Lukeniana madrandelei 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 : 22-24

Lukeniana madrandelei Lehmann, Zahiri & Husemann sp. nov.

Figs 4c, 4d , 16a urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:B4A79B0D-66F8-4727-BB0C-FD18845680BE

Type locality and repository: Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium ( RMCA) .

Material examined. Holotype male, Belgian Congo (now Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC), Élisabethville (now Lubumbashi, Katanga Province), 09 September 1953, Ch. Seydel leg., genitalia slide number 29/042012 I. Lehmann ( RMCA) . Paratypes: one female, Belgian Congo, Élisabethville , 27 September 1955, Ch. Seydel leg., genitalia slide number 09/062012 I. Lehmann ( RMCA) ; one female, same locality and collector, 27 October 1957, genitalia slide number 30/042012 I. Lehmann ( RMCA) ; one male, same locality and collector, 19 September 1955, genitalia slide number 30/052012 I. Lehmann ( RMCA) ; one male, Republic of the Congo (now DRC), Jadotville (now Likasi , Likasi City, Katanga Province) no day mentioned on label, September 1965, E. Coussement leg., genitalia slide number 15/032008 I. Lehmann ( NMK) . A second label on this specimen has the information: “ Elisabethville Katanga 1 Sept. 1960 E. Coussement ” .

Description. Male. Head: Ochre mixed with some sepia-coloured hair-like scales, shiny; long, dense hair-like scales between eyes; eyes brown with black spots; antenna 0.50 length of forewing, bipectinate, with branches 5.5 width of shaft, branches covered with cream-coloured scales laterally, shaft covered with cream-coloured scales dorsally; antennal tips slightly spatulate with two long scales, bending towards apex; labial palpi ochre.

Thorax: Patagia and tegulae shiny with long hair-like scales of ochre sometimes mixed with sepia. A small crest of ochre mixed with ivory-yellow on metathorax. Hindlegs yellow-ochre with fine hair-like scales, shiny; one pair of narrow, long tibial spurs present, outer spur ca. 1.0 mm, inner spur ca. 0.8 mm. Forewing length of holotype 14.0 mm (wingspan 29.5 mm). Forewing upperside ochre; costal margin and entire forewing with sepia-coloured striae; termen with sepia striae; a terminal line and a subterminal line of sepia, more or less parallel, from near apex to dorsum (subterminal line sometimes connected to terminal line between CuA 1 and M 3); CuA 2 broad and ivory-yellow, edged sepia above; all remaining veins not distinctly coloured, only 1A+2A sepia towards its base; cilia long, 1.2 mm, cream-coloured, shiny. Underside of forewing roughly scaled, ivory-yellow, glossy, costal margin slightly darker and with fewer striae of ochre; terminal line and subterminal line faint. Hindwing upperside and cilia ivoryyellow, glossy, cilia long, 1.2 mm; underside as in forewing but without striae.

Abdomen: Mainly ochre mixed with ivory-yellow, shiny; abdominal tuft short, one-fourth abdominal length. Genitalia ( Fig. 16a ) with uncus elongate, one lobe slightly longer than width of base of entire uncus, lobes with rounded tips, short setae ventrally and dorsally, outer edge not C-shaped; gnathos arms short (not reaching upper edge of juxta); valvae narrow, rectangular, costa without setae; sacculus with few setae; weakly-sclerotized projection setose, with rounded tip, equal in length to thorn-like process below; latter hollow with an acuminate tip that has no setae; median sector of valva with short setae on inner side forming a row from base of valva towards a short, ovoid emargination; latter extending between weakly-sclerotized projection and thorn-like process, only 20% of length of valva. Saccus short, finger-shaped, without medial fold at middle. Juxta broad, tips acuminate, a short process at each tip. Phallus longer than width of valva, not trumpet-like, strongly bent near middle, slightly bilobed, cleft at each end.

Female. Head and Thorax: Essentially as described for male, except antenna 0.3 length of forewing, unipectinate, with branches 1.0 width of shaft; antennal tips very short, not bending towards apex; hindleg tibial spurs more pronouncedly unequal in length, outer spur ca. 1.1 mm, inner spur ca. 0.6 mm; forewing length 21.5 mm (wingspan 46.0 mm); termen with small lunules of sepia. Sepia colouration of 1A+2A toward its base less pronounced than in males.

Abdomen: Genitalia with papillae anales broad, 8-shaped dorsally in posterior view, densely setose with long and short setae. Segment 8 with few long setae along posterior margin; two broad latero-ventral sclerotized bands present, both triangular with an acuminate end towards base of anterior apophysis. Outer band ca. 85–95% of width of ventral side of segment 8. Dorso-anterior margin of abdominal plate without emargination. Posterior apophysis straight, entirely very broad, posterior half of its length broadest ca. 3 as broad as width of anterior apophysis. Posterior apophysis with no process at posterior end; dorsal edge appearing uneven.Anterior apophyses slightly sinuate and a slightly longer than posterior apophyses.

Diagnosis. Lukeniana madrandelei is most similar to L. friederikebauerae (see diagnosis of the latter species).

Distribution. Lukeniana madrandelei ranges from Lubumbashi (formerly Élisabethville, 1140′S, 2728′E) northwest to Likasi (elevation 1,265 –1,332 m) in the Katangan Copper Bow (southeast DRC). Lubumbashi (elevation 1,210 ‒1,298 m) is located ca. 50‒80 km south from the southernmost edge of the Lake Mweru and Moero rift basins in the Southwestern Branch of the EARS. The original vegetation was once a wetter type of Zambezian miombo woodland ( Malaisse et al. 1999) mixed with patches of Zambezian dry evergreen forest (sensu White 1983). Lukeniana madrandelei is classified herein as an Afromontane linking species.

Habitat. See Appendix 1.

Etymology. Lukeniana madrandelei is named after the late Mr. Atamato Madrandele, born in 1969 and killed on 16 th December 2012, former Chief Warden of Upemba National Park (Katanga, DRC) and dedicated conservationist.

Figures

FIGURE 4. a. Lukeniana lutztoepferi, holotype, male, Kenya, County Nairobi, Ololua Forest; b. L. lutztoepferi, paratype, female, Kenya, County Nairobi, Ngong; c. L. madrandelei, paratype, male, DRC, Katanga Province, Lubumbashi; d. L. madrandelei, paratype, female, DRC, Katanga Province, Lubumbashi; e. L. friederikebauerae, paratype, male, Zambia, Lusaka Province, Lusaka; f. L. friederikebauerae, paratype, female, Zambia, Lusaka Province, Lusaka.

FIGURE 16. a. Lukeniana madrandelei, paratype, male, DRC, Katanga Province, Lubumbashi; b. L. friederikebauerae, paratype, male, Zambia, Lusaka Province, Lusaka; c. L. chapmani, holotype, male, Malawi, Southern Region, Mount Mulanje, Likabula; d. L. michaelgrzimeki, holotype, male, Tanzania, Arusha Region, Mount Meru, Momella; e. L. kammeri, holotype, male, Kenya, County Kiambu, Thika; f. L. timdavenporti, holotype, male, Kenya, Rift Valley Province, Mount Elgon National Park, Chepnyalil Cave.