Stigmella sceptra Remeikis & Stonis 2014, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Stonis, Jonas R.
name: Remeikis, Andrius
name: Davis, Donald R.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2014
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Nepticulidae
Stigmella
Stigmella sceptra

description: 4. Stigmella sceptra Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov.   
(Figs 4, 17–20, 54–59, 98)  
 Diagnosis. Externally the adults of this species resemble a few other species of the S. purpurimaculae group, especially S. purpurimaculae and S. truncata. However, in the male genitalia, the rod-like chitization of the phallus of S. sceptra is unique among the species of the purpurimaculae group. Additionally, S. sceptra clearly differs from the most similar S. truncata by the long slender phallus and longer vinculum; from S. purpurimaculae by the short lobes of uncus and triangular valva; from S. cana, S. concreta and S. pseudoconcreta by the triangular valva and long phallus; from S. quadrata by the narrow lobes of the uncus, triangular valva and significantly larger cornuti.   
 Male (Figs 17–20). Forewing length 2.0–2.2 mm; wingspan 4.4–4.9 mm. Head: palpi grey to glossy greyish cream; frontal tuft mixed: dark greyish brown on frons, yellowish orange on vertex; collar and scape yellowish cream to silvery whitish; antenna half the length of forewing or longer; flagellum with 33–34 segments, dark greybrown, glossy, without purplish iridescence (or the iridescence is hardly visible). Thorax, tegulae and forewing shiny grey, with strong golden gloss, with no fascia; apex purplish brown or brown; terminal and tornal cilia greyish brown to grey; underside of forewing fuscous brown, with no spots or androconia, sometimes with very weak purple iridescence. Hindwings grey to greyish brown on upper side and underside, with no androconia; their cilia greyish brown to grey. Legs brownish grey to fuscous grey on upper side and underside, with very strong gloss. Abdomen shiny, dark grey on upper side and underside; anal tufts short, greyish; anal plates grey.   
 Female. Similar to male.   
 Male genitalia (Figs 54–59). Capsule much longer (about 370 µm) than wide (about 195 µm). Vinculum with two large, distally usually rounded lateral (anterior) lobes; ventral plate of viculum long. Uncus with short truncate caudal lobes (Figs 54, 55). Gnathos with two narrow caudal processes with gradually broadened basal parts (Fig. 55), central plate of gnathos forming a narrow transverse bar. Valva (Figs 54, 56) 175–180 µm long, gradually narrowed towards apex (almost triangular), with large, slightly curved and pointed apical process; inner lobe weakly developed; transtilla with very short triangular pointed sublateral processes. Phallus (Figs 57–59) very long (about 320 µm), 90–95 µm broad; chitinization of phallus tube is partially reduced on one side, while on the other a rod-like chitinization developed (Figs 57–59); vesica with mixture of numerous small dentate and almost same numerous small spine-like cornuti. Manica absent.   
 Female genitalia (Figs 4, 98). Total length about 730–926 µm. Anterior apophyses shorter than posterior ones (about 40–55 µm long in the narrow part); posterior apophyses about 140 µm long, very narrow. Vestibulum broad, without sclerites. Corpus bursae with folded distal part and broader, ovally-shaped basal part, without signa, covered with pectinations (best visible in proximal part of bursae), without thickened spines. Accessory sac broad, very short and not prominent (barely distinct); ductus spermathecae short, with about 3–3.5 convolutions, extended into long (320–560 µm) and broad utriculus (equal or longer than corpus bursae). Abdominal tip broad and blunt.   
 Bionomics. Adults collected in October–November. Otherwise unknown.   
 Distribution. This species occurs in the southern Andes (Chile and Argentina) at altitudes ca. 900–1300 m (see Material).   
 Type material. Holotype: ♂, CHILE, Osorno, Parque Nacional Puyehue, Antillanca, elevation ca. 1100–1300 m, 14.xi.1981, Nielsen & Karsholt, genitalia slide no. RA 435♂ (ZMUC).   
Paratypes: 1 ♂, ARGENTINA, Río Negro, S. C. de Bariloche, Pampa del Toro, elevation ca. 900 m, 30.x.1981, Nielsen & Karsholt, genitalia slide no. RA 436♂ (ZMUC).  
 Other material examined (not type-series). 1 ♂, 2 ♀, ARGENTINA, Río Negro, S. C. de Bariloche, Pampa del Toro, elevation ca. 1000 m, 21.xi.1978, Mision Cientifica Danesa, genitalia slide nos. RA 448♀, RA 465♀, RA 500♂ (ZMUC); 2 ♀, Pampa del Toro, elevation ca. 900 m, 9–10.xi.1981, Nielsen & Karsholt, genitalia slide nos. RA 452♀, RA 456♀ (ZMUC); 1 ♀, Camino del Tronador, elevation ca. 800 m, 29.xi.1978, Mision Cientifica Danesa, genitalia slide no. RA 569♀ (ZMUC) (See Remarks).   
 Etymology. The species name is derived from the Latin sceptrum (a sceptre) in reference to the long rod-like sclerotization of the phallus.   
 Remarks. The specimens which exibit some variation of genitalia or external characters were excluded from the type-series.
description: Published as part of Stonis, Jonas R., Remeikis, Andrius & Davis, Donald R., 2014, Ten new species from the Patagonian Andes (Argentina and Chile), mostly belonging to a newly designated Stigmella purpurimaculae group (Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae), pp. 321-353 in Zootaxa 3887 (3) on pages 327-328, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3887.3.3, http://zenodo.org/record/4952109