Epicephala doddi De Prins, Sruoga & Zwick 2025, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Prins, Jurate De
name: Hartley, Diana
name: Sruoga, Virginijus
name: Nicholls, James
name: Wallace, Jesse
name: Zwick, Andreas
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Gracillariidae
Epicephala
Epicephala doddi

description: Epicephala doddi De Prins, Sruoga & Zwick, sp. nov.
(Figs 296, 346–348, 372)
Type locality: Australia, Queensland, Kuranda.
Type specimen: Holotype ♂: [labels verbatim] [1] Kuranda/N. Q. [North Queensland] F.P. Dodd, DNA sample NULT023189, genitalia slide ANIC 6248, ANIC Acc. no 31 085530, in ANIC (Canberra).
Type depository: Australian National Insect Collection, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
Diagnosis: Externally the new species is very similar, and hardly distinguishable from the type species Epicephala colymbetella. The diagnostic characters should be searched in the highly discriminative male genitalia characters. This sample did not generate sufficient molecular data to delineate this species-group taxon. For species identification, genitalia slide of males should be made. The micromorphological characters of males are highly diagnostic.
Description: Wingspan ca. 10.1 mm; length of the forewing 4.9 mm (Fig. 296).
Head: vertex with appressed shining, white, long piliform scales, occiput with two lateral tufts of white short with ochreous base piliform scales; antenna unicolourous ochreous, scape larger and slightly lighter than the rest of the flagellomeres.
Thorax (Fig. 296): tegula ochreous, concolourous with the ground colour of forewing; forewing equally wide along its entire length, with white oblique stripes on dorsal margin; a couple of irregular spots of different sizes and shapes are present on the costal margin of the forewing; the sub-apical dorsal margin is marked by oblique narrowing stripes of different length directed towards apical spot; apical spot mid-sized, situated in the basal part of an ochreous brown rectangular apical marking; apical line narrow, distinct, black, continuous; fringe line thicker at apex, thinner, bleaker at termen. Length of fringe is longer than width of forewing, fringe ochreous, slightly lighter shading than ground colour of forewing. Hindwing narrow, with sharply pointed apex. Hind tibia light ochreous, slightly darker at base and apex, spurs are long, tips median and apical spurs dark ochreous; hind tarsus marked by interchangeable white and dark ochreous rings.
Abdomen (Fig. 372): tergites light fuscous with beige ochreous genital anterior segments. Abdominal opening broad, triangular-shaped, lateral sides of abdominal opening on sternum II broadly and strongly sclerotised, posterior corners of abdominal opening gently rounded; ventral crossing joint entirely sclerotised, lightly convex; the ventral joint of abdominal opening is doubled by a sclerotised anterior margin of abdominal plate that is slightly convex in the middle; stronger sclerotised basal parts of lateral sides of abdominal plate have a supportive function, sternal apodemes not developed, tergal apodemes thicker at basal part, slightly bent at the middle, apical halves slender; terminal segment in males with androconial sclerotisations: two pairs of sclerotised bows and triangular sternal plate with smaller triangular sub-plate situated at inner sternal surface; abdominal cuticle rather smooth with tiny dots.
Male genitalia (Figs 346–348): Tegumen long, with gently oval apical part, teguminal arms are finely but strongly sclerotised; sub-scaphium well-developed, narrow, strongly sclerotised, apical part of tegumen protruding, truncate; valvae very complex in structure, more or less rectangular with strongly protruded cucullus part, costal margin heavily setose, cucullus with rectangular ill-sclerotised flap, apical part broad with ampullar bump in the middle, ventral margin and area covered with horizontally arranged thick strong spines, sub-ventral sector heavily setose with long thin setae originating from a tine tubercule; sacculus developed as a prolonged, stick-shaped sclerotisation attached to the base of the ventral margin; basal arms of valvae, very long, crossing each other and forming a transverse support; vinculum well developed, with lateral sides that are bent into the inner cavity of genital capsule; internal vincular sutures separating left and right sides very well seen; saccus mid-sized as a strong, sclerotised appendage with truncate anterior part. Aedeagus is ca. as long as costal part of valva, rather thick, tubular, with narrowing but gently rounded vesica, cornuti absent.
Female genitalia: No data.
Bionomics: No data.
Mitogenomic data: No data.
Distribution: Known from the type locality only: Australia: Queensland, Kuranda.
Etymology: The specific epithet is formed from the family name of the collector F. P. Dodd. It is a noun in the genitive case that has been Latinised and it is formed in accordance with the rules of Latin grammar (Art. 31.1.1.).
description: Published as part of Prins, Jurate De, Hartley, Diana, Sruoga, Virginijus, Nicholls, James, Wallace, Jesse & Zwick, Andreas, 2025, Diversity of Australian Ornixolinae (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) with taxonomic and nomenclatural acts within the related taxa (Acrocercopinae and Gracillariinae) based on the evidence of museomics, bionomics, and mitogenomics, pp. 1-340 in Zootaxa 5616 (1) on pages 157-159, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5616.1.1