Afroracotis (Zebracotis) smithi László & Hausmann & Karisch 2023, sp. n.
Creators: name: László, Gyula M.
name: Hausmann, Axel
name: Karisch, Timm
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Geometridae
Afroracotis
Afroracotis smithi

description: Afroracotis (Zebracotis) smithi sp. n.   
(Figs 101–104, 188–190, 269–271, 331–332)  
 Holotype. Male, “ Zambia, 1340m, Jiwundu Swamp, (Miombo/Riverine forest mosaic), 11°51’54”S, 25°33’20”E, 29.x.–4.xi.2018, LepiLED Light Trap, Aristophanous, M., Derozier, V., Laszlo, G., Oram, D. leg., ANHRT:2018.40”, unique id.: ANHRTUK 00073868, gen. slide No.: LG 4972, DNA barcode/BOLD process id.: BC ZSM Lep 109640/ GWOUE429-20 (ANHRT).   
 Paratypes. Cameroon. 1 female, Plateau de Kounden, 4 km S.E. Centre Veterin., 1410m, 6–7.iv.1972, C. Herbulot leg., gen. slide No.: LG 5074 (ZSM); 1 female, Ja River, Cameroons, G. L. Bates leg.; 1 male, Bitye, Ja R., Cameroons, 2000 ft., Smaller rains, April–May 1907, G. L. Bates leg.; 1 male, same site, April May and June 10 (NHMUK). DRC. 1 female, Kasai, Dema, 15.i.1906, leg. Waelbroeck; 1 female, Eala, ix.–x.1935, leg. J. Ghesquière; 1 female, Sankuru, Dimbelenge, 5.i.1951, leg. Dr. M. Fontaine; 1 male, Luluabourg [Kananga], 19.viii.1955, leg. Ch. Seydel; 1 male, Sankuru, Lusambo, 6.viii.1950, leg. Dr. Fontaine (RMCA); 1 male, Lusambo et env., 1.vii.1950, Dr. Fontaine leg. (NHMUK). Gabon. 1 male, Mikongo (Rougier), Monts de Cristal (Secondary Forest), 430m, 0°29’47”N, 11°10’42”E, 28.vii.–12.viii.2019, LepiLED Light Trap, Albert, J-L., Aristophanous, M., Bie Mba, J., Dérozier, V., Moretto, P. leg., ANHRT:2019.17, unique id.: ANHRTUK 00137867, gen. slide No.: LG 5398 (ANHRT); 1 male, Lastourville [Gabon] 17.i.1958, P.C. Rougeot leg. (NHMUK); 1 male, Parc National Ivindo, Station de rechereche de l’Ipassa, 0°30’41.9”N, 12°48’10.9”E, 26.vi.2016, leg. K.-R. Beck, gen. slide No.: TK 3877 (SMNS). Ivory Coast. 1 female, Côte d’Ivoire, Lamto (Toumodi), 26.iii.1968, Museum Paris, Lamto (Côte d’Ivoire), leg. GI. Girard, gen. slide No.: LG 5874 (RMCA). Kenya. 1 male, Kakamega District, Kakamega Forest Reserve, Rondo Retreat Centre, 00°13’37.9”N, 034°53’04.6”E, 23–26.xi.2010, 1598m, UV, T. Gilligan & A. Mukiri colls., gen. slide No.: LG 5549, DNA barcode/BOLD process id.: HS6169/ANLMN5063-21; 1 male, Kakamega Forest Reserve, Rondo section, 00°13’37.7”N, 34°53’04.9”E, 1560m, 29.x.2005., leg. S.C. Collins, gen. slide No.: LG 5550; 1 male, Kakamega Forest Reserve, Yala river section, 00°12’20.9”N, 34°52’52.3”E, 1530m, 18.vi.2004, leg. H.S. Staude, gen. slide No.: LG 5551; 1 male, Kakamega, Rondo Retreat, 1550m, 0°N, 34°53’E, 28.iv.1997, leg. H.S. Staude (RCHS). Nigeria. 1 female, Warri, Niger C. P. Febr. 1896, Dr. Roth leg.; 1 female, R. Niger, Sapele, F.W. Sampson leg., 99–107 (NHMUK). Tanzania. 1 male, Kagera Region, Minziro Forest, Kabare, 1°01.792’S, 31°34.446’E, 1156m, 9.v.2011, Ph. Darge leg., gen. slide No.: LG 4410 (ZSM). Zambia. 6 males, with same locality as in the holotype, but 21–24.xi.2014, Light Trap, leg. Smith, R. & Takano, H., ANHRT:2017.12, unique ids: ANHRTUK 00010090, 00073390,00073655–00073658, gen. slide No.: LG 4819; 16 males, 1 female, Hillwood, Ikelenge (Miombo / Riverine forest mosaic), 1400m, 11°16’02”S, 24°18’59”E, 23–30.xi.2019, MV, Actinic and LepiLED Light Trap, Bashford, M., Miles, W., Mulvaney, L., Smith, R. leg. ANHRT: 2019.25, unique ids: ANHRTUK 00111432, 00111452, 00111453, 00121626, 00121702, 00121808, 00121811, 00121918, 00121932, 00121936, 00122088, 00122907, 00122970, 00124248, 00132578, 00132623, gen. slide Nos: LG 5407 (male), LG 5400 (female), DNA barcode/BOLD process id.: BC ZSM Lep 112984/GWOUH068-21; 4 males, same site and collectors, but 7–10.xii.2019, Fish Bait and Actinic Light Trap, unique ids: ANHRTUK 00132617– 00132619, 00141821; 1 male, same site, but 9–16.v.2015, Light Trap, leg. Smith, R., Takano, H. & Aristophanous, M., ANHRT:2017.13, unique id.: ANHRTUK 00038744, gen. slide No.: LG 4803; 5 males, same site, but 30.iv.–11.v.2014, Light Trap, Chmurova, L., Smith, L., Smith, R., Takano, H., leg., ANHRT: 2017.11, unique ids: ANHRTUK 00077106, 00073389, 00073430, 00073659, 00073660, gen. slide Nos: LG 4075, LG 4170, LG 4313, DNA barcode/BOLD process id.: BC ZSM Lep 109632/GWOUE421-20; 1 male, same site, but 30.x.