Vallissiana universitaria Pereira & Arévalo-Maldonado & Triberti & Brito & Isaias & Gonçalves & Moreira 2019, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Pereira, Cristiano M.
name: Arévalo-Maldonado, Helber A.
name: Triberti, Paolo
name: Brito, Rosângela
name: Isaias, Rosy M. S.
name: Gonçalves, Gislene L.
name: Moreira, Gilson R. P.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Gracillariidae
Vallissiana
Vallissiana universitaria

description: Vallissiana universitaria Pereira & Arévalo sp. nov.
(Figs. 2–9)
Diagnosis. V. universitaria is similar to Gracillaria albicapitata Issikii and G. syringella (Fabricius) in forewing pattern, but easily distinguished from them by the venation and the male genitalia. Male genitalia show affinity with all species of Aspilapteryx in the shape of the valva, with a deep concavity in the ventral margin and a rounded ventroapical lobe. However, in V. universitaria the phallus is straight, not with more or less helical curves, with the exception of the South African A. seriata (Meyrick). Some similarity exists with Sabulopteryx inquinata Triberti due to the presence of a finger-shaped process on the mesal surface at the basal third of the valva. However, the shape of the valva is completely different, with the ventral margin almost straight in S. inquinata. The female genitalia are very similar to those of A. spectabilis Huemer, A. multipunctella (Chretien) and A. magna Triberti by the simple sterigma and a wide ostium bursae located at posterior margin of eighth segment. However, in V. universitaria the ostium is placed more posteriorly, on the intersegmental membrane between the seventh and eighth segments, and there is only one signum on the corpus bursae.
Description of adult (Figs. 2, 3). Forewing 3.8 – 4.0 mm (n = 5) long. L/W index 6.4.
Head. Creamy white mottled with dark brown; inter-ocular index 0.83; antenna 1.1× forewing length; scape creamy white basally and brown apically, dilated, 4× pedicel length; pecten with 5 to 6 piliform scales (Fig. 2B); flagellomeres creamy white basally and dark brown apically. Maxillary palpus creamy white with dark brown subapical band; labial palpus 0.61mm, ~2.8× longer than eye diameter; second palpomere dark brown, bristled scales ~0.8× second palpomere length; third palpomere creamy white, with two dark brown bands at apex and subapex (Fig. 2C); haustellum ~2.0× labial palpus length.
Thorax. Dark brown laterally and ventrally, notum, patagium and tegula creamy white mottled with brown. Forewing ground color dark brown. Three white transverse fasciae at 1/3, 1/2 and 3/4 of wing length; three ochreous yellow transverse fasciae, the first two ochreous yellow fascia distal to the first two white fascia and the last ochreous yellow fascia basal to the last white fascia; one ochreous yellow posterior strigula at subapex; marginal scales white basally and dark brown apically (Fig. 2A). Legs: forelegs with coxa, trochanter, femur and tibia dark brown mottled with creamy white; tarsus white with dark brown spot at apex of each tarsomere; midlegs with femur dark brown mottled with creamy white, two white spots dorsally at 1/2 and 4/5 of femur length, bristled scales racket-shaped, apical margin entire; tibia colored like femur, bristled scales racket-shaped, apical margin dentate with three cusps; spur dark brown with white spot at apex; lateral spur colored like mesal spur; tarsus colored like fore tarsus; hind legs with femur white bearing two dark brown bands laterally at 1/3 and 3/4 of femur length; tibia dark brown with three bands at base, 1/3 and apex; spurs white basally and dark brown apically; tarsus and first tarsomere dark brown with white band at 4/5 tarsomere length; second to fifth tarsomeres white with dark brown spot at apex of each tarsomere.
Abdomen (Figs. 2A, 3B). Tergum brown; sternum with a creamy white band anteriorly and dark brown posteriorly. Male: posterior region of seventh segment covered with four lamellar, lanceolate rows of scales (Fig. 3B). Female: posterior margin of seventh segment with slight notch mesoventrally.
Male genitalia (Figs. 3 C–G). As described for genus.
Female genitalia (Figs. 3 H-–J). As described for genus.
Type material. All from BRAZIL: Campus do Vale, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), 30°4'23"S 51°7'33"W, 41 m, Porto Alegre municipality, Rio Grande do Sul state (RS). All adults were reared, preserved and pinned by the senior author, from leaf mines found on Erythroxylum argentinum (Erythroxylaceae). The material was part of the private collection of C. M. Pereira (CMP) and is deposited as follows: HOLOTYPE: ♂ (CMP002-22), 30.VIII.2015, deposited in LMCI (337–01). PARATYPES: 1♂ with genitalia on slide (CMP002- 102 / HAA147), 30.VIII.2016, deposited in LMCI (337-02), 1♀ with genitalia on slide (CMP002-23 / HAA146), 30.VIII.2015, deposited in LMCI (337-02), 1♂ with genitalia on slide (CMP002-46), 19.X.2015, deposited in DZUP (DZ 33.241), 1♀ with genitalia on slide (CMP002-06), 30.VIII.2015, deposited in DZUP (DZ 33.251).
Other specimens examined. All deposited in LMCI. Wings mounted on slide: CMP002-90, 16.VIII.2017 (LMCI 337-10). Larvae and pupae inside their mines fixed in Dietrich’s fluid and preserved in 70% ethanol solution: six sap-feeding larvae, CMP002-48, 30.VIII.2015 (LMCI 337–11); five last instar larvae, CMP002-03, 30.VIII.2015, (LMCI 337–12). Five pupae, CMP002-89, 30.VIII.2015 (LMCI 337-14). Last instar larva on slide, CMP002088, 05.V.2017 (LMCI 337-13).
Etymology. The specific name universitaria (= university student) comes from Latin and is thus an allusion to the students of Campus do Vale where this new species was first found. To be treated as feminine.
description: Published as part of Pereira, Cristiano M., Arévalo-Maldonado, Helber A., Triberti, Paolo, Brito, Rosângela, Isaias, Rosy M. S., Gonçalves, Gislene L. & Moreira, Gilson R. P., 2019, Vallissiana universitaria (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae): a new genus and species of leaf-mining moth associated with Erythroxylum (Erythroxylaceae) in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, pp. 141-160 in Zootaxa 4604 (1) on pages 147-149, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4604.1.5, http://zenodo.org/record/2783890