Dvidulopsis diviantis Stonis & Remeikis, 2025

Stonis, Jonas R., Diškus, Arūnas, Remeikis, Andrius & Orlovskytė, Svetlana, 2025, Dvidulopsis gen. nov., a rare Neotropical genus of pygmy moths (Nepticulidae) endemic to lowland humid forests, a biome of conservation priority, Zootaxa 5609 (4), pp. 583-599 : 589-592

publication ID

https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5609.4.8

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:D5996F35-539D-4B30-8E54-8BE7804E45C7

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15215586

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03F18783-981C-FFA8-FF59-F8BAFCF4FF73

treatment provided by

Plazi

scientific name

Dvidulopsis diviantis Stonis & Remeikis
status

sp. nov.

Dvidulopsis diviantis Stonis & Remeikis , sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:11055433-CA46-4A13-8369-B060F08285E5

( Figs 3 View FIGURES 1–6 , 21–26 View FIGURES 21–25 View FIGURES 26–28 )

Type material. Holotype: ♂, HONDURAS, Atlantída Department (the Caribbean coast), Tela , approx. 10 m, 15°45′56.78″N, 87°21′06.97″W, at light (25C), 3.iii.2024, leg. J.R. Stonis, genitalia slide no. RA1222 ♂ ( MfN). GoogleMaps

Diagnosis. Externally, Dvidulopsis diviantis sp. nov. can be confused with the similar, cream-scaled D. dividua , D. paradividua , and D. ecuadoriana . However, in the male genitalia, the new species differs from all currently known species of the genus by at least three unique characters: the massive, bilobed gnathos; the basally pointed phallus; and the short, widely triangular inner lobe of the valva.

Barcodes. We barcoded the male holotype specimen; the sequence is available in GenBank under the voucher/ sample ID: PV121131 .

Male ( Fig. 3 View FIGURES 1–6 ). Forewing length 2.0 mm; wingspan 4.4 mm. (n = 1). Head: palpi and frons glossy cream; frontal tuft pale beige-orange; collar very indistinct, comprised of piliform scales; scape large, golden cream; antenna unknown (broken in the holotype). Thorax and tegula golden cream, glossy, with some scattered brown scales. Forewing golden cream, sparsely speckled with brown scales, with oblique subapical pseudofascia composed of blackish brown scales; fringe greyish cream on the tornus, golden cream apically; fringe-line absent; forewing underside densely speckled with brown to dark brown scales, without androconia. Hindwing and its fringe grey. Legs glossy cream, densely speckled with dark brown scales on the upper side.

Female. Unknown.

Male genitalia ( Figs 21–25 View FIGURES 21–25 ). Capsule significantly longer (300 μm) than wide (180 μm). Uncus clearly bilobed. Gnathos partially divided, with thickened slender lateral arms and a two-lobed main plate. Valva 160 μm long, with two lobe-like processes: median and smaller basal; transtilla with a slender transverse bar; sublateral processes long, slender, and straight. Juxta absent. Vinculum with large lateral lobes, anteriorly with a deep, round excavation. Phallus 225 μm long, strongly constricted basally, with three elongated carinae apically; vesica without cornuti.

Bionomics. Adults fly in March. Otherwise, the biology is unknown.

Distribution. This species is known from the lowland humid (moist) forests of northern Honduras (Caribbean coast, Atlántida Department), at an elevation of 10 m ( Fig. 26 View FIGURES 26–28 ).

Etymology. The name of the new species is an adjective derived from the combination of the Latin prefix “divi-” (related to the concept of division or separation) and the Latin suffix “-antis” (an ending commonly used to form adjectives that describe a state or action related to the root). The species name diviantis refers to the uniquely divided gnathos in the male genitalia of the new species.

MfN

Museum für Naturkunde

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Lepidoptera

Family

Nepticulidae

Genus

Dvidulopsis

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