Dragmatucha curvalis Park & Karisch, 2025

Karisch, Timm, Dutton, Amy-Jayne, Yu, Tae-Uk & Park, Kyu-Tek, 2025, Lecithoceridae (Lepidoptera: Gelechioidea) from Nimba Mts. bordering Liberia and Guinea, Part I: The subfamily Torodorinae, with descriptions of 15 new species, Zootaxa 5728 (2), pp. 247-286 : 253-255

1. Dragmatucha curvalis Park & Karisch , sp. nov.

LSID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:

( Fig. 3 )

Type specimens. Holotype: Male, Liberia, Nimba Mountains , alt. 1050 m, 4.2 km SE Yekepa, camp, secondary forest on SE slope, 7°32’35.6’’N 8°31’20.3’’W, 28 viii 2022 LF, leg. T. Karisch, gen. slide no. 4166/Karisch, barcoding SDEI300014 , in SDEI.

Paratypes: 1♂, Liberia, Nimba Mountains , alt. 1055 m, 4.2 km SE Yekepa, 0.1 km SSW camp, secondary forest on SE slope 7°32’33.0’’N 8°31’21.4’’W, 22 viii 2022 LF (160 W ML), leg. T . Karisch , gen. slide no. 4163/ Karisch, barcoding SDEI300011 , in SDEI; 1♂, Liberia, Nimba Mountains , alt. 1060 m, 4.4 km SE Yekepa, 0.2 km SSW camp, secondary forest nr. Parinari-forest, 7°32’27.3”N 8°31’24.3”W, 28 viii 2022 LF (125 W HQL), leg. T . Karisch & A.-J. Dutton, in MNVD .

Diagnosis. The new species is superficially similar to D. polystriana Park & Karisch, 2022 described from Ivory Coast (female), but it can be distinguished by the forewing and hindwing patterns: the yellowish-white antemedian fascia is nearly straight and slightly oblique, without a distinct fascia beyond, and the hindwing bears a strongly angled yellowish-white postmedian line. In D. polystriana , the forewing fascia is slightly concave and followed by a well-developed crescent fascia, while the hindwing postmedian line is not strongly angled medially. The male genitalia resemble those of D. vittatella Park, 2020 (in Park et al. 2020) ( Uganda), but the species can be readily distinguished externally by the forewing with a narrow, slightly zigzagged antemedian fascia (with a broad band in D. vittatella ).

Description. Male ( Figs 3A, B ). Wingspan 12.0– 12.5 mm.

Head: Shiny yellowish white dorsally. Antenna as long as forewing; basal segment slightly broadened distally, greyish brown; flagellum filiform, yellowish white throughout, finely ciliate, first one or two segments with greyish or brown scales. Labial palpus arched, upturned; second palpomere slightly thickened, yellowish white, with some brown scales laterally; third palpomere dark brown, about 1/6 the length of second palpomere.

Thorax: Shiny greyish brown, intermixed with white scales. Hind tibia shiny yellowish white dorsally, with a brush of long brown or black scales medially. Forewing dark brown; costa slightly convex around basal 1/4 and beyond 2/3; basal patch yellowish white; antemedian fascia yellowish white, slightly zigzagged, slightly broadened between costa and R 1; postmedian fascia yellowish white, arising from costal patch, strongly bent inward, then sharply angled on CuA 1, extending towards tornus; apex sharply produced; termen slightly concave beyond apex; fringes with broad, whitish basal line, blackish medially. Hindwing greyish brown; postmedian fascia yellowish white, with a kink at M 1; apex produced; fringes with yellowish-white narrow basal line, median part fuscous and greyish apically.

Abdomen ( Fig. 3D ): Dark brown dorsally, paler laterally; dorsal spinous zones broad, with sparse spines.

Male genitalia ( Figs 3C, C 1 ): Uncus slender, elongated, slightly curved downward, with acute apex, exceeding apex of basal plate of gnathos. Gnathos basal plate sharply terminated apically; median process broad, strongly arched downward beyond middle, with sharply pointed apex. Tegumen weakly sclerotized, deeply concave on anterior margin. Valva narrowed medially, deeply concave medially on dorsal margin; ventral margin nearly straight before cucullus; cucullus foot-shaped, densely setose; outer margin convex in upper 1/3; lower corner expanded outwardly; apex obtuse. Juxta broad, shield-shaped, concave on caudal margin, with narrow vertical ridge centrally. Aedeagus stout, as long as valva; cornuti consisting of a crescent plate in basal 1/3, two bundles of spines distally, and 2-3 small particles near apex.

Female unknown.

Distribution. Liberia ( Nimba Mts.)

Etymology. The species name is derived from the Latin, curvus (= bent), referring to the strongly bent postmedian fascia in the forewing. A noun in the nominative singular standing in apposition to the generic name.

Figures

FIGURE 1. A, Topographic map of the Guinea Highlands (Wikipedia.org./wiki/Guinea_Highlands/, Tom Radulovich, CC BY- SA 4.0, colours adapted); B, Blue itabirit at Blue Lake in laminar formation with other minerals (photo: A.-J Dutton, 2022); C, View from the NW-SE-exposed mountain ridge to the main ridge of Nimba Mountains in Liberia, in the middle with the excavations for iron ore. (photo: A.-J. Dutton, 2022); D, Blue Lake and its surroundings showing the extent of iron ore mining in the southern part of the Nimba Mountains (photo: T. Karisch, 2022); E, Cloud covered main ridge of the southern part of the Nimba Mountains (photo: A.-J Dutton).

FIGURE 3. Dragmatucha curvalis Park & Karisch, sp. nov.: A, male (holotype); B, head with labial palpus; C, male genitalia (paratype, gen. slide no. 4163/Karisch); C1, ditto, aedeagus; D, abdomen.