Nemophora cassiterites

Nemophora cassiterites (Meyrick, 1907)

(Figs. 21, 22, 81)

Nemotois cassiterites: Meyrick 1907: 991.

Lectotype ♁ (designated by Kozlov 1995): India, Meghalaya, Khasi Hills (approx. 25 o 35′ N, 91 o 36′ E); labelled: 8 mm circle with violet border, print ‘Lecto-│ type’; 5 × 10 mm, print + black ink ‘Khasi Hills │ Assam. │.8.1906’; 13 × 16 mm, black ink + print ‘ Nemotois │ cassiterites │ Meyr. 1/13│ E. Meyrick det. │ in Meyrick Coll.’; 6 × 13 mm, print ‘Meyrick Coll. │ B. M. 1938–290’; 8 × 18 mm, print ‘ Lectotype ♁ │ Nemotois cassiterites │ Meyrick, 1907 │ teste M. Kozlov, 1994’ (NHM) [examined]. Paralectotypes. 2 ♁ 1 ♀, labelled: 8 mm circle with blue border, print ‘Para-│ lecto-│type’; 5 × 10 mm, print + black ink ‘Khasi Hills │ Assam. │.8.1906’; 13 × 16 mm, black ink + print ‘ Nemotois │ cassiterites │ Meyr. x/13│ E. Meyrick det. │ in Meyrick Coll.’ [males: x= 5, 9; female: x= 6]; 6 × 13 mm, print ‘Meyrick Coll. │ B. M. 1938–290’. 5 ♁, all labels as in previous paralectotypes, except the date ‘.7.1906’ [x= 3, 4, 7, 10, 11]. 2 ♁, all labels as in previous paralectotype, except the date ‘.10.1906’ [x= 2, 8]. One of paralectotypes bears the label: 8 × 13 mm, print ‘B. M. │ Genitalia slide │ No. 27804’. All paralectotypes bear the label: 8 × 18 mm, print ‘ Paralectotype ♁ [or ♀]│ Nemotois cassiterites │ Meyrick, 1907 │ teste M. Kozlov, 1994’ (all in NHM) [examined].

Nemotois cassiterites: Meyrick 1907: 990, 1912a: 7, fig. 3 (male, external appearance, in colour), 1912b: 9, 1922: 537; Clarke 1955: 75.

Nemophora cassiterites: Diakonoff 1951: 173; Kozlov 1995: 468‒469, figs. 5‒6, 12, 14, 17, 30‒34; Das & Singh 2022: 264.

Other material. India. Meghalaya. 33 ♁ 1 ♀, Cherrapunji (NHM); 19 ♁ 4 ♀, ibid., viii‒x.1894 (Doncaster) (all in NHM); 2 ♁, ibid.; 2 ♁, Khasi Hills (all in USNM); 4 ♁, Shillong, 9‒17.viii.1928 (Fletcher); 1 ♀, ibid., 16.viii.1927 (Fletcher) (all in NHM); 1 ♀, ibid., ix‒x.1918 (Fletcher) (MINGA); 1 ♁, ibid., 1650 m, 16.viii.1927 (Fletcher) (USNM); 1 ♁, ibid., 1500 m, 23.viii.1927 (Fletcher) (MINGA). Assam. 3 ♁ 1 ♀, Golaghat, 1890 (Doherty) (NHM).

Diagnosis. Nemophora cassiterites belongs to the askoldella species-group (defined by Kozlov 1995); it differs from N. chionites (Figs. 19, 20) by short PLB (slightly shorter than the vertical eye diameter) and from N. griseella (Figs. 23, 24) and N. ischnodesma (Figs. 25, 26) by the light base of the hindwing and by the silver-grey triangular costal spot adjacent to the outer border of the forewing fascia.

Description (Figs. 21, 22, 81): see Kozlov (1995).

Distribution. India (Assam, Meghalaya, Uttarakhand). The latter record is based on a photograph (https:// www.inaturalist.org/observations/134009814).