Thubdora kevini Dutton & Park, 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 : 274

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5728.2.2
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:3588FC65-B5B1-43BC-9149-3C8610920278
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03BE2A4A-FFAA-FFE1-51A9-78DFFBBBF82A
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Thubdora kevini Dutton & Park
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

5. Thubdora kevini Dutton & Park , sp. nov.

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

( Fig. 16 View FIGURE 16 )

Type specimens. Holotype: Male, Liberia, Nimba Mountains, alt. 1320 m, 7.9 km SSE Yekepa, 1 km SW Celcom tower, edge of Parinari-forest on SSE slope, 7°30’55.5’’N 8°31’24.6’’W, 30 viii 2022, LF (125 W HQL), leg. T. Karisch & A.-J. Dutton, gen. slide no. 4157/ Karisch, barcoding CBNU686 , in SDEI. GoogleMaps

Paratype: 1♂, Liberia, Nimba Mountains, alt. 1060 m, 4.4 km SE Yekepa, 0.2 km SSW camp secondary forest near Parinari-forest 7°32’27.3’’N 8°31’24.3’’W, 28 viii 2022, LF (125 W HQL), leg. T GoogleMaps . Karisch & A.-J. Dutton, gen. slide no. 4179/ Karisch. barcoding SDEI300024 , in SDEI.

Diagnosis. The new species is similar to T. tonkpiensis described from Ivory Coast, based on females, but it can be distinguished by the larger size (16.0– 16.5 mm in the latter), the antenna yellowish brown throughout (in T. tonkpiensis , dark brown medially), and the ground colour of both wings much darker than those of T. tonkpiensis .

Description. Male ( Figs 16A, B View FIGURE 16 ). Wingspan 18.0– 19.5 mm.

Head: Dark greyish brown, golden at eyes; frons yellowish, upper golden.Antenna filiform, as long as forewing, golden, tinged with grey; basal segment broadened; flagellum slightly serrate, ciliate, with some dark brown scales in the basal third. Labial palpus ( Fig. 15B View FIGURE 15 ) strongly upturned; second palpomere broadened, golden, dorsal brownish; third palpomere as long as the second, golden, ventral greyish.

Thorax: Dark brown dorsally. Hind tibia dark brown in basal half, greyish yellow beyond dorsally. Forewing narrow, long; ground colour dark greyish brown; costa straight beyond 1/4; costal patch very tiny at beyond basal 3/4; fringes concolorous, basal line invisible. Hindwing dark greyish brown, paler in basal half medially; fringes concolorous with ground colour; basal line invisible.

Abdomen ( Fig. 16E View FIGURE 16 ): Dark brown, with golden-yellow tip; spinous zones broadly developed; tergite VIII with heavily sclerotized, V-shaped plate; sternite VIII missing.

Male genitalia ( Figs 16C, D View FIGURE 16 ): Uncus short, extremely broadened triangularly, with slightly concave caudal margin. Basal plate of gnathos large, broadened; median process broad, suddenly narrowed and curved pre-apically beyond 2/3. Tegumen weakly sclerotized, incised into inverted V-shape on anterior margin. Valva expanded at base anteriorly, and then concave medially; ventral margin nearly straight to lower corner of cucullus; cucullus narrower toward apex, strongly upturned, densely setose, apical margin nearly truncated. Juxta with a pair of long, heavily sclerotized digitate latero-caudal processes, as long as basal portion. Vinculum banded; saccal zone slightly produced. Aedeagus rather slender, gently arched medially; with a small, triangular process on ventral margin pre-apically; cornutus spiniform, heavily sclerotized, about 1/6 the length of aedeagus, located pre-apically.

Female unknown.

Distribution. Liberia ( Nimba Mts.).

Etymology. Named after the father of A. –J. Dutton, Mr. Kevin Dutton, as thanks for his support in this and all other works. A noun in the genitive case.

Remarks. The male genitalia of the paratype (gen. slide no. 4179/Karisch) show a little difference in the shape of uncus with deeply concave caudal margin, but it is tentatively treated as conspecific.