluoshan Nature Reserves (18.43°N, 109.52°E), 922 m, 24–26.v.2015, leg. Peixin Cong, Wei Guan and Sha Hu, genitalia slide no. LGE15004; 1 ♀, Tianchi (18.73°N, 108.87°E), 787 m, Jianfengling, 12.vii.2015, leg. Qingyun Wang, Suran Li and Mengting Chen; 1 ♂, Tianchi (18.73°N, 108.87°E), 787 m, Jianfengling, 8.viii.2016, leg. Xia Bai, Shuonan Qian and Wanding Qi, genitalia slide no. LGE16259; 1 ♀, Jianfengling (18.75°N, 108.87°E), 810 m, Ledong County, 12.vi.2018, leg. Ping Liu, Xia Bai and Shuai Yu.
Diagnosis. Superficially, this species closely resembles T. crassimedia sp. nov., T. acutimedia sp. nov., T. breviaedeaga sp. nov., T. magniguttata sp. nov., T. perparviloba sp. nov., T. uncativalva sp. nov., T. zhengi sp. nov., and T. dissimilis sp. nov., and it is difficult to separate these species based only on external characters. Tenupalpa acutata sp. nov. is differentiated from other species by the shape of male sternum VIII, which is short and sub-rectangular compared to the round or pentagonal-shaped sternum of most other species. The male genitalia are distinguished by the slender valva, often with a minute spine near apex, and the apically pointed aedeagus. The female genitalia are similar to those of T. flavitermina, but the corpus bursae is narrower, and the signum is situated more anteriorly in T. acutata sp. nov.
Description. Adult (Fig. 57). Head: Silvery white, vertex sometimes mixed with grey. Labial palpus silvery white, palpomere II mixed with grey on outer surface; palpomere III as long as II, strongly mixed with fuscous. Antenna with scape silvery white; flagellum dark fuscous except basal half of dorsal surface silvery white, male cilia slightly longer than diameter.
Thorax: Silvery white and light brown mixed. Tegula silvery white and light brown mixed, anterior margin usually suffused with fuscous. Wingspan 6.5–9.5 mm. Forewing silvery white to grey at base, gradually darkening toward apex; sometimes basal 1/3 silvery white and distal 2/3 dark grey; anterior edge of costa black; a large, fusiform orange patch extending along costa after middle, its inner margin nearly pointed, gradually broadened toward distal 1/6 of wing, then narrowed toward apical spot, below this an elongate orange spot on dorsum just after fold; a narrow white line between the patch and apical spot, running from costa to tornus; apical spot large, below this a small, indistinct black spot near tornus, between two spots tinged with orange along termen; fringe scales grey, mixed with cream along distal part of dorsum. Hindwing grey except apex black and near apex cream; fringe scales light grey, apical fringe cream with a black terminal band. Legs silvery white; hind tibia strongly mixed with fuscous after middle; mid- and hind tarsi mixed with fuscous.
Abdomen (Fig. 20): Male coremata as long as sternum VIII; sternum VIII short, sub-rectangular, posterior apex slightly convex medially. Male genitalia (Fig. 76) with uncus small oval, with a longitudinal ridge medially. Gnathos hook short, pointed apically. Tegumen approximately 8–9 times as long as uncus; papilliform tubercles at middle, each tubercle bearing a long single hair (Fig. 37). Valva slender, gradually narrowed from base to middle, then broadening to apex; costa with or without a minute spine before apex, rounded apically. Anellus lobe oval, approximately 1/5 length of valva; apical bristle longer than anellus lobe, sometimes sinuous, curved inward apically. Juxta with inner margin broadly convex, sometimes sinuous in distal half. Vinculum broad, posterior margin rounded. Saccus broad, sub-triangular, sometimes slightly constricted at middle, rounded apically. Aedeagus with basal 1/3 dilated, distal 2/3 slender and sinuous, acute apically. Female genitalia (Fig. 92) with papillae anales simple and setose. Apophyses anteriores 1/3–1/2 length of apophyses posteriores. Tergum VIII with posterior margin deeply incised at middle, bearing a bundle of setae at the cleft; sternum VIII with posterior margin nearly straight, anterior margin convex medially. Ostium bursae round, located at middle of sternum VIII. Ductus bursae slender, slightly broadened after middle; colliculum reduced, situated at posterior 1/3, ductus seminalis arising from posterior 2/5. Corpus bursae elongate ovate, as long as ductus bursae, often constricted medially; signum small semicircular, placed at posterior 1/3.
Distribution. China (Fujian, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Zhejiang).
Etymology. The species name is derived from the Latin acutatus (sharpened), referring to the acute apex of the aedeagus.
Variation. Tenupalpa acutata sp. nov. is variable in color pattern, with the forewings of some specimens gradually darkened from the base to the apex, and in others divided into white and grey areas. The termen of T. acutata sp. nov. is usually tinged with orange near the apical spot, and the dorsum is slightly suffused with orange beyond the fold, but these features can also be indistinct. At the same locality, specimens collected in May tend to be larger than those collected in August. In the male genitalia, specimens from Guangxi often lack the small spine near the apex of valva, whereas those from Zhejiang have spines.
description: Published as part of Lee, Ga-Eun & Li, Houhun, 2022, Taxonomic study of the genus Tenupalpa Lee et Li, 2021 (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae Thiotrichinae) from China, with descriptions of fifteen new species, pp. 75-111 in Zootaxa 5087 (1) on pages 99-100, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5087.1.4, http://zenodo.org/record/5819794