Thiotricha peniticoncava Lee & Li 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Lee, Ga-Eun
name: Li, Houhun
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Gelechiidae
Thiotricha
Thiotricha peniticoncava

description: Thiotricha peniticoncava sp. nov.   
(Figs 10A, 24L, 34B, 51D)  
 Type material. Holotype ♂, CHINA, Yunnan Province, Tengchong City, Linjiapu (25.29°N, 98.70°E), 2144 m, 14.viii.2014, leg. Kaijian Teng, Shurong Liu and Hua Rong, genitalia slide no. LGE18495. Paratypes. CHINA: Yunnan Province: 2 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀, same data as holotype except 12−15.viii.2014, genitalia slide nos. LGE18496f, LGE 18504m; 2 ♀♀, Mt. Ailao, 2476 m, Jingdong County, 2.vii.2013, leg. Shurong Liu, Yuqi Wang and Kaijian Teng.   
 Diagnosis. The species can be diagnosed by the light yellowish forewing with basal 1/2 broadly fuscous from costa to fold. A dark costal band is absent in the species whereas it is present in most members of the pontifera - group. The male genitalia are similar to those of T. crassiflagella, but can be distinguished from the latter by the following characters: narrower valva with distal 1/3 slightly curved outward, very slender uncus and the aedeagus bearing a short projection near apex. The female genitalia of T. peniticoncava also resemble those of the latter species, but a short sclerite placed at the base of ductus bursae is absent in the former.   
 Description. Adult (Fig. 10A). Wingspan 8.5−9.0 mm. Head cream to light yellow. Labial palpus cream to light yellow; segment III as long as II, strongly or weakly suffused with dark fuscous on ventral surface. Antenna with scape light yellow, slightly mixed with fuscous on posterior margin; flagellum dark fuscous except basal 1/2 or 1/3 of dorsal surface light yellow, male cilia as long as diameter. Thorax light yellow, with a fuscous median line. Tegula light yellow except anterior margin dark fuscous. Forewing ground color light yellow, rarely golden ochre, basal 1/2 broadly fuscous from costa to fold, anterior edge of costa dark fuscous to black in basal 1/2 or 1/3; apical area usually dark, apical spot bordered inwardly by white scales; markings fuscous: a costal streak running from distal 1/4, sometimes broadened at costa, nearly reaching apical spot posteriorly, bordered outwardly by white scales; beyond this, a narrower costal streak from distal 1/5, confluent with former costal streak posteriorly; often basally ill-defined, an oblique streak from between basal 1/3 and 1/2 of dorsum, running shortly toward base in parallel with fold, then strongly curved outward toward apex, broadened at fold and narrowed beyond fold, confluent with costal streaks distally; an inwardly directed, V-shaped marking on fold near tornus, confluent with costal streaks anteriorly; an indistinct tornal streak reaching former V-shaped marking anteriorly, bordered inwardly by white scales; fringe on costa, termen and dorsum dark fuscous, usually mixed with light ochre on termen and dorsum. Hindwing dark fuscous, fringe dark fuscous except apical area white with a terminal black band. Legs as in T. digitiprojecta except ground color dirty-white to light yellow.   
 Male sternum VIII (Fig. 24L). Approximately 1/6 length of abdomen, posterior margin deeply concave.   
 Male genitalia (Fig. 34B). Uncus tongue-shaped, setose distally. Gnathos hook long and simple. Tegumen 3 times as long as uncus. Valva narrow, almost uniformly elongate after base, slightly curved outward at distal 1/3, rounded apically. Anellus lobe slender, 1/4 length of valva, distal 1/2 constricted; apical bristle as long as anellus lobe, strongly hooked. Juxta with a triangular process in basal 1/2 of inner margin. Vinculum with posterior margin produced medially. Saccus subtriangular or narrowly elongate, not exceeding tegumen pedunculus. Aedeagus with basal 3/5 globular, slender and straight distally, a short projection before apex.   
 Female genitalia (Fig. 51D). Papillae anales moderately sclerotized. Apophyses anteriores slightly longer than 1/2 length of apophyses posteriores. Tergum VIII deeply concave posteriorly. Sternum VIII longer than tergum VIII, posterior 2/3 with an elongate-ovate sclerotization above ostium bursae, anterior margin produced in U-shape. Ostium bursae opening at posterior 2/3 of sternum VIII. Ductus bursae slender at base, gradually broadening to corpus bursae, somewhat bulged near entrance of corpus bursae; ductus seminalis arising from posterior 1/8. Corpus bursae elongate-ovate, 1/2 length of ductus bursae, without signum.   
 Distribution. China (Yunnan).   
 Etymology. The species name is derived from Latin, penitus (deeply) and concavus (concave), referring to the deeply concave posterior apex of the male abdominal segment VIII.
description: Published as part of Lee, Ga-Eun & Li, Houhun, 2024, A taxonomic review of Thiotricha Meyrick, 1886 (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae, Thiotrichinae) from China, with descriptions of 84 new species, pp. 1-222 in Zootaxa 5449 (1) on pages 53-55, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5449.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/11233121