Oiketicoides algeriensis, Sobczyk & Arnscheid, 2021

Sobczyk, Thomas & Arnscheid, Wilfried R., 2021, Taxonomic revision of the North-African species of the genus Oiketicoides Heylaerts, 1881 (Lepidoptera: Psychidae: Oiketicinae), Zootaxa 4975 (3), pp. 483-508 : 489-490

Oiketicoides algeriensis sp. nov.

( Figs 4 , 20 , 42 , 54 )

Type material. Holotype: • ♂: ALGERIA: Prov. El Djelva, Vis. El Djelva , 11.viii.1988, leg. Amar Medaoui, GU 017-2020 Sobczyk ( MWM).

Etymology. The species is named after its country of origin, Algeria.

Description. ♂. Smaller Oiketicoides species , wings evenly fine scaled. Wingspan 16.5 mm, body length 6.5 mm, forewing length 7.8 mm, FI: 2.0, antennae length 4.0 mm.

Head. Antennae blackish brown with 33 segments, densely scaled. Longest pecten of nine times length of the antennal segments. Head densely covered with long hair-like light brown scales. Frons with greyish brown hair-like scales; eyes large, blackish grey, EI: 0.6.

Thorax. Legs and thorax with long light brown hair. Forewings elongated, venation on forewing with r3+r4 stalked to a quarter length. M2+m3 stalked to a third length. Hindwing venation with m1+m2 half stalked, sc and rr fused and connected to dc at half length. Wings densely covered with light brown, very narrow single-pointed scales (class 2), occasionally distally notched (class 1), fringes very narrowly lanceolate, mostly with two dentations ( Fig. 20 ).

Abdomen. Dorsally and ventrally densely covered with long light brown, hair-like scales.

Male genitalia. (GU-017-2020, Sobczyk). Total length 1.75 mm, width 0.6 mm. When closed, the valvae reach approximately the posterior end of the tegumen. Tegumen roundish, laterally on both sides clearly folded inwards. The valvae are narrow, the sacculus is narrower distally, rounded, with three distinctly sharp projections. Vinculum narrow, medially with short appendages, saccus elongated and narrow, somewhat widened and rounded distally. Phallus 1.4 mm long, elongated tubular, slightly S-shaped curved, distally widened with a distinct hook-shaped projection ( Figs 42 , 54 ).

Distribution. Only known from Algeria.

Diagnosis. Only the holotype is known. The new species is characterised by the very narrow pointed scales of class which are unique in the genus and only slightly similar to O. gracilis . This scales are extremely narrow and hair-like. The following class 2 scales ( Sauter & Hättenschwiler, 1999: 273) have very narrow lanceolate shape which is never the case in class 1.

It differs from the latter by its distinctly smaller wingspan and the special shape of the saccus, which is short, broad and roundish distally in O. gracilis and elongated and narrow in O. algeriensis sp. nov. It differs also from the other smaller Oiketicoides species mentioned in this paper by the less elongated and more roundish wing-shape.

Figures

FIGURES 1–6. 1. Oiketicoides gracilis (Turati & Krüger, 1936), ♂, Tunisia vic. Gafsa, Sened Gare, Parc Nationale de Bouhed- ma, 11. ix.2009, leg. R. Bläsius (CTS). 2. Oiketicoides nivellei (Oberthür, 1922), holotype ♂, with label holotype (BMNH). 3. Oiketicoides hampsoni (Bethune-Baker, 1894), holotype ♂, with label holotype (BMNH). 4. Oiketicoides algeriensis sp. nov., holotype ♂, Algeria, Prov. El Djelva, Vis. El Djelva, 11.viii.1988, leg. Amar Medaoui (CTS). 5. Oiketicoides oberthueri (Heylaerts, 1883), ♂, Morocco, Mischliffen, 2036 m, 03.-27.vii.1994, leg. Stübinger (CTS). 6. Oiketicoides albomaculatus sp. nov., holotype ♂, Morocco, Souss-Haut Atlas, Prov. Taroudant, Taliouine, 30°32 N, 7° 56 W, 07.ix.2011, leg. R. Bläsius (MWM).

FIGURES 19–30. Forewing scales and fringes of North African Oiketicoides-♂♂. 19. Oiketicoides gracilis. 20. Oiketicoides algeriensis. 21. Oiketicoides nivellei. 22. Oiketicoides oberthueri. 23. Oiketicoides albomaculatus. 24. Oiketicoides maroccensis. 25. Oiketicoides atlanticum. 26. Oiketicoides lefevrei. 27. Oiketicoides chottella. 28. Oiketicoides maghrebensis. 29. Oiketicoides imazigheni. 30. Oiketicoides pseudochottella.

FIGURES 35–44. Valvae of North African Oiketicoides-♂♂ (scale 0.5 mm). 35. Oiketicoides lefevrei. 36. Oiketicoides chottella. 37. Oiketicoides imazigheni. 38. Oiketicoides maghrebensis. 39. Oiketicoides gracilis. 40. Oiketicoides oberthueri. 41. Oiketicoides albomaculatus. 42. Oiketicoides algeriensis. 43. Oiketicoides nivellei. 44. Oiketicoides atlanticum.

FIGURES 51–66. Saccus of North African Oiketicoides-♂♂. 51. Oiketicoides gracilis. 52. Oiketicoides oberthueri. 53. Oiketicoides albomaculatus. 54. Oiketicoides algeriensis. 55. Oiketicoides nivellei. 56. Oiketicoides pseudochottella. 57. Oiketicoides atlanticum. 58. Oiketicoides numidicum. 59. Oiketicoides imazigheni. 60. Oiketicoides maghrebensis. 61. Oiketicoides chottella. 62. Oiketicoides lefevrei. 63. Oiketicoides maroccensis. 64. Oiketicoides hurei. 65. Oiketicoides hampsoni. 66. Oiketicoides lambessa.