Torodora planusa Park & Prins 2019, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Park, Kyu-Tek
name: Prins, Willy De
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Lecithoceridae
Torodora

description: Torodora planusa Park & De Prins, sp. nov.
(Figs. 11 A–D)
Type. Holotype: male, Musée du Congo, [Equateur], Eala, viii.1936, J. Ghesquière, gen. slide no. CIS-7240/ Park, in RMCA.
Diagnosis. The male genitalia of this new species are similar to those of T. lichanosa sp. nov., but the species can be distinguished by its head which is yellowish white anteriorly, and the male genitalia with a quadrate juxta and the aedeagus nearly straight, without broad apical plates.
Description. Male (Figs. 11A, B): Wingspan 19 mm.
Head: Vertex pale yellowish brown, with same color of lateral erect scales. Antenna shorter than forewing; basal segment elongated, orange white dorsally; flagellum serrate, finely ciliate ventrally, with dark brown annulations. Labial palpus upturned; second segment thickened, deep yellowish brown on outer surface, with orange white apex, pale yellowish brown on inner surface; 3 rd segment much shorter than 2 nd segment, dark brown dorsally and ventrally, orange white laterally, sharply pointed apically.
Thorax: Tegula and thorax pale yellowish brown. Hind tibia with fuscous scales in basal half and creamy white beyond on outer surface; tarsi dark brown dorsally with white apex in each segment. Forewing slightly broadened distally; ground color pale yellowish brown evenly, lacking costal patch; costa slightly arched near base, then nearly straight; apex obtuse; termen slightly concave medially; fringe concolorous with ground color, basal line weakly presented; venation similar to that of the preceding new species, with R 4 and R 5 stalked near middle; R 4 reaching to termen; M 3 and CuA 1 short-stalked. Hindwing broader than forewing, pale grayish brown; venation similar to the preceding new species.
Male genitalia (Figs. 11C, D). Uncus broad basally, relatively stout, bent downward preapically; apex rounded. Gnathos broad, strongly bent beyond 2/3, with sharply acuted apex. Valva broad at base; costa abruptly bent downward from basal 1/5, then concave; ventral margin slightly protruded; cucullus elongated, strongly upturned, narrower toward apex, with strongly concave costal margin and strongly arched outer margin, densely haired on surface; sacculus not developed. Juxta quadrate, with flat caudal margin, lacking caudal lobes. Vinculum narrow, banded. Aedeagus nearly straight, much shorter than valve, with small crescent sclerite beyond 3/4; cornutus absent.
Distribution. DR Congo (Equateur).
Etymology. The species name is derived from the Latin, planus (= smooth, even), referring to the flat caudal margin of juxta in the male genitalia.
Notes. Three females with different genitalia (Fig. 11 E–G) were found in several drawers under the name of Lecithocera semnodora Meyrick in the RMCA, but they could not be linked to any of the new species of Torodora nor to Lecithocera semnodora by their morphological characters. They may be assigned to one of those new species when DNA analysis with some fresh and recent material becomes available. They are illustrated in Figs. 15 E–G, without naming them (E: ♀, Musée du Congo, [Equateur], Eala, vi 1930, J. Ghesquière, gen. slide no. CIS- 7136/Park; F: ♀, Musée du Congo, [Katanga], Elisabethville [Lubumbashi], 4 iii 1935, Ch. Seydel, gen. slide no. CIS-7160/Park; G: ♀, Congo belge: P.N.U. [Parc National Upemba], Kankunda afl. g. [afleuve gauche = left side river] Lupiala (1300 m) 14–20 xi 1947, Mis. G.F. de Witte, 1006a, gen. slide. no. CIS-7238/Park.
description: Published as part of Park, Kyu-Tek & Prins, Willy De, 2019, Re-examination of the type specimens of Lecithoceridae (Lepidoptera), deposited in the Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA), Belgium, with descriptions of ten new species from DR Congo belonging to Thubdora Park and Torodora Meyrick, pp. 451-476 in Zootaxa 4571 (4) on pages 465-466, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4571.4.1, http://zenodo.org/record/10072936