Neopalpa donaldtrumpi
| Neopalpa donaldtrumpi | |
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| Lateral (left) and frontal (right) perspectives of the head of Neopalpa donaldtrumpi. This male specimen is the holotype. | |
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| Species: | N. donaldtrumpi
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| Binomial name | |
| Neopalpa donaldtrumpi Nazari, 2017
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Neopalpa donaldtrumpi is a moth species of the genus Neopalpa occurring in Southern California and Northern Mexico. It was first described by Canadian scientist Vazrick Nazari in January 2017. He chose the name because the moth's head cover reminded him of the hair of Donald Trump and he hoped that the name might create some publicity for underappreciated small animals.
Discovery
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The genus Neopalpa including the species Neopalpa neonata was first described in 1998 by Dalibor Povolný.[1] Almost two decades later, Vazrick Nazari reviewed the material, including various specimens that had been collected since the first description of the genus, and discovered that some of the specimens actually formed a separate new species, which he called Neopalpa donaldtrumpi due to the yellowish-white color of the scales on the top of its head, which reminded him of Donald Trump's hairstyle.[2] He also hoped that the name might provide more publicity to often underappreciated small and rare creatures.[2][3]
Description
The body of the moth is between seven and and 11 millimeters in length and the spread of its forewings is between 6 and 9.2 millimeters. The upper surface of the forewings shows a dark brown costal region with sparse, lighter speckles, the dorsal region and discal fascia are orange yellow to pale buff, the sinuous margin has two or three scallops. The apical area and the fringes are dark brown heavily mottled with lighter suffusion. Hindwings are pale buff, unmarked and with slightly darker fringe. Its antenna is about two-thirds of its wingspan and its head is covered with yellowish white scales, which inspired the moth's name.[2][3] In addition to the head scales, the most conspicuous difference between N. donaldtrumpi and the other species in the genus, N. neonata, is the structure of both male and female genitalia, particularly the smaller male genitalia of N. donaldtrumpi. They can also be distinguished via DNA.[2]
Distribution
While the closely related Neopalpa neonata occurs throughout much of California, Baja California and Northwest Mexico, Neopalpa donaldtrumpi so far has only been established for the Northern half of Baja California and Riverside and Imperial counties in Southern California.[2]
See also
References
- ^ Povolný, Dalibor. "Neopalpa gen. n. and Eurysaccoides gen. n. — two new genera of the tribe Gnorimoschemini from California, with the description of three new species (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae)". Revista de Lepidopterología. 26. Sociedad Hispano-Luso-Americana de Lepidopterología: 139–146.
{{cite journal}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ a b c d e Nazari, Vazrick (2017). "Review of Neopalpa Povolný, 1998 with description of a new species from California and Baja California, Mexico (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae)". ZooKeys. 646: 79. doi:10.3897/zookeys.646.11411.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link) - ^ a b "Neopalpa donaldtrumpi Motte trägt nun Namen von Donald Trump". Spiegel Online, 18 January 2017 (German)
External links
- boldsystems.org. – Public Data Portal
- Meet 'Neopalpa donaldtrumpi' – the threatened moth named after Donald Trump. The Telegraph, 17 January 2017