Strigocossus takanoi Yakovlev & László, 2020

Yakovlev, Roman V. & László, Gyula M., 2020, Two new species of Strigocossus Houlbert, 1916 (Lepidoptera, Cossidae, Zeuzerinae) from Togo and Zambia, Ecologica Montenegrina 34, pp. 64-72 : 65-67

Strigocossus takanoi Yakovlev & László , sp. n.

Figs 1−2 , 4−5 , 7 .

https://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:DC9AAAB9-35DA-4271-BBF4-1DF7B051796B

Holotype. Male , “ ZAMBIA, 1400m, Hillwood, Ikelenge, S11°16ʹ02ʹʹ, E24°18ʹ59ʹʹ, 25−27.xi.14, Light Trap, leg. Smith, R. & Takano, H.”, ANHRT:2017.12, slide ANHRT 00058 , unique number ANHRTUK 00052303 ( ANHRT).

Paratypes (all in ANHRT). Zambia . 12 males, 1 female, with the same data as the holotype, unique numbers: ANHRTUK 00052304, 00007723, 00007724, 00098478-00098485, 00098487, slides ANHRT 00059 (male), LG 5193 (female) ; 4 males, same locality, 21−28.x.2013, leg. Smith, R., Takano, H., Chmurova, L., Smith, L., ANHRT:2017.10, unique numbers: ANHRTUK 00098486, 00098489-00098491 ; 3 males, same locality, 7-10.xi.2019, MV Light Trap, Bashford, M., Miles, W., Mulvaney, L. leg., ANHRT:2019.25, unique numbers: ANHRTUK 00133157-00133159 ; 14 males, same locality, 23−30.xi.2019, MV light trap, Bashford, M., Miles, W., Mulvaney, L., Smith, R. leg., ANHRT 2019 .25, unique numbers: ANHRTUK 00133133-00133146 ; 4 males, Chitunta plain (Miombo / Dambo mosaic), 1396 m, S11°29ʹ12ʹʹ, E24°24ʹ18ʹʹ, 29.xi.−4.xii.2019, LepiLED and MV light trap, Bashford, M., Miles, W., Mulvaney, L. leg., ANHRT 2019 .25, unique numbers: ANHRTUK 00133149-00133152 ; 3 males, Nyangombe Falls (Miombo / Riverine forest mosaic), 1300 m, S11°48ʹ25ʹʹ, E24°32ʹ12ʹʹ, 17−23.xi.2019, MV light trap, Bashford, M., Miles, W., Mulvaney, L., Smith, R. leg. ANHRT 2019 .25, unique numbers: ANHRTUK 00133122, 00133124, 00133125 ; 3 males, Dambo near Kanyama ( Miombo / Riverine / Dambo mosaic), 1375 m, S11°25ʹ36ʹʹ / E24°40ʹ00ʹʹ, 4−7.xii.2019, MV and Actinic light trap, Bashford, M., Miles, W., Mulvaney, L. leg., ANHRT 2019 .25, unique numbers: ANHRTUK 00133153-00133155 ; 6 males, Jiwundu Swamp , 1340 m, S11°51ʹ54ʹʹ / E 25°33ʹ20ʹʹ, 21−24.xi.2014, leg. Smith, R. & Takano, H., ANHRT:2017.12, unique numbers: ANHRTUK 00098477, 00098488, 00098492-00098495 ; 12 males, Zambezi Rapids (Miombo / Riverine forest mosaic), 1205 m, 11º7ʹ30ʹʹS, 24º11ʹ6ʹʹE, 4‒9.xi.2018, MV and Actinic light trap, Aristophanous, M., Deroziér, V., László, G., Oram, D. leg., ANHRT 2018 .40, unique numbers ANHRTUK 00052901, 00054827-00054829, 00054834, 00054835, 00054837, 00054840, 00054871, 00054872, 00070905, 00070988 .

