Lukeniana stueningi Lehmann, Zahiri & Husemann, 2023

Lehmann, Ingo, Zahiri, Reza & Husemann, Martin, 2023, Revision of the Metarbelodes Strand, 1909 genus-group (Lepidoptera: Cossoidea: Metarbelidae) with descriptions of two new genera and 33 new species from high elevations of eastern and southern Africa, Zootaxa 5267 (1), pp. 1-106 : 37-39

Lukeniana stueningi Lehmann, Zahiri & Husemann sp. nov.

Figs 6h , 12f

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:F99BEB0F-3BDF-48D9-9086-FF69285E4811

Type locality and repository: Zamibia , Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig , Leibniz-Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change ( LIB / ZFMK) .

Material examined. Holotype male, Zambia, Muchinga Province, Isoka District, Nyika Plateau, Nyika National Park , Manyanjere Forest (=misspelling of Manyenjere Forest ), 2,080 m, 1035′24 S, 3339′40 E, 18–20 October 2012, R. J. Murphy leg., genitalia slide number 29/082015 I. Lehmann ( ZFMK).

Description. Male. Head: Yellow-ochre mixed with sepia hair-like scales towards eyes; long, dense, hair-like, dark ochre scales between eyes; eyes vinaceous with black patches; antenna 0.50 length of forewing, bipectinate, with branches 5.0 width of shaft, covered with cream-coloured scales laterally, shaft covered with cream-coloured scales dorsally; antennal tips not spatulate and with two long scales, bending towards apex; labial palpi dark ochre.

Thorax: Patagia and tegulae not shiny; long hair-like scales of ochre mixed with sepia; a small crest of ivoryyellow scales on metathorax. Hindlegs ochre with fine hair-like scales; one pair of narrow tibial spurs present, outer spur ca. 1.0 mm, inner spur ca. 0.6 mm. Forewing length 15.0 mm (wingspan 32.5 mm). Forewing upperside ochre; costal margin sepia, without striae; termen without lunules; terminal and subterminal lines absent; faded striae of dark ochre on almost entire wing; CuA 2 with narrow edge of sepia above; all remaining veins not distinctly coloured; cilia long, 1.5 mm, in forewing and hindwing, cream-coloured, shiny. Underside of forewing not roughly scaled and with many fine hair-like scales, cream-coloured, glossy, costal margin dark ochre along costa, without striae. Hindwing upperside cream-coloured and glossy. Underside as in forewing but without darkened costa.

Abdomen: Cream-coloured and ochre, glossy; abdominal tuft short, one-fifth abdominal length. Genitalia ( Fig. 12f ) with uncus lobes bearing rounded tips, both short and long setae ventrally, basal edge of uncus strongly bent at middle, triangular in ventral view, emargination broad, ca. 3.5 as broad as one tip of uncus lobe; gnathos arms 1.5 as long as basal width of valva; valvae elongate, oval, costa without setae; sacculus without setae; almost 50% of inner side of valva with a weakly-sclerotized projection, setose, with rectangular tip shorter than single thorn-like process below; the latter hollow and with tiny setae; a long, ovoid emargination extending between weakly-sclerotized projection and thorn-like process, ca. 65% length of valva; ventral side of valva not bent in middle. Saccus short, triangular, opposite an unsually broad ventral part of vinculum, rectangular, ca. 8 larger than saccus. Juxta 5 larger than saccus, between tips an unusually shallow emargination, only 25% of length of juxta. Phallus 1.3 as long as width of valva, not trumpet-like, not bent in middle, slightly bilobed with a cleft at each end.

Female. Unknown.

Diagnosis. Lukeniana stueningi is most similar to L. utaheidenreichae with which it shares at least six characters: (i) the gnathos arms are very broad, as broad as the semi-transtilla; (ii) the ventral side of the end of the gnathos arms, specifically the palmate structures, are covered with scales dorsally and also ventrally; (iii) the valvae are elongate and ovoid; (iv) the weakly-sclerotized projection is shorter than the thorn-like process below and covers less than 30% of the inner side of valva; (v) an unsually broad ventral part of vinculum is rectangular; and (vi) the sacculus is only half of the length of ventral edge of valva. Diagnostic characters for L. stueningi include the long emargination of the valva, 40% of the length of valva in L. utaheidenreichae versus 65% in L. stueningi ; the broad ventral part of the vinculum, which is slightly shorter in length than the basal width of one valva in L. stueningi , but is 1.4 as long as the basal width of one valva in L. utaheidenreichae ; the narrowly finger-shaped saccus in L. utaheidenreichae that is triangular in L. stueningi ; and the basal edge of the uncus that is rounded and less bent at the middle in L. utaheidenreichae , but strongly bent at the middle and triangular in L. stueningi .

Distribution. Lukeniana stueningi is known only from Manyenjere Forest (elevation 1,890 ‒2,099 m, average annual rainfall ca. 1270‒1300 mm), located on the Zambian side of the Nyika Plateau that borders the Malawi Rift, ca. 45 km east from Manyenjere Forest, and extends westward almost to the eastern edge of the Luangwa rift graben ( Roberts et al. 2012). The Nyika Plateau is the largest isolated upland area in Malawi, and belongs to the Afromontane archipelago-like regional centre of endemism (sensu White 1983). This species can be classified an Afromontane near-endemic species.

Habitat. See Appendix 1.

Etymology. Lukeniana stueningi is named in honour of Dr. Dieter Stüning for his constant, valuable, and patient support of the first author’s studies on the Metarbelidae at the ZFMK in 2009–2014, and in particular for his help on the publication of the new genus Shimonia Lehmann & Rajaei, 2013 .

Figures

FIGURE 6. a. Lukeniana kammeri, holotype, male, Kenya, County Kiambu, Thika; b. L. mbalaensis, paratype, female, Zambia, Northern Province, Mbala; c. L. mbalaensis, holotype, male, Zambia, Northern Province, Mbala; d. L. hausmanni, paratype, male, Zambia, Northern Province, 23 km southeast Mbala; e. L. lenzi, paratype, male, Zambia, Northern Province, Mutinondo Wilderness Area; f. L. robplowesi, holotype, male, Zambia, Northern Province, Mbala; g. L. utaheidenreichae, holotype, male, Mozambique, Manica Province, Barr De Chikamba Real; h. L. stueningi, holotype, male, Zambia, Muchinga Province, Nyika National Park, Manyenjere Forest.

FIGURE 12. a. Lukeniana mzuzuensis, holotype, male, Malawi, Northern Region, Mzuzu, Nkhorongo; b. L. mbalaensis, holotype, male, Zambia, Northern Province, Mbala; c. L. robplowesi, holotype, male, Zambia, Northern Province, Mbala; d. L. hausmanni, paratype, male, Zambia, Northern Province, 23 km southeast Mbala; e. L. lenzi, paratype, male, Zambia, Northern Province, Mutinondo Wilderness Area; f. L. stueningi, holotype, male, Zambia, Muchinga Province, Nyika National Park, Manyenjere Forest.