Palumbina nesoclera is a species of moth belonging to the family Gelechiidae and the subfamily Thiotrichinae. It was first described by the British entomologist Edward Meyrick in 1929 under the original name Thyrsostoma nesoclera.
Distribution
The species is found in India's Andaman Islands (specifically the South Andaman Islands), with additional records from China (Hainan) and other parts of Southeast Asia.
Description
The wingspan of Palumbina nesoclera is approximately 12 mm. The forewings are dark fuscous in color with reduced markings that are sometimes nearly obsolete. The species can be distinguished from other members of the genus Palumbina by this dark forewing coloration and the reduced pattern. The aedeagus (male reproductive organ) is distinctive, with a slender dorsal extension at the base.
Taxonomy
The species was originally described by Edward Meyrick in 1929 in Exotic Microlepidoptera (volume 3, page 499) as Thyrsostoma nesoclera. It was later transferred to the genus Palumbina. It belongs to the nesoclera-group, which is characterized in males by a stout and slightly appressed segment III of the labial palpus, abundant coremata placed interior of the abdomen, a strongly sclerotized uncus with spine-like setae, absence of the culcitula, a dorsally furrowed gnathos, and a slender saccus.
