Thubdora vernaculella Park & Karisch, 2021

Park, Kyu-Tek & Karisch, Timm, 2021, The family Lecithoceridae (Lepidoptera, Gelechioidea) from Bioko Island (Equatorial Guinea), with descriptions of five new species, Zootaxa 4995 (3), pp. 581-593 : 585-586

Thubdora vernaculella Park & Karisch , sp. nov.

LSID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:FB2F2C42-BB54-4F58-BE7E-78F02BABF092

( Figs. 4A–E )

Type specimen. – Holotype: ♂, Equatorial Guinea, Island of Bioko (former Fernando Póo), Gran Caldera Volcanica de Luba u Ose, MNE slope about 4 km SSW Ruiche, 5km S of Luba, higher altitude primary rain forest, 1,200 m, 3°22′30″N 8°32′30″E, 20.viii.1994, at light, leg. T. Karisch, gen. slide no. GU3821/Karisch, deposited in MNVD.

Diagnosis. This new species is superficially similar to T. ealaensis Park & De Prins, 2019 which was described from DR Congo and also reported from Uganda ( Park et al., 2020), but it can be distinguished from the latter by the forewing lacking a yellowish-white costal patch, costa slightly oblique beyond 3/4, and the termen oblique, whereas in the latter the costal patch is large, distinct, triangular, and the termen is nearly straight. The male genitalia are also very similar to those of the latter, but the uncus is weakly bifurcate, the distal part of valva (= cucullus) is slightly convex on ventral margin medially and slightly produced apically, and the aedeagus contains a number of slender cornuti and 3-4 series of strong conical spines, whereas in the latter the cucullus is almost parallel-sided with round apical margin, and cornuti with a bundle of long setae.

Description. Male ( Figs. 4A, B ). Forewing length 7.5 mm.

Head: Dark brown dorsally, with yellowish-white erect scales laterally; frons yellowish brown. Antenna shorter than forewing; scape elongated; flagellum slightly ciliate-fasciculate, yellowish white, with dark-brown annulation on each segment. Labial palpus with very short 1 st segment; 2 nd segment broadened and flattened, curved upward, pale yellowish; 3 rd segment slightly curved, slender, brown apically.

Thorax: Notum, tegulae, and collar dark brown, iridescent golden to copper. Median legs with femur pale yellow medially, brown laterally; tibia yellowish, intermixed with brownish scales laterally, with a pair of spurs at end, the inner one two times longer than the outer one; hind legs removed. Forewing slightly dilated distally; ground color dark brown; delicate short transversal streaks or dull scale patches irregularly scattered; costa arched before basal 1/3 and beyond 3/4; apex obtuse; termen slightly oblique, slightly convex beyond half; fringes concolorous with ground color, with narrow yellowish-white basal line. Hind wing broader than forewing, grayish brown; fringes grayish brown, with narrow pale-yellowish basal line.

Abdomen ( Fig. 4E ): Dark brown dorsally, with the last two segments orange-gray. Spinose zones broadly developed, but zone on sternite VII narrowly elongated; a pair of long hair-pencils between segment VII and VIII; sternite VIII with large V-shaped sclerite, and tergite with T-shaped modified plate.

Male genitalia ( Figs. 4C, D ): Uncus broadened apically, shorter than basal arms. Basal plate of gnathos with rounded caudal margin; median process large, strongly bent downward beyond 2/3. valva elongated, with short basal part; distal part (= cucullus) strongly upturned, slightly convex on costal margin medially, slightly produced apically, and the ventral margin gently arched, slightly produced apically. Juxta large, with short digitate caudal lobes laterally and a large, triangular membranous plate extended caudally; anterior margin with small protrusion medially. Aedeagus shorter than valva, slender, slightly broad basally and bent at basal 1/4; cornuti consisting of 3-4 series with strong conical spines beyond half.

Female unknown.

Distribution. South-West part of Bioko.

Etymology. The species name is derived from the Latin, vernacul (= native, local) with the Latin diminutive suffix, ellus.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Thubdora vernaculella Park & Karisch, sp. nov.: A, adult, holotype; B, head in lateral view; C, male genitalia, gen. slide no. 3821/Karisch; D, aedeagus; E, abdomen, with close-up segment VII-VIII. Scale bar for the genitalia and aedeagus: 1.0 mm.