Trifurcula guercheae Varenne & Nel 2019

Overview & Synopsis

Trifurcula guercheae Varenne & Nel, 2019 Trifurcula guercheae Varenne & Nel, 2019: 88, figs. 11–16. Examined material. Holotype Ƌ: France, Alpes-Maritimes, Isola-sur-Tinée, 1670 m, uv, 11.VII.2018, Th. Varenne leg., genitalia slide TV n°6770 (RCTV). BOLD Specimen ID TLMF 27069; BOLD Sequence ID LEASV317-19. BIN: none Identity: Trifurcula guercheae Varenne & Nel, 2019, identity uncertain. Remarks. Trifurcula guercheae was described from a male holotype and briefly compared with Trifurcula immundella (Zeller, 1839) and T. beirnei Puplesis, 1984 (Varenne & Nel 2019). Both are indeed rather different species, but the genitalia of T. guercheae are almost completely identical to T. pallidella (Duponchel, 1843) (van Nieukerken & Johansson 1986; van Nieukerken et al. 2004b), a species currently unknown from France, although it is found in the Ligurian Alps not far from the French border (van Nieukerken et al. 2004b). A short DNA barcode sequence of 406bp of the specimen is about 3% divergent from T. pallidella (Duponchel, 1843), the nearest known neighbour in BOLD. For the time being we refrain from synonymising T. guercheae, as further material is needed to assess the barcode variation in T. pallidella.