Hampsonola aulombardiella László 2022, comb. n.
Creators: name: László, Gyula M.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Nolidae
Hampsonola
Hampsonola aulombardiella

description: Hampsonola aulombardiella (Hacker, 2012) comb. n.
(Figs 4–5, 23, 33)
Nola aulombardiella Hacker, 2012, Esperiana 17:135. Type locality: Yemen, Prov. Sana’a, Naqil Manakha. Holotype, female (Hacker/ZSM).
Material examined. Kenya. 1 male, Central Province, Thika District, 8 km SW Thika, Karamaini Estate, 1550m, S:01°02’746”, E:36°59’472”, 19.x.2010, A.J. Kingston, gen. slide No.: LGNA 1298; 1 female, same site, 19.vii.2011, gen. slide No.: LGNA 1299 (coll. A.J. Kingston, Albrighton, UK).
Taxonomic note. The remarkably distinctive species was described from a single female holotype in the genus Nola. Subsequently, Hacker (2014) figured two male specimens from Yemen without illustrating the male genitalia. The examination of the genital apparatuses of a male and a female specimen recently collected in Kenya sharing an identical habitus with those illustrated in Hacker et al. (2012) and Hacker (2014) has revealed close affinities with the genus Hampsonola, although displaying unique characters such as the two apical processes of the valva and the large lobe-like harpe. To clarify whether or not these characters represent generic autapomorphies, genetic studies involving a wide range of Oriental and Afrotropical Hampsonola taxa would be required, which was beyond the scope of this paper. The species is, therefore, tentatively treated here as a member of the genus Hampsonola: Hampsonola aulombardiella (Hacker, 2012) comb. n.
Description of the male adult and genitalia. Adult (Figs 4–5). Forewing length 6–7.3 mm. Head small, antenna bipectinate with very short, finely ciliate rami in male, filiform in female; labial palp short and relatively narrow, porrect, dark brown; frons and vertex brownish-grey. Thorax dark brown in cranial third, creamy-white in caudal two-thirds, collar dark brown, tegula dark brown cranially, creamy-white caudally. Abdomen creamy-white. Wing narrow, distal third of costal margin evenly arcuate, apex rounded. Costal third dark brown, subapically with pale, diffuse, creamy patches, ventro-basal two-thirds creamy-white, tornus and subterminal area light rusty brown; transverse lines absent. Cilia long, dark greyish-brown. Hindwing off-white, costal and apical area somewhat greyish; cilia long, pale grey. Underside of wings dark greyish-brown, ventro-basal area pale grey.
Male genitalia (Fig. 23). Uncus very short, broad, evenly tapered with rounded margins, apex truncate. Tegumen moderately long and broad, margins gently arched. Subscaphium short, narrow, weakly sclerotized. Valva moderately broad, more or less quadrangular with straight dorsal and slightly undulate ventral margin, distally with long, narrow, membranous, slightly setose dorsal and ventral process. Dorsal membranous part of valva with a long, arched crest serving as a base of short androconial scales. Sacculus elongate-quadrangular. Harpe situated distally, proximal section narrow, ridge-like, connected to base of costa, distal section dilated, triangular, with finely dentate ventral margin, curved ventrad, apically pointed. Transtilla very broad, ribbon-like, arms medially fused and dilated. Juxta large, gently curved V-shaped; vinculum short, apically rounded V-shaped. Aedeagus short, relatively thick medially, gradually tapered distally, coecum very narrow, apically slightly dilated and truncate; vesica with a narrow, elongate scobinated area.
description: Published as part of László, Gyula M., 2022, Taxonomic studies on Afrotropical Nolinae: review of the Afrotropical taxa of the genus Hampsonola László, Ronkay & Ronkay, 2015, descriptions of five new genera and five new species and introduction of a new synonymy (Lepidoptera, Nolidae), pp. 147-164 in Zootaxa 5169 (2) on pages 149-150, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5169.2.3, http://zenodo.org/record/6920070