Athrips spinosum Bidzilya & Aarvik & Agassiz 2023, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Bidzilya, Oleksiy V.
name: Aarvik, Leif
name: Agassiz, David
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Gelechiidae
Athrips
Athrips spinosum

description: Athrips spinosum sp. nov.
Type material. Holotype ♁, Kenya, Rift Valley, Marich Pass, 3000ft, 31.v.1999 (D. Agassiz) (gen. slide 273/23, O. Bidzilya) (DA).
Diagnosis. Athrips spinosum sp. nov. remotely resembles A. nigribasella sp. nov. externally. However, in the latter species the forewing, in contrast to A. spinosum sp. nov., has distinct dark suffusion along margins and apex, and a black blotch at the base of the costal margin. The differences from A. macrosignella sp. nov. are explained above under the diagnosis of that species. The male genitalia can easily be recognized by the cucullus bearing a long and slender medial process, an extremely slender distally curved sacculus, a large paired tuft on the posterior margin of the vinculum and phallus with an apical cluster of spines. The last character is unique among species of Athrips.
Description. Adult (Fig. 5). Wingspan 12.5 mm. Head light brown, smooth, except vertex with well developed scale tufts, labial palpus recurved, palpomere 2 light brown, mixed with dark brown before apex, inner surface uniformly light brown, palpomere 3 light brown with two dark brown rings, about half as wide and 2/3 length of palpomere 2, antennal scape light brown, flagellomeres light brown, ringed with dark brown; thorax as head; tegulae light brown mixed with brown-tipped scales; forewing narrow, elongate, apex pointed, ground colour light brown to yellowish-brown, costal margin and veins suffused with dark brown, irregular brown spot on 1/3 of dorsum, two indistinct brown dots in cell, cilia pale brown-tipped; hindwing and cilia light grey.
Male genitalia (Fig. 15). Uncus elongate, about 1/3 length of tegumen, gradually constricted in middle, apically clavate, densely covered with strong short setae in distal part; gnathos strongly curved at base, distal 2/3 long, straight; tegumen broad at base, then weakly narrowed, anteromedial emargination broadly rounded, extending almost to 1/2 length of tegumen; cucullus weakly widened in middle, dorsal margin with long narrow process on 1/2, distal part densely covered with long hairs, apex pointed, far exceeding top of uncus setae; sacculus basally moderately broad, then very slender, strongly curved inwards, extending to 1/2 length of cucullus; vinculum broad, covered posteriorly with short spines, posterior margin with deep medial triangular emargination and paired large subtriangular humps; transtilla lobes almost 1/2 length of sacculus, clavate; saccus short, broadly rounded, 3 times broader than long, posterior margin strongly sclerotized, with U-shaped medial emargination; phallus tube inflated in basal part, distal part about twice as long and half as wide as basal half, distinctly curved, ventral margin strongly sclerotized, dorsal margin with cluster of spines before rounded apex.
Female genitalia. Unknown.
Biology. The adult was collected in late May.
Distribution. Kenya: Rift Valley.
Etymology. The specific epithet is derived from the Latin words “ spina ”—thorn, spine, and refers to the patch of apical spines in the phallus that is characteristic for the species.
description: Published as part of Bidzilya, Oleksiy V., Aarvik, Leif & Agassiz, David, 2023, New species and new country distribution records of Athrips (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae) from the Afrotropical region, pp. 489-500 in Zootaxa 5343 (5) on page 495, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5343.5.4, http://zenodo.org/record/8346160