O. Merkl szerk.: Folia Entomologica Hungarica 69. (Budapest, 2008)

The new species can be easily distinguished from the two taxa of the other lineage of the genus, M. ernesti DRAUDT, 1936 (type: Turkey, Marash) and its subspecies achaemenica WILTSHIRE, 1941 (type: Iran, Fars) by its narrower, more pointed fore wings with differently shaperd stigmata and less defined, differently shaped crosslines; the differences in the male genitalia are also remarkably larger than between the taxa of the M. antherici species group. Description - Wingspan 24.0-28.0 mm, length of fore wing 12.8-15.1 mm. Male (Fig. 3). Vestiture of head, palpi, thorax and legs brown, lighter on ventral side, vertex and collar rather creamy. Eyes globular; antennae widely bipectinate. Fore wing elongated, rather acute triangular with apex pointed, costa slightly concave distally, outer margin straight from apex to tornai area. Ground colour pale tobacco-brown to fawn, stigmata and subterminal line conspicuously yellowish-ochreous. Basal area with two (sometimes one) fine ochreous spots subcostally; antemedial and postmedial crosslines fine, rather obsolescent, fawn-coloured, finely crenellate; filling of cell between stigmata darker brown, darkest part of wing. Stigmata prominent, orbicular stigma trapezoidal, reniform stigma somewhat quadrangular, with more or less circular brown marking inside, claviform stigma short, lanceolate, outlined with brown at apex. Subterminal line fine, sinuous, ochreous, followed by a brown and an ochreous stripe at inner side, both becoming continuously broader from apex to tornai area. Terminal line fine, brown; cilia brown with ochreous inner line. Hind wing whitish, discal spot fine, lunulate; transverse line and inner edge of marginal area forming two parallel, diffuse but clearly visible dark brownish stripes. Terminal line fine, reddish brown; cilia broad, white. Underside of fore wing fawn-coloured with brown suffusion, shadows of stigmata, subterminal line and dark stripes of marginal field clearly discernible. Hind wing as on upperside, but cellular lunule more visible; cilia also as on upperside. Female unknown. Male genitalia (Figs 14-17): Uncus thick, rather beak-shaped, setose, with apex hooked. Tegumen broad, penicular lobes small, rounded; fultura inferior large, rounded, shield-like; vinculum widely U- or V-shaped. Valva elongated, finely arcuate, evenly but only slighly tapering distally. Sacculus short, more or less triangular; clavus represented by a rounded, setose surface. Harpe thick, strongly and smoothly sclerotized, basal bar broad, rather straight, erect patt flattened, broad at base, slightly curved ventrad, apical thitd acute, thorn-shaped. Cucullus broad triangular, terminally rounded; corona represented by numerous strong setae arranged into four or five rows. Aedeagus almost straight, thick, cylindrical, smoothly sclerotized, carina stronger in sclerotisation, having short lateral and dorso-lateral sclerotised laminae. Vesica everted forward, recurved dorsally, broadly tubular, distal part strongly tapering. Its walls membranous, without diverticulum or spine but with a long medio-lateral scobinated field. Habitat - The new species was found in the easternmost part of Alborz Mountains, in a rocky limestone slope with steppe vegetation (Astragalus, Artemisia, Stipa, etc.) and Juniperus bushes.