Nemophora fletcherella Kozlov 2023, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Kozlov, Mikhail V.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Adelidae
Nemophora
Nemophora fletcherella

description: Nemophora fletcherella Kozlov, sp. nov.
(Figs. 57, 102, 133, 163)
LSID urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 29AF0E88-40B8-413B-B87A-87C7C35CF5B3
Holotype ♁: India, Tamil Nadu, Nilgiri district, Ooty (11 o 25′ N, 76 o 42′ E); labelled: 8 mm circle with red border, print ‘Holo-│type’; 14 × 16 mm, print ‘Ootacamund │ 7500 feet. │ 14–31 Dec [19]13 │ Fletcher coll.’; 2 × 9 mm, print ‘1601’; 9 × 23 mm, black ink + print ‘ Nemotois │ amphimetalla Meyr. │ Meyrick det. 1915’; 8 × 13 mm, print ‘B. M. │ Genitalia slide │ No. 30659’; 7 × 14 mm, print ‘HOLOTYPE ♁ │ Nemophora flet- │ cherella Kozlov’ (NHM) [examined].
Diagnosis. Nemophora fletcherella externally resembles N. amphimetalla (Fig. 45), from which it differs by the pale yellow frons with dense lateral rows of yellow and brown piliform scales, large brush of yellow scales on the ventral side of scape, smaller compound eyes in males (interocular index <1) and paler wing coloration, with pale yellow scales scattered over both basal and apical parts of the forewing. In male genitalia N. fletcherella differs from N. amphimetalla by the relatively longer valvae (extending beyond the tip of tegumen) with less prominent ventral lobe, smaller extent of basal valvar fusion (<0.1 × length of valva) and thick carinae of different length on phallus. Nemophora fletcherella also resembles N. fuscomaculella (Figs. 52‒54), from which it differs by the absence of dark brown costal spot in the apical part of the forewing, smaller compound eyes in males and the absence of bifurcation at the tip of phallus. In male genitalia N. fletcherella shows affinities with N. smaragdaspis (Figs. 61, 62), from which it differs by the narrow single-band forewing fascia, shorter vinculum and straight (not hook-shaped) tips of lateral lobes in the apical part of phallus.
Description. Male (Fig. 57). FWL 6.0 mm, WLR 0.33. Vertex dark brown, with a few white piliform scales along occipital margin and above antennal sockets; frons pale yellow (scale cover damaged in holotype), with dense lateral rows of yellow and brown piliform scales. PLB 0.85 × vertical eye diameter (1.7 × length of scape), densely covered with raised piliform scales that are pale yellow on internal side and brown on external side of palpus. Proboscis brown, base with pale yellow scales. Eyes enlarged, but not touching each other; interocular index 0.87; occipital distance 0.15. Antenna 2.5 × FWL. Scape and base of flagellum brown; scape ventrally with large brush of predominantly yellow scales; proximal 15–17 flagellomeres dorsally with semi-erect brown scales; distal part of flagellum brown to light brown dorsolaterally and pale yellow to grey ventrally. Tegulae and thorax dark bronze. Forewing (Fig. 102) brown, sparsely scattered with both pale yellow and dark brown scales; base of costal margin with diffuse brown stripe; internal margin of pale yellow transverse band reaches costa at 0.43 × FWL; yellow band on both sides bordered by incomplete, narrow brown lines. Fringe brown. Basal 0.7 of hindwing grey to light brown, semitranslucent, contrasting with dark coppery brown apical part; costal area grey; fringe grey basally to brown apically. Coxae and femurae brown; tibiae and all tarsomeres light yellow, except for distal parts which are brown dorsally. Epiphysis at 0.45, not reaching apex of tibia. Colour of abdomen unknown.
Female unknown.
Male genitalia (Figs. 133, 163). Tegumen dome-shaped with small medial ridge. Socii elongate, 1.0 × diameter of phallus. Vinculum 3.0 × length of valva, V-shaped, with slightly convex lateral margins and gently W-shaped distal margin. Tips of valvae extend beyond tip of tegumen. Basal parts of valvae (0.5 × valvar length) nearly twice as wide as distal parts; valvar lobe on ventral margin is directed medially (almost indistinct in lateral view); dorsal valvar margin almost straight; tip of valva narrowly rounded. Valvae fused basally up to 0.07 × total length. Anellus 0.2 × length of valva. Transtilla with short medial process. Juxta 0.55 × length of phallus; arrow head narrow (WLR 0.45), with pointed tip and short pointed lateral arms. Phallus 1.0 × length of vinculum, C-shaped, with two thick lateral processes arising from phallus at 0.7 × its length (counting from the base); left process slightly shorter than right process; base of phallus funnel-shaped; tip of phallus flattened dorsoventrally and forms narrow spoon-shaped lobe.
Distribution. India (Tamil Nadu).
Etymology. The species is named after the collector, Thomas Bainbrigge Fletcher (1878‒1950), an English lepidopterologists who served as Imperial entomologist in India (Sen 1952).
Comment. The holotype was misidentified by E. Meyrick as N. amphimetalla, which is described from the same state of India. However, the difference in head morphology between these species (pale yellow frons in N. fletcherella vs. glossy golden frons in N. amphimetalla) obviously exceeds possible intraspecific variation.
description: Published as part of Kozlov, Mikhail V., 2023, Fairy moths of the genus Nemophora Hoffmannsegg, 1798 (Lepidoptera: Adelidae) of India and Sri Lanka, pp. 1-81 in Zootaxa 5300 (1) on pages 44-45, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5300.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/8012772