Sattleria dolomitica Huemer, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Huemer, Peter
name: Timossi, Giovanni
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2014
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Gelechiidae
Sattleria
Sattleria dolomitica

description: Sattleria dolomitica Huemer, sp. nov.
Type material. Holotype ♂, ‘ Mann 1876 Schluder-bach’ ‘Mus. Vind. Gen. Präp. 1832♂ % 182 Pov. [remounted by P. Huemer]’ ‘ Sattleria basistrigella (M.-R.) det. L.M. Pitkin, 1988’ ‘ BC TLMF Lep 06699’ (NHMW).
Description. Adult (Fig. 2). Male. Head cream coloured, anteriolateral part brown; labial palpus whitish cream with base of second segment mottled brown; antenna dark brown, scapus and flagellum covered with cream scales on lower surface; thorax and tegula light brown. Wingspan 19.5 mm; forewing light brown, with dark-brown transverse mottling at 3/4, extended longitudinal whitish area in middle of wing and large sub-triangular whitish costal and tornal spots at 4/5 medially separated by brown scales; costa from base to costal spot dark brown; fold with oblique black-brown line well defined, a dot-shaped black spot at 1/2 and an angulated one at 3/5; termen with distinct black dots, fringes concolorous with ground colour, well-defined fringe line present; hindwing light grey brown with concolorous fringes. Forelegs and middle legs brown with white scales, hindlegs white with long white bristles.
The colour may slightly differ in fresh specimens as the holotype, the only specimen known, is somewhat faded due to the age of the specimen.
Female unknown.
Male genitalia (Figs 7, 15). Uncus with weakly-rounded apex, culcitula moderately large, gnathos a large hook; tegumen anteriorly widened, broadly with deeply emarginated anterior margin; pedunculi long, slender; valva long, slender, extending almost to apex of uncus, distally slightly inflated with pointed tip and long apical setae; sacculus with weakly inflated basal two-thirds, distally slender; primary process of vinculum long, needle shaped, about level with basal hump of sacculus; secondary process of vinculum fused with primary process, extending from near base to about middle of primary process, arched with acute medial part; saccus moderately long, evenly tapered; phallus long and slender, nearly straight, with weakly-developed medial projection, coecum weakly inflated with two minute basal sclerites, apex with small hooklet.
Female genitalia. Unknown.
Diagnosis. Sattleria dolomitica is externally very similar to several strictly allopatric species of the genus with a basal streak on the forewing (i.e., S. basistrigella, S. triglavica, S. styriaca and S. dinarica) and dissection of genitalia is necessary for safe identification. The male genitalia closely match those of S. basistrigella (Figs 8, 16) from the western Alps, but differ particularly by the acute secondary process of the vinculum and the less-humped basal part of the sacculus. The similar S. triglavica, S. dzieduszyckii, S. dinarica and S. haemusi can easily be separated by the rounded secondary process of the vinculum (Figs 9–12, 17–20).
Molecular data. No molecular data available. Sequencing of the barcode region failed.
Bionomics. Host-plants and early stages are unknown.
Distribution. Only known from the type-locality in the eastern Dolomites (Prov. South Tyrol, Italy).
According to the original labelling, the holotype was collected by Josef Mann in the surroundings of Schluderbach (Toblach, South Tyrol). However, this locality is unsuitable for Sattleria due to its low altitude of only about 1400 m. The publication dealing with Mann´s material from the area does not mention any species of Gelechiidae that might be confused with Sattleria (Mann & Rogenhofer 1878), maybe with the exception of Acompsia tripunctella ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775), and thus the exact type-locality remains dubious. Based on the original publication Mann mainly collected at lower altitudes, but on nine occasions he visited Monte Piana (2324 m) and he twice visited Dürrenstein (2839 m). From the elevation and habitat the latter is more likely the type-locality, but the possibly misidentified A. tripunctella was found on Monte Piana.
Etymology. The name refers to the distribution area, the Dolomites, and is derived from the latinized adjective dolomitica.
Remarks. The holotype of Sattleria dolomitica was dissected and figured by Povolný (1987) and attributed to a deviating individual of S. dzieduszyckii from the Alps. Pitkin & Sattler (1991) identified this specimen as belonging to the “main form” of nominotypical S. b. basistrigella. At the time of Pitkin & Sattler´s generic revision S. basistrigella was considered as a widely distributed taxon with two subspecies: S. b. basistrigella in the western Alps and the Dolomites and S. basistrigella triglavica in the south-eastern Alps and allegedly also in the Dinaric Alps. Recently, the south-western-most populations have been described as a distinct species S. graiaeella, supported by diagnostic morphology and molecular data. The south-eastern populations were upgraded to specific rank, viz. S. triglavica (Huemer & Hebert 2011), leaving S. basistrigella as a species restricted to a small area of the Pennine Alps (Valais, Switzerland) and the highly isolated ancient record from the Dolomites. However, reexamination of the singleton from the Dolomites and remounting of the Povolný slide using the ‘unrolling’ dissection technique (introduced for examination of complex genitalia in Gelechiidae by Pitkin (1986)) supports the existence of a further, previously overlooked and undescribed species (see also Discussion).
description: Published as part of Huemer, Peter & Timossi, Giovanni, 2014, Sattleria revisited: unexpected cryptic diversity on the Balkan Peninsula and in the south-eastern Alps (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), pp. 282-296 in Zootaxa 3780 (2) on pages 287-288, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3780.2.4, http://zenodo.org/record/227958