Eridachtha kilimanjaroensis Park 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Park, Kyu-Tek
name: Minet, Joël
name: Koo, Jun-Mo
name: Yu, Tae-Uk
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Lecithoceridae
Eridachtha
Eridachtha kilimanjaroensis

description: 7. Eridachtha kilimanjaroensis Park, sp. nov.
LSID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: A65AAAAC-7C35-4C6F-95C1-DF89BFF761CD (Fig. 14)
Type specimen. Holotype male: Tanzania, Moshi Distr., Mt. Kilimanjaro, Mandara, 2,700 m, 17 x 1992, leg. L. Aarvik, gen. slide no. CIS-7587, in NHMO.
Diagnosis. The male genitalia of this new species resemble those of E. nairobiensis Park, sp. nov., but can be distinguished from the latter by the shape of gnathos whose basal plate is rounded on caudal margin (Fig. 14 C-①) (the homologous plate is triangularly produced in E. nairobiensis: Fig. 10 A-①); the second diagnostic character of E. kilimanjaroensis Park, sp. nov. is the shape of cucullus which is not sharply angulate at lower corner. The new species is much larger than E. nairobiensis (wingspan: 11.0– 11.5 mm in E. nairobiensis) and the forewing ground colour is greyish-orange.
Description. Male (Figs 14A, B). Wingspan 20.5 mm.
Head: vertex appressed with shiny orange-white scales, with concolourous erect scales laterally. Antenna slightly longer than forewing; scape elongated, slightly dilated distally; flagellum greyish-orange throughout, with weak annulation. Second segment of labial palpus thickened, slightly arched, with more rough scales ventrally; yellowish-brown in basal half and yellowish-white beyond on outer surface; 3 rd segment strongly upturned, slightly shorter than 2 nd segment, orange-white all around.
Thorax: tegula greyish-orange dorsally, dark brown anteriorly; thorax greyish-orange dorsally. Hind tibia clothed with yellowish-brown rough scales above and below. Forewing broad, slightly dilated distally; ground colour greyish-orange, scattered with dark-brown scales evenly; costa slightly arched around basal 1/4; apex obtuse; termen oblique; fringe with dark brown median band; venation similar to the previous new species, with R 3 close to R 4+5 at base; R 4 and R 5 stalked for basal 2/3. Hindwing greyish-orange; apex produced; termen oblique, slightly concave.
Abdomen: no spinous zones on dorsal surface.
Male genitalia (Figs 14C, D): uncus basal lobes ovate. Gnathos basal plate triangularly produced apically. Costal bar angulate medially. Valva strongly concave before cucullus; saccular margin nearly straight; cucullus slightly narrowed basally; costa convex beyond half, densely setose along ventral margin; apex rounded; sacculus broadly developed, heavily sclerotized. Juxta rather small, emarginated on caudal margin, and protruded on anterior margin medially, with narrow membranous latero-caudal processes. Vinculum broadened, with a rounded saccal zone. Aedeagus as long as valva, with a pair of small processes pre-apically; cornutus absent.
Female unknown.
Distribution. Tanzania (Moshi).
Etymology. The species name is derived from the type locality.
description: Published as part of Park, Kyu-Tek, Minet, Joël, Koo, Jun-Mo & Yu, Tae-Uk, 2024, Review of the Afrotropical members of the genus Eridachtha Meyrick, 1910 (Lepidoptera: Lecithoceridae: Lecithocerinae), with descriptions of 12 new species, pp. 275-307 in Zootaxa 5468 (2) on pages 295-297, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5468.2.3, http://zenodo.org/record/11615739