A new genus of Gnorimoschemini (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae, Gelechiinae) from the Atacama and Sechura deserts

Sexually dimorphic Gnorimoschemini moths (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae, Gelechiinae) were reared from leaf mines collected on Tessaria absinthioides (Hook. & Arn.) DC. (Asteraceae) in the coastal Atacama Desert of northern Chile. Detailed examination revealed a combination of morphological characters not assignable to any known genus of the tribe, including 1) a scale tuft on the male hindwing, 2) an uncus with a triangular postero-medial projection, and 3) a U-shaped gnathos.

COI sequences obtained from a male and a female showed minimal intraspecific divergence (0.6 %), whereas interspecific divergences with representatives of other Gnorimoschemini genera ranged from 8.1 % to 11.8 %. Phylogenetic analyses based on COI sequences further confirmed the Atacama moths as a strongly supported, isolated clade, corroborating its morphological distinctiveness and supporting its recognition as a separate evolutionary lineage.

The combined evidence justifies the establishment of Azaptilia azapensis Vargas, gen. nov. et sp. nov. Furthermore, based on the remarkable similarity in genitalia morphology, the Peruvian moth Scrobipalpula trichinaspis (Meyrick, 1917) from the Sechura Desert, originally described in Phthorimaea Meyrick, 1902, is also included in the new genus as Azaptilia trichinaspis (Meyrick, 1917), comb. nov. This discovery expands the known diversity of Gnorimoschemini in arid South American ecosystems of the Atacama and Sechura deserts and highlights the importance of integrating rearing, morphology, and DNA barcoding for uncovering hidden diversity in Neotropical Gelechiidae.