Pseudopostega contigua Davis & Stonis 2007

Pseudopostega contigua

ADULT. Figure 221. Length of forewing 2.0 mm. Small, mostly white moth with white forewings marked with a small, dark brown spot at basal third of dorsal margin, 3–4 dark brown, subapical costal strigulae, a dark brown tornal strigula, and a small, dark brown to fuscous apical spot. Male gnathos triangular, gradually tapering to a short, furcate apex, the branches of which lie closely parallel; basal fold divided into a lateral pair of narrow, longitudinal, parallel folds (Figures 389, 390). Female unknown.

Head: Vestiture white. Scape white; flagellum cream to light golden brown dorsally, cream to white ventrally, 51-segmented. Palpi white to cream; labial palpus with light brown suffusion over dorsolateral margins; apical segment mostly cream.

Thorax: White; tegula with brown suffusion on anterior margin. Forewing white with a small, dark brown spot at basal third of dorsal margin and 3–4 dark brown, subapical costal strigulae; strigulae 1 and 2 closely parallel, terminating near pale yellowish suffusion immediately basal to dark brown to fuscous apical spot; strigula 3 either continuous and curving around apical spot to tornus, or broken to form a short strigula terminating above apical spot and a fourth strigula extending around apical spot to tornus; tornal strigula brown, extending obliquely caudad from apical spot; terminal cilia mostly white between strigulae and along dorsal margin, lightly suffused with pale brown beyond strigula 3–4; venter of forewing light brown except for basal, subhumeral white area. Hindwing and cilia light brown dorsally and ventrally. Legs mostly white; foreleg with dorsal surfaces suffused with light brown; tarsomeres mostly white, with slight dorsal brown banding; midleg white with tarsomeres 3–5 brown dorsally; banding paler, more reduced on tarsomeres 2–5 of hindleg.

Abdomen: Light golden brown dorsally, white ventrally.

Male Genitalia: Figures 389, 390. Socii a pair of relatively small, rounded, setose, lobes widely separated by a distance ~0.7× length of cucullar lobe; caudal rim of uncus smoothly concave. Vinculum broad, tapering to relatively narrow, slightly concave anterior margin. Base of gnathos narrow, moderately swollen laterally, gradually tapering to slender dorsally recurved caudal lobe; apical third of lobe furcate, with short, closely aligned arms (Figure 389); anterior margin of gnathos with moderately deep, inverted V-shaped, median indentation; basal fold separated medially into a pair of very narrow, longitudinally aligned, lateral folds. Valva with elongate cucullar lobe ~0.45× length of genital capsule, bearing a pectinifer consisting of ~28 blunt spines; terminal apex of cucullar lobe extended slightly as short, rounded, setose lobe; pedicel relatively slender, ~0.13× length of cucullar lobe; valva short, length along sacculus ~0.65× length of genital capsule; saccular lobe moderately elongate, tapering to narrowly rounded, setose apex; basal process of valva tapering to acute apex, exceeding length of slender costal lobe by nearly half its length. Juxta vestigial as a slender, median rod-like extension from vinculum.

FEMALE, LARVA AND PUPA. Unknown.

HOLOTYPE. ♂; VENEZUELA: TERRITORIO FEDERAL DE AMAZONAS: San Carlos de Río Negro, 1°56'N, 67°03'W: 13–17 Dec 1984, R. L. Brown, slide USNM 32426 (USNM).

PARATYPE. VENEZUELA: TERRITORIO FEDERAL DE AMAZONAS: San Carlos de Río Negro: 1 ♂, 6–12 Dec 1984, R. L. Brown, slide USNM 32822 (USNM).

HOST. Unknown.

FLIGHT PERIOD. December.

DISTRIBUTION. (Map 17) Known only from the type locality from riparian forest along the Rio Negro of southern Venezuela.

ETYMOLOGY. The species name is derived from the Latin contiguus (near, adjacent) in reference to the paired, contiguous, apical lobes of the male gnathos.

DISCUSSION. Although differing significantly from P. latifurcata in the form of the caudal lobes of the male gnathos, other similarities within the male genitalia suggest a close relationship between P. contigua and latifurcata. In particular are the relative narrow base of the gnathos, similar development of the lateral fold, and absence of a basal fold. The forewing pattern of contigua differs markedly from both subspecies of latifurcata in being mostly white except for the subapical strigulae and minute dorsal spot.

Pseudopostega contigua is a moth of the family Opostegidae. It was described by Donald R. Davis and Jonas R. Stonis, 2007. It is known from riparian forest along the Rio Negro of southern Venezuela.

The length of the forewings is about 2 mm. Adults have been recorded in December.