Megalota pastranai Brown 2009, new species
Creators: name: Brown, John W.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2009
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Tortricidae
Megalota
Megalota pastranai

description: 24. Megalota pastranai Brown, new species  Figs. 24, 48   
 Diagnosis. Although the facies of M. pastranai are similar to those of many congeners, the male genitalia deviate considerably. The paired lobes of the uncus are much narrower than in other species, arranged parallel to each other, and separated by a deep, mesal, U-shaped notch; the socii are large and conspicuous; the basal process of the valva is a short angulate process, broadened mesally, with an apical hook; and there is a digitate lobe at the venter of the valva ca. 0.65 the distance from the base bearing a patch of long, straight, spiniform setae. All of these features are interpreted as autapomorphies for the species.   
 Description. Head: Vertex, frons, and labial palpi pale brown. Thorax: Dorsum brown mixed with pale brown, metascutum with brown tuft. Hind tibia in male without modified sex scaling. Forewing length 7.0 mm; basal 0.5 pale brown, variegated with brown and creamy brown, with a few whitish scales; dark brown median fascia from costa 0.45–0.65 distance from base, well defined along basal edge, less defined along edge, with an indentation of pale ground color near end of discal cell; an elongate-ovate, brown and redbrown patch in terminal area below apex. Fringe brown. Hindwing brown, anal margin in male lacking distinct patch of sex scales. Abdomen: Brown. Male genitalia (Fig. 48; 3 preparations examined) with tegumen elongate, narrow; uncus lobes parallel, ca. 2.5 times as long as wide, separated by a deep, narrowly U-shaped notch; socius well defined, short, ovate, densely hairy; remnant of gnathos weakly sclerotized, with large, oarshaped mesal process; valva narrow, broadest at base and at 0.67 distance from base, the latter region with a lobelike ventral projection bearing long, straight, hairlike setae; short triangular process near venter ca. 0.25 distance from base, bearing a small patch of short straight setae; basal process of valva short, somewhat triangularly broadened mesally, with short, curved apical hook. Phallus short, ca. 0.5 length of valva, curved ca. 0.33 distance from base; slightly narrowed distally, vesica with a single spinelike cornutus and diffuse patch of spinules. Female genitalia unknown.   
 Holotype. Male, Argentina, Misiones, Puerto Rico, 4–8 April 1971, C. M. & O. S. Flint (USNM), USNM slide 124,489.   
 Paratypes (2♂). ARGENTINA: Misiones: Puerto Rico, 4–8 April 1971 (1♂), C. M. & O. S. Flint (USNM). BRAZIL: Nova Teutonia, May 1953 (1♂), F. Plaumann (USNM).   
 Distribution and Biology. Megalota pastranai is recorded from Argentina and Brazil. Nothing is known of the early stages.   
 Etymology. This species is named for the late José Pastrana, a noted Argentine lepidopterist.
description: Published as part of Brown, John W., 2009, The discovery of Megalota in the Neotropics, with a revision of the New World species (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae: Olethreutini), pp. 1-50 in Zootaxa 2279 (1) on pages 32-33, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2279.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/5307538