Phtheochroa aarviki Razowski & Brown, 2012, sp. n.
Creators: name: Razowski, Józef
name: Brown, John W.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2012
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Tortricidae
Phtheochroa
Phtheochroa aarviki

description: Phtheochroa aarviki, sp. n.
Figs. 1, 15, 16, 29
Diagnosis. Phtheochroa aarviki is most similar to P. kenyana in facies and genitalia. The two share a similar forewing pattern, but the ground color of P. a ar v i ki is dark gray-brown (Fig. 1) compared to the pale gray-brown of P. kenyana (Aarvik 2010: fig. 41). The male genitalia of P. aarviki can be distinguished from those of P. kenyana by the blunt termination of the median process of the transtilla (an emarginate, U-shaped termination in P. kenyana) and the presence of two large cornuti in the vesica (one in P. kenyana). In the female genitalia, the narrow band of the antrum is attached to a broad, sclerotized plate in P. a a r v i k i which is absent in P. kenyana. Both species share with P. ingridae Huemer, 1990 from Europe (see Razowski 2002c) and species of Actihema Razowski, 1993 from eastern Africa (see Aarvik 2010) an unusual, highly modified juxta with a long slender mesal process and the uncus reduced to a small mesal lobe (i.e., P. ingridae) or lost altogether (i.e., Actihema). However, it is uncertain whether these character states are synapomorphies or merely reflect convergence. These species are easily distinguished by a number of other features: the socii are broad basally and digitate distally in Actihema (Aarvik 2010: figs. 27–36), rounded in P. ingridae (Razowski 2002: fig. 75), and subtriangular in P. a a r v i k i (Fig. 15) and P. kenyana (Aarvik 2010: fig. 4). The elongate process of the juxta is densely spined in the distal half in Actihema and smooth throughout in P. i n g r i d a e, P. aarviki, and P. kenyana. The ventral edge of the valva is somewhat rounded from the sacculus to the apex in Actihema, P. a a r v i k i, and P. kenyana, whereas it is deeply concave basally in P. ingridae. The phallus is slender in the distal half (width <0.18 times length) and the vesica lacks cornuti in Actihema, whereas it is wider (width 0.25–0.30 times length) in P. i n g r i d a e and P. aarviki, with one large cornutus in P. ingridae and P. k en y a na, and two large cornuti in P. aarviki. The male genitalia of P. aarviki and P. kenyana also are somewhat similar to those of Trachybyrsis euglypta Meyrick, 1927, particularly in the overall shape of the valva and phallus; P. aarviki also shares with T. euglypta two cornuti in the vesica. However, T. euglypta lacks the long, dorsomedian process of the juxta and has an elongate-rectangular median process from the transtilla (broad and rounded in P. a a r v i k i). The median process of the transtilla of P. aarviki is similar to that of Eugnosta assecula (Meyrick, 1909) from South Africa, but P. a a r v i k i lacks the erect rigid socii characteristic of Eugnosta Hübner [1825], 1816.
Description. Male. Head: Vertex and frons olive gray; labial palpus olive gray with a small patch of cream scales dorsally on subbasal portion on segment II, length 3 times horizontal diameter of compound eye. Thorax: Notum brownish gray, darker than head; legs unmodified, without sex scales in male. Forewing length 6.5–6.8 mm (n = 2); forewing (Fig. 1) slightly expanding distally; costa weakly curved throughout, costal fold absent; termen weakly oblique to costa, slightly sinuate before middle; ground color whitish gray, densely scaled with dark brownish gray, darker in distal 0.33 of wing than in basal portion; pattern weak, in form of brown, faint, oblique fasciae from basal 0.3 of costa to near mid-dorsum; costa with ill-defined, small, faint brownish orange, subapical patch; fringe cream gray basally, dark brown distally. Hindwing brownish gray; basal 0.4 of costa with distinct pale orange hairpencil; fringe brownish gray with darker basal area. Abdomen: Genitalia (Fig. 15) with uncus in form of rudimentary median prominence at posterior end of tegumen; socii broad, short, subtriangular; valva broad to about middle, then tapering distally; sacculus simple, uniformly broad throughout; median part of transtilla broad, very short, rounded, finely spined; juxta with elongate dorsomedian process; phallus (Fig. 16) moderately large, slender, with distinct attenuate ventral termination; vesica with two slender cornuti, one slightly longer than the other.
Female. Head and thorax: Essentially as described for male, except forewing length 7.0 mm (n = 2) and ground color slightly paler; hindwing with number of bristles in frenulum variable: 3& 3 in one specimen, 4& 4 in the other (having a higher number of bristles than most Cochylini, as do other species of Phtheochroa; see Monsalve et al. 2011). Abdomen: Genitalia (Fig. 29) with papillae anales unmodified; apophyses anteriores about 1.8 times as long as papillae anales, slightly longer than apophyses posteriores; lamella postvaginalis with sclerotized mesal process; lamella antevaginalis rectangular, with a distinct, narrow, anterior band; accessory bursae absent; ductus bursae broad, mostly sclerotized, not differentiated from corpus bursae; origin of ductus seminalis uncertain; posterior third of corpus bursae with dense fine spines.
Holotype (3). Kenya, Central Province, Kereita Forest, 2500 m, 0°56.40’S 36°51’E, 3 Dec 2003, A&M Coll. #2587, r.f. Bothriocline sp. [Asteraceae]; GS USNM 84,907.
Paratypes (23, 2Ƥ). Same data as holotype; GS USNM 84,906 (Ƥ), 118,732 (3).
Etymology. The specific epithet is a patronym for Leif Aarvik in recognition of his exceptional work on African Tortricidae.
description: Published as part of Razowski, Józef & Brown, John W., 2012, Descriptions of new Tortricidae (Lepidoptera) reared from native fruit in Kenya, pp. 1-27 in Zootaxa 3222 on page 3, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.280255