Lithosiccia bota, Volynkin, 2023

Volynkin, Anton V., 2023, Lithosiccia, a new genus with four new species from mainland Africa (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae: Lithosiini), Ecologica Montenegrina 65, pp. 24-39 : 35

Lithosiccia bota sp. n.

https://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:4F75D401-3B0F-48CF-A226-15ADB2B8F39F

( Figs 9, 10 , 26, 27 )

Type material. Holotype ( Figs 9 , 26 ): male, “ Gabon 430m | Mikongo ( Rougier ), Monts | de Cristal (Secondary forest) | 0°29'47''N, 11°10'42''E | 28.vii.–12.viii.2019 LepiLED | Light Trap. Albert, J-L., | Aristophanous, M., | Bie Mba, J., Dérozier, V., | Moretto, P. Leg. | ANHRT:2019.17” / “ANHRTUK | 00138940” / “Slide | AV6777 ♂ | A. Volynkin ” ( ANHRT).

Paratypes. REPUBLIC OF CONGO: 1 male, 352m, Sangha Prov. , Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park , Ndoki formation (Secondary forest), 02°12'47.7''N, 16°23'45.8''E, 29.ix.–1.x.2022, LepiLED L. T ., Dérozier , V., Fouka, B., Kirk-Spriggs, A., Takano, H. leg. , gen. prep. No. : AV6969 ( ANHRT) ; 1 male, 372m, Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park , Mbeli camp, 02°14'23.8''N, 16°23'52.1''E, 14–20.ii.2023, actinic light trap, Bakala, N., M., Dérozier, V., Kirk-Spriggs, A., László, G. leg. ( ANHRT) .

Diagnosis. The forewing length is 7.0– 7.5 mm in males. Lithosiccia bota is externally reminiscent of L. takanoi and L. juvenis but differs from them in the broader forewing, the brown subbasal area of the forewing, the large, high boot-shaped discal marking of the forewing (it is more or less reniform in the aforementioned congeners), and the larger brown spots at the costal margin postmedially and subapically. The male genital capsule of the new species is similar to L. mikra and L. smithi but distinguished from the former species in the medially thicker uncus, the longer cucullus, and the markedly longer distal saccular process, which nearly reaches the tip of the cucullus. The phallus of L. bota is longer than in L. mikra (in proportion to the tegumen-vinculum complex length). Compared to L. mikra , the vesica of the new species is markedly longer and broader, has two subbasal diverticula (vs. one in the congener), a strongly elongate and utricular terminal diverticulum (it is short and semiglobular in L. mikra ), a shorter and plate-like distal cornutus with a dentate outer margin (it is horn-shaped in the congener), and a shorter and conical distal diverticulum, which is utricular in L. mikra . Additionally, unlike L. mikra , the vesica of L. bota bears a rugose and granulose cluster stretching from the base of the terminal cornutus to the base of the distal cornutus. The detailed comparison with L. smithi is provided below in the diagnosis of this species.

The female is unknown.

Molecular data. Two specimens of L. bota from Gabon and Republic of the Congo diverge from each other by 3.95% while the pairwise distance between L. bota and the nearest neighbour, L. smithi is in the range of 6.56–7.57%.

Distribution. The new species is currently known from Gabon and Republic of the Congo.

Etymology. The specific epithet is derived from the Greek ‘μπότα’ meaning ‘a high boot’ and refers to the high boot-shaped discal marking of the forewing. The name is a noun in the nominative singular in apposition.

Figures

Figures 2–10. Lithosiccia spp.: adults. Depositories of the specimens: 2 in CMNH (photo by V. Verdecia); 3 in GMF- B; 4, 7 and 8 in NHMUK (©The Trustees of NHMUK); 5, 6, 9 and 10 in ANHRT.

Figures 26–28. Lithosiccia spp.: male genitalia. The specimens dissected are deposited in ANHRT.