Aukorbela Yakovlev & Zolotuhin, 2022

Yakovlev, Roman V. & Zolotuhin, Vadim V., 2022, Revision of the family Metarbelidae (Lepidoptera) of the Oriental Region. VII. Genus Aukorbela Yakovlev & Zolotuhin, gen. nov. from Central Vietnam, Ecologica Montenegrina 50, pp. 67-70 : 68-69

Aukorbela Yakovlev & Zolotuhin gen. nov.

http://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:791B4CF0-A3FE-430D-8A4F-A0696E1B0CED

Type species: Aukorbela golovizini Yakovlev & Zolotuhin spec. nov., designated here.

Description. Moths of medium size, antennae short (3 times shorter than fore wing ion length), bipectinate (setae twice longer than antenna rod diameter). Thorax and abdomen densely covered with long thick brown scales, tegulae and patagia brown, dark-brown spots on thorax from above and at base of abdomen. Fore wing short, wide, apically semicircular, brown, with poorly modified reticulated pattern. Fringe brown unicolorous. Hind wing dark-brown without pattern. Fringe light-brown unicolorous.

Male genitalia. Uncus short, blunt, wide, slightly extended apically, with caudal triangular process; gnathos arms very thick, short, sclerotized, with robust wide ribbed plates in proximal third of gnathos arms; gnathos large; juxta small, saddle-like, valve small, lanceolate, narrow, apical end elongated; phallus thick, slightly shorter than valve, poorly curved in medium third, vesical without cornuti.

Female unknown.

Diagnosis. Aukorbela Yakovlev & Zolotuhin gen. nov. clearly differs from all the known oriental genera of Metarbelidae in the male genital structure: the short wide blunt uncus, slightly extended apically, the caudal triangular process on the uncus; the robust short sclerotized gnathos arms, the robust wide ribbed plates in the proximal third of the gnathos arms.

Composition. Monotypic genus.

Distribution. Central Vietnam.

Etymology. The new genus is named after Âu CƠ, who was, according to the creation myth of the Vietnamese people, an immortal mountain snow fairy who married Lạc Long Quân, and bore an egg sac that hatched a hundred children known collectively as Bách Việt, ancestors to the Vietnamese people. Âu CƠ is often honored as the mother of Vietnamese civilization.