Brachinepticula melania Remeikis, Mey & Stonis 2023, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Stonis, Jonas R.
name: Remeikis, Andrius
name: Dobrynina, Viktorija
name: Mey, Wolfram
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Nepticulidae
Brachinepticula
Brachinepticula melania

description: Brachinepticula melania Remeikis, Mey & Stonis, sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 7174686C-5B11-43AC-9685-02BA470AD17A
(Figs 1–3, 6–22, 48)
Type material. Holotype: ♁, COLOMBIA, Cundinamarca, Parque Ecológico Matarredonda, Páramo de Cruz Verde, 04°32.937'N, 074°00.0022'W, 3300–3486 m; 11.xi.2016, Wolfram Mey, genitalia slide no. RA1100 (MfN / ICN).
Diagnosis. Externally, it is a very distinctive unique species characterized by the short frontal tuft, the large distally dark scape, and fuscous brown and purple iridescent scaling of the thorax and forewing. In the male genitalia, the new species is easily recognizable by the combination of a unique lobate valva, large plate of the gnathos, long and distally widely rounded vinculum, two unique dorsal processes of the valva and the large horn-like sclerite of the phallus.
Male (Figs 6–12). Forewing length about 3.4 mm; wingspan about 7.7 mm. Head: palpi and frons blackish brown; frontal tuft short, ochre-orange; collar short, weakly paired, comprised of slender lamellar scales, brown; scape large, golden cream proximally, dark brown to black brown, golden glossy, with some purple iridescence distally; antenna significantly longer than one half the length of forewing; flagellum with some purple iridescence, black-brown on upper side, brown on underside except for six distal segments which are snow-white; total number of segments 59. Thorax and tegula dark grey with strong purple iridescence. Forewing uniform, without fascia, blackish brown with some golden gloss and strong purple iridescence; fringe dark brown; underside of forewing blackish brown, golden glossy, without spots or androconia. Hindwing and its fringe brown with some golden gloss and purple iridescence on upper side and underside. Legs dark brown on upper side and underside, with some golden gloss and purple iridescence. Abdomen blackish brown, golden glossy, with some purple iridescence; genital plates wide, dark brown; anal tufts relatively short, lateral, comprised of dark brown piliform scales.
Female. Unknown.
Male genitalia (Figs 13–22). Capsule significantly longer (715 μm) than wide (395 μm). Pseuduncus short, band-like, with extended lateral lobes. Uncus wide, distinctly truncated distally. Gnathos with one large caudal process and large central plate. Valva 435–440 μm long, with a long slender apical process and two lobes: subapical and basal; transtilla absent; basal processes of valva very long, distally widened. There are two long dorsal processes on each valva forming a pseudoanellus (or juxta). Vinculum long, distally widely rounded, without lateral lobes. Phallus (Figs 15–18) 430 μm long, 140 μm wide medially, 130 μm basally, without cornuti on vesica; cathrema with one large, slightly curved horn-like sclerite.
Bionomics. Adults fly in November. Otherwise, biology is unknown.
Distribution (Figs 1–3, 48). This species occurs in Colombia in Northern Andean Páramo (Cundinamarca), at an elevation about 3,300 –3,490 m.
Etymology. The species name derived from the Greek μελαΙΝα (melaina) meaning black, dark or dark-skinned with reference to the dark colour of the new species (not after Mrs Melania Trump, USA).
description: Published as part of Stonis, Jonas R., Remeikis, Andrius, Dobrynina, Viktorija & Mey, Wolfram, 2023, Collecting in the Northern Andean Páramo revealed purple iridescent pygmy moths of the little known Andean endemic Brachinepticula (Nepticulidae), pp. 328-340 in Zootaxa 5227 (3) on pages 329-334, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5227.3.2, http://zenodo.org/record/7518751