Eulamprotes altaicella Huemer & Karsholt, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Huemer, Peter
name: Elsner, Gustav
name: Karsholt, Ole
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2013
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Gelechiidae
Eulamprotes
Eulamprotes altaicella

description: Eulamprotes altaicella Huemer & Karsholt sp. nov.
Examined material. Holotype. ♂. “ Russland, Süd-Sibirien Republik Altai 17.–22.VII.2009 Umgeb. Aktasch leg. Bernd Schacht“ “P. Huemer GEL 1212 ♂” (TLMF).
Paratypes. Russia: 8♂, same data as holotype (RCAS, TLMF, ZMUC); 5♂, SW Altai, Katun valley, 10 km W Katanda, 1200 m, 22.–27.vi.1983, leg. Mikkola, Hippa & Jalava, genitalia slide GU 13/1359 Huemer (RCGE, TLMF, ZMUH, ZMUC); 1♂, same data but 15.–19.vii.1983 (ZMUH); Tuva Republic, 2♂, E. Tannu-Ola Mts., Irbitel r., 50˚44’N, 93 ˚08’E, 1000 m, stony steppe slopes, 13.–16.vi.1995, leg. Jalava & Kullberg (ZMUH); 1♂, Buryatia, Barguzin range, Olso r. valley, 54˚52’N, 110˚55’E, 920 m, taiga, 7.vii.1996, leg. Jalava & Kullberg, genitalia in tube (ZMUH); 2♂, Buryatia, Barguzin valley, Malsky village, 54˚35’N, 110 ˚48’E, 500 m, sandy yard, 7.vii.1996, leg. Jalava & Kullberg, one genitalia in tube (ZMUH); 2♂, Buryatia, Barguzin valley, Umhej, 55˚01’N, 111˚08’E, 600 m, hot springs/meadow, 9.vii.1996, leg. Jalava & Kullberg, one genitalia in tube (ZMUH); 2♂, Buryatia, Barguzin valley, Djirga st., 54˚55’N, 111˚14’E, 600 m, Betula/meadow, 7.vii.1996, leg. Jalava & Kullberg, one genitalia in tube (ZMUH); 1♂, Altai Mts., 25 km W Aktash, 1200 m, 11.vii.1997, leg. C. Gielis (RCHW).
DESCRIPTION.—Adult (Fig. 17). Male. Wingspan 12–13 mm. Labial palpus cream-white; basal half of segment 2 blackish brown on outer surface; tip of segment 3 black. Basal part of antenna blackish, becoming more distinctly lighter ringed in middle; apical two-fifths white. Head light yellow with a dark line around eye; thorax and tegula black. Forewing black with silvery white markings: an oblique fascia from 1/6 at costa to 1/5 at fold; a fascia from middle of costa reaching two-thirds towards dorsum; pre-apical costal spot well separated from tornal spot; some silvery white scales along termen; cilia blackish grey, whitish grey at tip of apex. Hindwing almost as broad as forewing, light grey with grey cilia. Abdomen yellowish grey at base, then blackish with yellow-white tip.
Female. Unknown.
Variation. The examined specimens show only slight variation.
Male genitalia (Figs 38–41).—Segment VIII with two pairs of coremata in intersegmental membrane, grouped into short tufts of moderately broad and lanceolate scales, respectively. Uncus a very long digitate process with few apical setae; tegumen short, sub-rectangular, a sclerotized belt (gnathos) connects the dorsolateral corners of the tegumen, from these corners two long and rather stout setae are arising, each arising from the dorsolateral corner of the tegumen, anterior margin nearly straight, pedunculi very small; valva moderately broad, with strongly convex mediodorsal (outer) and weakly concave ventral (inner) margin, distal part strongly tapered; separate plate-like sclerite at base of valva, covered with few setae; sacculus a distinct setose lobe; saccus about as long as distance from anterior margin of vinculum to tip of valva, basally moderately broad, distally abruptly tapered; phallus coneshaped, moderately broad and long, distal part gradually constricted to distinctly tapered apical fifth, about onequarter of maximum width of its anterior part; vesica with a number of small grains.
Female genitalia.—Unknown.
DIAGNOSIS.— Eulamprotes altaicella sp. nov. is characterized by its relatively large wingspan, its whitish labial palpi and head, and by having the apical two-fifths of the antennae white. The other species with light head and white antenna-tip (E. wilkella and E. wieseri sp. nov.) have only the apical quarter of the antenna white. These two species have also (most often) the pre-apical and the tornal spots fused. The male genitalia are easily separated from most taxa in the E. wilkella -group by the long uncus, a character which is otherwise only known from E. gemerensis sp. nov., a species, however, clearly separated externally.
GENETIC DATA.—No genetic data available.
DISTRIBUTION.—Only known from Russia: Altai, Buryatia, Tuva Republic.
BIOLOGY.—Host-plant and early stages unknown. The moths have been collected from late June to late July at light at altitudes between 500 and 1200 m.
REMARKS.—A specimen from SW Altai has a characteristic bilobed uncus (Fig. 40) reminiscent of the short divided uncus of E. graecatella with very long setae on each branch. We consider this specimen as a deviating individual form as other characters of adult and male genitalia largely agree with the nominotypical E. altaicella sp. nov.
ETYMOLOGY.—The name refers to the type-locality, the Altai Mts.
description: Published as part of Huemer, Peter, Elsner, Gustav & Karsholt, Ole, 2013, Review of the Eulamprotes wilkella species-group based on morphology and DNA barcodes, with descriptions of new taxa (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae), pp. 69-100 in Zootaxa 3746 (1) on pages 92-93, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3746.1.3, http://zenodo.org/record/219621