Aristotelia aguilensis sp. nov.

Figs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Type locality.

Chile, Arica Province, Cardones Ravine, El Águila (18°28'40"S, 69°51'38"W), at about 1950 m elevation in the Atacama Desert.

Type material.

Holotype. Chile • ♂; Arica, El Águila; October 2021; H. A. Vargas leg.; ex-larva; Hoffmannseggia minor; September 2021; “ HOLOTYPE Aristotelia aguilensis Vargas ” [red handwritten label]; IDEA -LEPI-2025-16; HAV-1656 [genitalia slide]; BOLD accession NCMIC 022-25 (IDEA). Paratypes. Chile • 4 ♂ 5 ♀; same data as for the holotype; IDEA -LEPI-2025-17 to IDEA -LEPI-2024-25; HAV-1482, 1559, 1560, 1654, 1655, 1657, 1658, 1659, 1875 [genitalia slides] (IDEA).

Diagnosis.

Aristotelia aguilensis is recognized by its mostly greyish-brown forewings with four creamy-white spots arising from the costa and not reaching the dorsum, the third of which is nearly triangular; and six slightly raised silvery spots, the first of which is a narrow oblique stripe (Fig. 2). Its male genitalia have the distal half of the cucullus free, the dorsal margin of the sacculus fused to the cucullus, the anterior margin of the saccus truncate, and the posterior part of the phallus straight (Fig. 3); and its female genitalia have the lamella postvaginalis as a transverse sub-rectangular plate connected to the lamella antevaginalis by narrow elongated longitudinal sclerites (Fig. 4). Male genitalia of A. aguilensis resemble those of Aristotelia aphiltra Meyrick, 1917 from central Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia (Meyrick 1917). However, A. aphiltra lacks silvery spots on the forewings. Furthermore, the tip of the sacculus does not reach the middle of the cucullus, and the saccus is longer than the cucullus in A. aphiltra (Clarke 1969: plate 136, figs 2–2 a), while the tip of the sacculus extends beyond the middle of the cucullus, and the saccus is shorter than the cucullus in A. aguilensis. The female genitalia of A. aphiltra remain unknown, impeding comparisons. Aristotelia accipiter Cepeda, 2021 is the only member of the genus previously recorded in Chile; its forewings lack silvery spots, its male genitalia have subtriangular valvae and a sinuous posterior part of the phallus, and its female genitalia lack a lamella postvaginalis (Cepeda 2021: figs 1–11), allowing an accurate separation from A. aguilensis.

Description.

Male (Fig. 2). Head. Vertex mostly covered by broad, flattened, brownish-grey scales with rounded apex, lateral margin with a narrow longitudinal stripe of short, straight, dark brown and yellowish-brown scales. Frons mostly with narrow, flattened, creamy-white scales and scattered yellowish-brown scales. Maxillary palpus creamy white with scattered greyish-brown scales. Labial palpus curved upwards, slightly extending beyond vertex; first segment greyish-brown; second segment mostly creamy white with two ill-defined greyish-brown rings on distal half; third segment mostly creamy white with scattered blackish grey scales on basal half, mostly blackish grey with scattered creamy-white scales on distal half. Haustellum with creamy-white scales. Antenna mostly blackish grey with scattered creamy-white scales. Thorax brownish grey dorsally, creamy white with scattered blackish grey scales laterally. Foreleg with coxa pale pinkish white with scattered blackish grey scales; femur creamy white with scattered blackish grey scales; tibia blackish grey, including epiphysis, with scattered creamy white and pale pinkish white scales; tarsomeres blackish grey with apical creamy-white ring. Midleg coloration similar to that of foreleg, but coxa creamy white, and a pair of tibial spurs creamy white with blackish grey tip. Hindleg creamy white with scattered blackish grey scales on femur; tibia with two blackish grey incomplete rings, two pairs of creamy-white spurs, and a longitudinal row of creamy-white hair-like scales. Forewing (forewing length 7.5–7.8 mm) upper surface mostly greyish brown; a narrow creamy-white basal transverse band; four creamy-white spots of variable size and shape arising from costa but not reaching dorsum, the third one nearly triangular, partially delimited by two broad oblique black spots; a narrow, elongated apical black spot; six slightly raised dark silvery spots, the first a narrow oblique stripe with black inner margin extending from middle of basal transverse band to near dorsal margin, the second at the tip of first creamy-white spot, the third between latter and dorsum, the fourth on inner margin of first black spot, the fifth at tip of first black spot, the sixth along outer margin of second black spot; scattered yellowish scales between second and fourth silvery spots; scattered orange scales between sixth silvery spot and apical black spot; fringe greyish brown, whitish grey and brown. Forewing lower surface greyish brown. Hindwing upper and lower surfaces greyish brown; fringe greyish brown. Abdomen greyish brown. Male genitalia (Fig. 3). Tegumen with broad excavation in the middle of anterior margin. Uncus with short, parallel-sided posterior projection with broadly rounded tip. Gnathos hook-shaped with acute tip, similar in length to uncus. Saccus slightly shorter than central part of tegumen; posterior margin rounded; anterior margin truncate; anteriorly with a non-sclerotized semicircular area. Valva with cucullus elongate, length similar to that of tegumen, rounded tip, not reaching tip of uncus, proximal half fused to sacculus, distal half free, slightly broadened, covered with setae; sacculus rhomboid, about half as long as cucullus, with sparse setae near tip. Phallus about 1.2 times the length of cucullus; anterior half subspherical, strongly swollen; posterior half cylindrical, stout, straight, with a dorsal cleft posteriorly and a double diagonal stripe of small spine-like projections; ductus ejaculatorius about twice length of phallus, with a narrow, slightly curved sclerite about one-third length of phallus.

Female. Similar to male in size and maculation. Female genitalia (Fig. 4). Papillae anales rounded, covered with sparse setae. Posterior apophyses rod-shaped, length about 1.6 times the papillae anales. Anterior apophyses rod-shaped, length about 0.4 times the posterior apophyses. Tergum VIII with sinuous anterior margin and a broad circular posterior excavation in the middle; antero-laterally continuous with anterior apophyses and lamella antevaginalis. Lamella antevaginalis a transverse trapezoid-like plate with slightly sinuous anterior margin and straight posterior margin (slightly emarginated in slide-mounted samples), with a triangular non-sclerotized area centrally. Lamella postvaginalis a transverse sub-rectangular plate with microtrichia connected to lamella antevaginalis by narrow elongated longitudinal sclerites. Ductus bursae mostly membranous; colliculum about 1.5 as wide as long; a patch of microtrichia anterior to colliculum, similar in length to posterior apophyses; smaller and denser microtrichia on posterior third of patch; anterior third of ductus bursae coiled. Ductus seminalis arising from side opposite to colliculum. Corpus bursae spherical, diameter similar to posterior apophyses length, mostly membranous; signum ellipsoidal, diameter about one-third that of corpus bursae, with pointed projections of variable size; microtrichia around signum.

Etymology.

The specific epithet is derived from the type locality.

Distribution and host plant.

(Fig. 5) Aristotelia aguilensis has been collected only in the type locality, El Águila, Cardones Ravine, in the Arica Province of northernmost Chile. Hoffmannseggia minor is the only host plant known for A. aguilensis. This perennial herb occurs in Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile at about 800–4000 m elevation (Rodriguez et al. 2018).