Athrips nigribasella Bidzilya & Aarvik & Agassiz 2023, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Bidzilya, Oleksiy V.
name: Aarvik, Leif
name: Agassiz, David
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Gelechiidae
Athrips
Athrips nigribasella

description: Athrips nigribasella sp. nov.
Type material. Holotype, ♁, Kenya, Eastern, Lewa, 2050 m, 0°8’24.5”N 37°27’23.8”E, 30.x.2013 (D. Agassiz, S. Beavan, R.J. Heckford, K. Larsen) (gen. slide 268/23, O. Bidzilya) (DA).
Diagnosis. Athrips nigribasella sp. nov. is recognizable externally by the black blotch at the base of the costal margin. The male genitalia are characterized by having a distinct lateral process on the posterior margin of the vinculum situated very close to the sacculus, in combination with clavate transtilla lobes and cucullus distinctly broadened in distal 2/3.
Description. Adult (Fig. 1). Wingspan 13.5 mm. Head greyish white; labial palpus recurved, light grey, with narrow basal and broad subapical belt, palpomere 3 about 1.5 times as long and as broad as palpomere 2, antennal scape grey, flagellomeres grey, ringed with brown; thorax light grey, tegulae light grey, sparsely covered with brown-tipped scales; forewing in middle light grey, black blotch at base of costal margin and large light brown spot on 1/3 of dorsal margin, both margins and apical 1/4 densely mottled with light brown, fold and veins with indistinct yellow suffusion, two black spots before middle of fold, another black spot on 1/3 under costal margin and at middle of wing, termen spotted with black, cilia light grey, black-tipped; hindwing grey with concolorous cilia.
Male genitalia (Fig. 11). Uncus elongate, about 1/2 length of tegumen, parallel-sided, densely covered with strong setae in distal 3/4; gnathos strongly curved at base, distal 3/4 weakly curved, slender; tegumen broad at base, then gradually narrowed, anteromedial emargination broadly rounded, extending almost to 1/3 length of tegumen; cucullus narrow at basal 1/3, distinctly broadened towards rounded apex, distal 2/3 densely covered with long hairs, far exceeding top of uncus setae; sacculus short, about 1/6 length of cucullus, slender, about 2/3 width of adjacent part of cucullus, with short, pointed tip; vinculum broad, posterior margin covered with short spines, with deep triangular medial emargination, medial process short, hump-shaped, lateral process very close to sacculus and almost 1/2 of its length; transtilla lobes as long as sacculus, and 1/4–1/3 length of cucullus, distinctly clavate; saccus short, broadly rounded, 3 times broader than long, posterior margin with distinct V-shaped medial emargination; phallus tube inflated in basal part, distal part about 1/3 width and almost as long basal half, dorsal margin straight, ventral margin bent, apex elongate, weakly pointed
Female genitalia. Unknown.
Biology. The adult was collected in late October at an altitude of 2050 m a.s.l.
Distribution. Kenya: Eastern Province.
Etymology. The specific epithet is derived from the Latin words “ nigrum ”—black, and “ basis ”—base, and reflects the black blotch near the base of the costa that is characteristic of the new species.
description: Published as part of Bidzilya, Oleksiy V., Aarvik, Leif & Agassiz, David, 2023, New species and new country distribution records of Athrips (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae) from the Afrotropical region, pp. 489-500 in Zootaxa 5343 (5) on page 490, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5343.5.4, http://zenodo.org/record/8346160