–3.xi.2017, Fish Bait, Carter, M., Lloyd, A., Miles, W., Oram, D., Smith, R. leg., ANHRT: 2017.32, unique id.: ANHRTUK 00109960 (dissected); 1 male, same site, but 25–27.xi.2014, Light Trap, leg. Smith, R. & Takano, H., unique id.: ANHRTUK 00073661; 1 male, Lake Kashiba, Mpongwe, 1160m, 13°26’55”S, 27°56’40”E, 4–5.v.2015, Light Trap, Smith, R., Takano, H., Aristophanous, M. leg., ANHRT: 2017.13, unique id.: ANHRTUK 00038946, gen. slide No.: LG 4808, DNA barcode/BOLD process id.: BC ZSM Lep 109608/GWOUE397-20; 2 males, 1 female, Nyangombe Falls, (Miombo / Riverine forest mosaic), 1300m, 11°48’25”S, 24°32’12”E, 17–23.xi.2019, MV Light Trap, Bashford, M., Miles, W., Mulvaney, R., Smith, R. leg., ANHRT:2019.25, unique ids: ANHRTUK 00127816, 00128272, 00132621 (ANHRT).   
 Diagnosis. Forewing length 21–23 mm. Afroracotis smithi sp. n. is the only species easily recogniseable from its habitus within the subgenus Zebracotis, due to its rather dark grey colouration and the conspicuous off-white quadrangular subterminal patches of the fore- and hindwings. According to the configuration of the vesica, the new species belongs to the A. chaineyi lineage including A. lydiae and A. madagascariensis, from which it is clearly distinguished by the shorter protractile diverticulum, armed with a markedly longer, more robust, apically pointed cornutus and the more numerous and smaller distal cornuti situated at the base of the vesica ejaculatorius. In the female genitalia of the new species, the heavily sclerotised cervix/corpus bursae complex has a substantially shorter narrow-infundibular posterior section and more extensive striate sclerotization than in A. chaineyi and A. lydiae, whilst that posterior section is somewhat longer than in A. madagascariensis. Additionally, the bulged side of the bursa copulatrix is entirely sclerotised up to the membranous, conical posterior projection with weak striation and with a large, smooth-surfaced sclerotised plate, supposedly serving as a receptive surface for the large cornutus during copulation. The bursa copulatrix of A. lydiae and A. madagascariensis bears a heavily sclerotised disc-like medial plate presumably playing the same role. The membranous anterior part of the bursa copulatrix is produced into a distinctive conical protrusion in the new species, whereas it is evenly rounded in A. chaineyi. It is worth noting that the corpus bursae of the West African and Cameroonian specimens are markedly narrower than in the single dissected Zambian female specimen which may refer to a taxonomic division between the eastern and western African populations. As the males do not display any morphological divergences throughout its entire range, and since genetic studies could not be carried out on West African specimens due to the age of the accessed materials, A. smithi is considered here to be a consistent, widely distributed species.   
 Genetic information. Afroracotis smithi belongs to the BIN URI: BOLD:AAF9530, BIN—sharing with A. zebrina, A. chaineyi, and partly with A. milesi and A. lydiae orientalis, although forming a separate cluster in the ML as well as in the BI trees. The intraspecific divergence is 0.00–0.34%.   
 Etymology. The new species is named in honour of Richard Smith, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, African Natural History Research Trust, acknowledging his unrivalled efforts in forwarding entomological research in Sub-Saharan Africa.   
 Distribution (Map 6). Afroracotis smithi is widely distributed along the Equator with confirmed records from Cameroon, DRC, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zambia.
description: Published as part of László, Gyula M., Hausmann, Axel & Karisch, Timm, 2023, Integrative taxonomic revision of the African taxa of the Racotis Moore, 1887 generic complex (Lepidoptera, Geometridae, Ennominae, Boarmiini), pp. 1-109 in Zootaxa 5308 (1) on pages 63-65, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5308.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/8080929