Eridachtha arumeruna Park & Minet & Koo & Yu 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 arumeruna

description: 6. Eridachtha arumeruna Park, sp. nov.
LSID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: CD094A86-CDB5-4BDD-8F8A-13BF83F739F4 (Fig. 13)
Type specimen. Holotype male: Tanzania, Arumeru Distr., Mt. Meru For. Res., 9 km NNE, Olmotonyi, 2,500 m, 8 ii 1992, leg. L. Aarvik, gen. slide no. CIS-7598, in NHMO.
Diagnosis. The new species is similar to E. phaeochlora Meyrick described from Kenya, but it can be distinguished by the much smaller size (wingspan: 21.0 mm in E. phaeochlora); the forewing venation with R 3 free in E. arumeruna sp. nov., and the male genitalia characters: in E. arumeruna sp. nov., the basal lobes of the uncus ovate, the basal plate of the gnathos narrowly elongated, the cucullus shorter and broader basally, lacking a row of setae near lower corner, and the aedeagus stouter than the corresponding characters in E. phaeochlora Meyrick.
Description. Male (Figs 13A, B). Wingspan 15.0 mm.
Head: vertex with appressed orange-white scales, not furrowed centrally, with concolourous erect scales laterally. Antenna slightly longer than forewing; scape elongated, slightly arched, orange-white throughout, with weak brownish annulations. Second segment of labial palpus thickened, roughly scaled dorsally and ventrally, rougher anteriorly, speckled with some yellowish-brown scales on outer surface; 3 rd segment upturned, shorter than 2 nd segment, and orange-white all around.
Thorax: tegula and thorax pale greyish-orange dorsally, dark brown along anterior margin. Hind tibia with rough brownish-orange scales above and below. Forewing ground colour pale orange, scattered with yellowish-brown scales; costa slightly arched in basal 1/3; distinct black, rounded discal stigmata at middle and end of discal cell; similar plical stigma well developed below the first discal spot; apex produced; termen oblique, slightly arched; fringe concolourous with ground colour; venation with R 3 free, close to R 4+5 at base; R 4 and R 5 stalked; R 5 to termen. Hindwing orange-grey; apex sharply produced; termen oblique, slightly sinuate.
Abdomen: no spinous zones on dorsal surface.
Male genitalia (Figs 13C, D): basal lobes of uncus ovate. Gnathos basal plate narrowly elongated, strongly convex on caudal margin. Costal bar banded, not angulate at middle. Valva broad basally; saccular margin slightly concave; cucullus broad basally, narrowed distally, slightly expanded on ventral margin basally, densely setose, with numerous minute spines along ventral margin; sacculus broadly developed, narrowly terminated; apex rounded. Juxta shield-shaped, concave on lateral margin; with thumb-like median process anteriorly. Vinculum U-shaped. Aedeagus strongly bent ventrally in basal 1/3, with an arched dorsal margin, bifurcated apically, with a pair of small triangular processes situated before apex dorsally; cornutus a short linear sclerotization beyond middle of aedeagus.
Female unknown.
Distribution. Tanzania (Arumeru).
Etymology. The species name is derived from the type locality, Arumeru District, Tanzania.
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 294-295, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5468.2.3, http://zenodo.org/record/11615739