Stempfferia salonga Safian 2021, sp. nov
Creators: name: Sáfián, Szabolcs
name: Collins, Steve
name: Warren-Gash, Haydon
name: Belcastro, Claudio
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Lycaenidae
Stempfferia
Stempfferia salonga

description: Stempfferia salonga Sáfián sp. nov
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:
(Figs 1A–D, 2, 3A–C, 4A–C, 6)
Holotype: • ♀ DRC bufferzone for Salonga National Park, forest around Monkoto, 03–10.X.2016. Leg.: Sáfián, Sz. Coordinates: 1°44’48.99”S, 20°40’49.19”E. Deposited in ANHRT. ANHRT unique ID number: ANHRTUK00056579.
Paratypes: • 1♂ DRC bufferzone for Salonga National Park, forest around Monkoto, 03–10.X.2016. Leg.: Sáfián, Sz. Coordinates: 1°44’48.99”S, 20°40’49.19”E. Gen. prep.: SAFI00227; • 1♂ DRCbufferzonefor Salonga National Park, forest around Monkoto, 03–10.X.2016. Leg.: Sáfián, Sz. Coordinates: 1°44’48.99”S, 20°40’49.19”E. Gen. prep.: SAFI00243; • 4♂, 7♀ DRCbufferzonefor Salonga National Park, forest around Monkoto, 03–10.X.2016. Leg.: Sáfián, Sz. Coordinates: 1°44’48.99”S, 20°40’49.19”E. Deposited in ABRI, ANHRT, CB, CEP-MZUJ and ZSM;
• 1♂ S. CAMEROON, Maan. X.1996. Leg. S.C. Collins. Gen. prep.: SAFI 00223. Deposited in ABRI.
Description. Female. Forewing length: ca. 22.2 mm. Wingspan: ca. 40 mm. General appearance like other species in the S. cercene -group with blackish-brown forewing with a triangular light-blue basal and a large white area in the centre, which broadens from the end of the cell to space 2, narrows down again in space 1b and terminates at vein 1. Dark, uniform greyish-brown hindwing and a lighter greyish-brown underside with silvery-grey zigzagging pattern. Prominent black triangular streak present at end of forewing discal cell and blackish-brown spot in costal side of cell along the edge of blue area, which at first sight looks more like physical damage washed off the blue scaling. Outer edge of central white area lobed, particularly in space 2 where long and acute-tipped lobe extends into submarginal area (Fig. 1A). Underside greyish-brown with large white spot on forewing, and small crescentshaped silvery-grey spots forming sub-marginal line, grey chevrons forming marginal line. Hindwing mottles more irregular with silvery-grey streaks in base and median. Crescents and chevrons appear in sub-marginal and marginal areas (Fig. 1B). Eyes large, dark brown, antennae blackish on dorsal side, ringed with white ventrally, tip of club orange. Body black on dorsal side, greyish-brown below.
Male. Forewing length: ca. 20.3 mm. Wingspan: ca. 34.5 mm (dimensions refer to the male illustrated on Fig 2A, B). General appearance like other species in S. cercene -group. Upperside largely covered by iridescent cobalt blue. Forewing with narrow black costa, black apex and broad black margin that narrows down towards tornus. Discal cell clearly closed by black streak, often narrow, could be prominent with triangular connection to vein 6. Hindwing costa black beyond vein 6, margin between veins 1 and 6 narrow (<1 mm). Inner margin and wing in space 1b light greyish-brown (Fig. 2A). Underside like that of female without white area on forewing. Ground colour in spaces 1a and 2 of forewing slightly darker (Fig. 2B). Eyes large, dark brown, antennae blackish on dorsal side, ringed with white ventrally. Their orange tip very inconspicuous. Body black on dorsal side, greyish-brown below.
Male genitalia. Large, 2.3–2.5 mm (n = 3) mm along dorsoventral axis. Slender and rather simple, similar to most species in the group. Coremata (removed) large (d = 0.8 mm), covered by thick black hairs. Uncus crescentic, thickly covered with short hairs, subunci long, slender. Subscaphium slender, its length reaches the length of subunci. Tegumen narrow, slightly bent, valva elongate, with slightly rounded dorsal edge, narrows down to a rounded lobe-like projection at the tip. Broadest in the outer third. Ventral edge slightly concave. Saccus very long and slender, longer than half the length of the valva.Aedeagus bent, broad in the middle, edge of dorsal protuberance curved. Anterior end rounded, tip narrows down acutely (Figs 3A, B, C).
Female genitalia. Not examined.
Differential diagnosis. In the S. cercene -group, males of only two species are recognized with a black-streak at the end of the discal cell on the forewing upperside: S. moyambina and S. subtumescens. S. salonga and the other newly described S. buea (see below) are also very similar in appearance, however, S. moyambina has a consistently more prominent streak at the end of the discal cell, occasionally S. subtumescens and S. salonga males appear with a more prominent streak too, but this variation is not known in S. buea as the examined material is limited to the holotype. All species differ in the male genitalia, especially in the shape of valva (shown on Fig. 4 in lateral view): S. moyambina and S. buea have narrower valva, also the sub-unci of S. buea and the subscaphium are also markedly broader/stronger. The valva of S. subtumescens has a prominent hump in the outer third of the valva nearer the tip. The width of the valva in S. monkoto is intermediate between those of S. buea and S. subtumescens but without a prominent hump dorsally. The female of S. salonga is different from all other species in the group, having a further prominent black spot in the light blue patch at the base of the costal side of the forewing discal cell. As a first impression it looks more like a patchy damage, but this feature is constant across the holotype and seven female paratypes, all fresh specimens. No other species in the group appears to express this pattern in the forewing cell.
Etymology. Anoun in apposition. Gender feminine. The species is named in recognition of the Salonga National Park in Central DRC (Cuvette Centrale), the largest terrestrial protected area in Africa, covering over 3 000 000 hectares of the Congolian rainforest ecosystem. S. salonga is one of the probably well over one-thousand butterfly species that the park harbours and the first one recognised among other undescribed species that probably still hide deep in the Congo Basin.
Distribution. S. salonga is known only from its type locality, Monkoto on Luilaka River in the buffer zone of Salonga National Park and another male specimen with identical genitalia, collected by ABRI collectors in Southern Cameroon (Maan) (Fig. 6) and thus should be a Central African lowland species with its’s distribution probably centred on the Congo Basin.
Bionomics. It was rather frequent in Monkoto village around prominent ant-infested trees, which were planted during the Belgian colonial times as a tree-avenue, between the town and the small port on the Luilaka River. Usually 2– 3 specimens were found perching relatively low down on dry twigs in the morning hours on each visit to the site. Males were also seen displaying by around 10 a.m.
Remark. Females of Stempfferia salonga are readily recognizable by having a prominent black spot in the light blue patch at the base of the costal side of the forewing discal cell (see Differential diagnosis above) and therefore, a female specimen is selected to be designated as the holotype of this species.
description: Published as part of Sáfián, Szabolcs, Collins, Steve, Warren-Gash, Haydon & Belcastro, Claudio, 2021, Description of five new species of Epitola sensu lato (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae Poritiinae) from West and Central Africa, pp. 554-576 in Zootaxa 4981 (3) on pages 556-561, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4981.3.7, http://zenodo.org/record/5046838