Description. Male ( Fig. 1 ). Length of forewing 27 mm in holotype, 24-47 mm in paratypes. Wingspan 52- 102 mm. Antenna bipectinate in proximal half, filiform in distal half. Head moderately large, palps very short and thin, slightly upcurved, blackish; frons very narrow between the large, globular compound eyes, covered in short dark brown scales; vertex blackish brown. Collar and tegulae pale brownish grey densely covered in admixture of pale brown, grey and blackish scales, thorax dark blackish brown. Forewing grey with dense, finely reticulated pattern, a short, longitudinal blackish streak in cell CuA 2 −CuP (discally) and a conspicuous, rather thick, dark brown submarginal crescent; discal area pale-brown with sparse reticulated pattern, costal margin dark brown, with small blackish patches along costa. Fringe mottled, pale grey between veins, blackish at veins. Hindwing pale greyish-brown, anal angle lighter brown, with weakly expressed reticulated pattern on wing periphery, fringe mottled, light brown between veins, dark brown at veins.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 4 ). Uncus elongate-trigonal, robust, broad at base then slightly tapered distally, apically rounded; gnathos arms very short, ribbon-like, wide basally, narrowing apically without medial plate of gnathos; valva evenly broad in its basal two-thirds with very slightly convex costal and straight ventral margins, valva margins more or less parallel, apex evenly rounded; juxta large with long narrow ribbon-like lateral processes directed ventro-distally; saccus large, semicircular; phallus robust, extremely short, thick; vesica with longitudinally rugose, largely dilated, globular basal section, smooth surfaced, inflated medial section bearing a well-developed lateral lobe and gradually tapered, tubular distal section.

Female ( Fig. 2 ). Length of forewing 53 mm. Antenna filiform. Sexual dimorphism limited, wingpattern analogous to that of the male, forewing somewhat lighter compared to that of males.

Female genitalia ( Fig. 5 ). Ovipositor extremely long, retractable, papillae anales very long and narrow, tubular, poorly sclerotized; apophyses posteriores heavily sclerotized, thin, anteriorly slightly dilated with rounded tip, conspicuously long, reaching ostium bursae; apophyses anteriores long, relatively thick in full length, apically rounded. 8 th tergite long and narrow with a shield-like medial sclerotization and fine, but heavily slerotized processi connected with apophyses anteriores. Ostium bursae conspicuously wide, somewhat cup-shaped, weakly sclerotized; ovary globular, oviduct very thin; ductus bursae membranous, posteriorly constricted, anteriorly dilated, relatively thick and short with rugose surface, bearing a well-developed lateral diverticulum; cervix bursae extremely broad, ductus seminalis thick, rugose; corpus bursae globular, signum bursae circular, heavily sclerotized, strongly spinose marginally with less, shorter spines on its medial surface.

Diagnosis. The closest relative of the new species is the recently described S. otti Yakovlev, Sulak & Witt, 2019 (type locality − Angola, Prov. Cuanza Sul, 26 km E Cassongue ), from which it differs in the following characters :

- the light-brown hind wing with lightened anal angle and the fine, reticulated pattern on the wing periphery whereas in S. otti , the hindwing is uniformly dark-brown, almost without pattern;

- the valva with straight ventral margin, while that of S. otti is slightly curved medially.

Distribution ( Fig. 5 ). S. takanoi is hitherto known only from the North-Western Province of the Republic of Zambia. It inhabits medium high altitude (ca. 1400 m a.s.l.) Miombo woodland habitats, variegated by narrow strips of riverine forests (Muchito).

Etymology. The new species is named after the dedicated entomologist Dr Hitoshi Takano (ANHRT), specialist of Catharsius dung beetles, Rhopalocera and Sphingidae , organizer and participant of numerous entomological expeditions in Africa, one of the collectors of the new species.

Figures

Figures 1−3. Adult specimens of Strigocossus (coll. ANHRT): 1. S. takanoi sp. n., holotype, male; 2. S. takanoi sp. n., paratype, female; 3. S. sanbenai sp. n., holotype, male.

Figures 4−6. Genitalia of Strigocossus (coll. ANHRT): 4. S. takanoi sp. n., holotype; 5. S. takanoi sp. n., paratype, female; 6. S. sanbenai sp. n., holotype.

Figures 7−8. Habitats of the new Strigocossus species: 7. Hillwood Farm, Ikelenge, NW Zambia, habitat of S. takanoi (photo by Lydia Mulvaney); 8. Fazao-Malfakassa National Park, Togo, habitat of S. sanbenai (photo by Marios Aristophanous).