Athrips asymmetrica 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 asymmetrica

description: Athrips asymmetrica sp. nov.
Type material. Holotype ♁, South Africa, Hluhluwe Nat. Park, 18.ii.1997 (S.A. Bakke) (gen. slide NHMO 2317, O. Bidzilya) (NHMO).
Diagnosis. Athrips asymmetrica sp. nov. resembles externally A. savannae (Bidzilya, 2010), comb. nov., but differs in having a more distinct oblique yellowish brown strip from 1/3 of costa, lighter fold and absence of white costal and tornal spots on 3/4. The male genitalia with asymmetrical sacculi are unique among species of Athrips.
Description. Adult (Fig. 3). Wingspan 12.0 mm. Head covered with grey, brown-tipped scales, labial palpus recurved, palpomere 2 light brown with two dark brown belts, inner surface uniformly light brown, palpomere 3 light brown with narrow dark brown ring in middle and before apex; thorax light brown; tegulae light brown, mottled with dark brown; forewing covered with yellowish to light brown scales, costal margin with brown suffusion, termen spotted with brown, dorsal margin, fold and subcostal margin to 1/2 yellowish-brown, oblique yellowish brown strip edged with brown from 1/3 of costa to middle of cell, diffuse brown spot on 2/3 near dorsal margin, two brown irregular spots in fold; cilia grey brown-tipped; hindwing and cilia grey.
Male genitalia (Fig. 13). Uncus elongate, 1/3 length of tegumen, constricted in middle, distinctly widened apically, densely covered with strong setae in distal 2/3; gnathos strongly curved at base, distal 2/3 long, straight; tegumen broad at base, then gradually narrowed, anteromedial emargination broadly rounded, extending almost to 1/2 length of tegumen; cucullus gradually broadened from base to middle, then narrowed towards weakly pointed apex, short triangular process on 2/3, distal 2/3 densely covered with long hairs, far exceeding top of uncus setae; sacculus short, about 1/8–1/7 length of cucullus, asymmetrical: left sacculus subtriangular, with ventral margin straight and dorsal margin convex, about as broad as adjacent portion of cucullus; right sacculus broad as base, distal half slender, 1/2 width of adjacent part of cucullus, with short pointed tip; vinculum broad, posterior margin covered with short spines, with deep triangular emargination; transtilla lobes 3 times as long as sacculus, and 1/3 length of cucullus, slender, straight; saccus short, broadly rounded, 3 times broader than long, posterior margin with distinct V-shaped medial emargination; phallus tube inflated in basal part, distal part about 1/2 width and 1/2 length of basal half, both margins weakly bent, apex rounded.
Female genitalia. Unknown.
Biology. The adult was collected in February.
Distribution. South Africa: KwaZulu-Natal.
Etymology. The specific epithet refers to the asymmetrical sacculi that are characteristic for the new 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 pages 493-494, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5343.5.4, http://zenodo.org/record/8346160