Thaumatovalva limbata (Dakonoff, 1969) Dakonoff, 1969

Timm, Alicia E. & Brown, John W., 2014, A new genus of Grapholitini from Africa related to Thaumatotibia (Lepidoptera, Tortricidae), ZooKeys 438, pp. 113-128 : 118-120

Taxon classification Animalia Lepidoptera Tortricidae

Thaumatovalva limbata (Dakonoff, 1969) comb. n. Figs 9, 13, 17

Grapholita limbata Dakonoff, 1969: 85; Brown 2005: 361; Brown et al. 2014: in press.

Type material.

Holotype ♂, Seychelles, Praslin Island, 27 May 1960, M. Gerber (MNHN). Paratypes (4♂, 3♀). Seychelles: Mahé Island, Beau Vallon, 27 Apr 1959 (1♀), 29 Mar 1960 (1♂), 19 Mar 1959 (1♂, 1♀), 27 May 1959 (1♂), H. Legrand (MNHN). Cosmoledo Island 16 Sep 1959 (1♀), H. Legrand, 19 Oct 1959 (1♂), M. Gerber (MNHN).

Additional specimens examined.

KENYA: 18 km SW Malindi, Watamu, 35 m, 3°22'S, 39°59'E, 15 Mar 2004 (3♂), J. & W. De Prins (RMAC). Coast Province, Sabaki, 10 m, 3°09.28'S, 40°08.05'E, 10 Jul 2001 (2♂, 3♀), reared from fruit of Cordia somaliensis Baker ( Boraginaceae ), R. Copeland (USNM). Rift Valley Province, Mathews Range, 1272 m, 1°10.827'N, 37°17.876'E, 18 Jan 2004 (4♂, 4♀), reared from fruit of Cordia monoica Roxb. ( Boraginaceae ), R. Copeland (USNM). Rift Valley Province, Masai Lodge, 1670 m, 37MBU 5679 4682, 25 Nov 2010 (2♂, 2♀), L. Aarvik & D. Agassiz (NHMO). Rift Valley Province, Mount Elgon National Park, Chorlin Gate, Rongai Camp, 2206 m, 17-21 Nov 2006 (1♀), L. Hansen & K. Sund (NHMO). SEYCHELLES: Aldabra Atoll, Ile Picard Settlement, 12-22 Mar 1986 (1♀), D. Adamski (USNM).

Diagnosis.

Thaumatovalva limbata shares a similar forewing pattern with its congeners, but males average slightly smaller in forewing length (5.5 mm vs. 7.0 mm), it also has a paler gray brown rather than dark brown under surface of the hindwing, and its male genitalia lack the characteristic triangular process from the venter of the valva. The patch of modified sex scales concealed in the distal end of the abdomen consists of only four large sausage-shaped structures, two on each side, rather than 40-50 scales present in congeners, and the hindwing has no conspicuous white scaling on the under surface.

Thaumatovalva limbata is superficially similar to " Eucosma " chloroterma Meyrick, 1913, described from Pretoria, South Africa, but the male genitalia of the latter (see Clarke 1958: 355) have little in common with those of Thaumatovalva limbata .

Description.

Male.Head: Vertex dark brown mixed with lighter brown, upper frons concolorous with vertex, lower frons cream; labial light brown than vertex, inner surface cream; antennal scaling brown. Thorax: Dorsum dark brown, mixed with lighter brown, tegula dark brown mixed with lighter brown, most scale brown with cream tip; hind tibia with dark brown with expanded scales poorly developed. Forewing length 5.0-6.0 mm (mean = 5.5; n = 5); forewing as described for genus; hindwing nearly uniform grayish brown, conspicuously paler than forewing; patch of ca. 30 slender scales from anal margin of hindwing not inserted into scales of abdomen. Fringe conolorous with hindwing. Hindwing under surface concolorous with forewing undersurface, paler than in congeners; an inconspicuous narrow row of slightly enlarged brown scales along margin of wing from lower edge of anal margin to approximately CuP (Fig. 13). Abdomen: Brown; black scale patches subdorsally on abdominal segments 3-5 weakly developed (not visible in undissected specimens); sclerotized posterior edge of segment VIII bearing four (two on each side), long, slender sausage-shaped scales. Genitalia (Fig. 17) with valva narrow basally, broadening to middle, without triangular expansion before cucullus, outer edge of cucullus rounded, valva attenuate through cucullus, apex conspicuously more rounded than in congeners; phallus narrow, with bulbous subbasal lobe and small rounded dorsal lobe ca. 0.5 distance from base to tip, distal 0.2 beyond lobe slight curved.

Female.Head and thorax: As described for male, except forewing length 6.0-8.0 mm (mean = 6.8; n = 6). Abdomen. Genitalia as described for the genus and figured for congeners.

Distribution and biology.

Thaumatovalva limbata is known from Praslin, Cosmoledo, and Mahé islands in the Seychelles, and from Kenya on the mainland. Adults have been reared from larvae collected in the fruit of Cordia somaliensis and Cordia monoica in Kenya, where the species occupies a broad elevational range from 10 to 2206 m.

Remarks.

Based on forewing size, small specimens from Kenya (n = 7, from Watamu and Masai Lodge) appear to represent an undescribed species. However, the genitalia of these small specimens are identical to those of larger specimens of Thaumatovalva limbata from the Seychelles (see Diakonoff 1969: fig. 11, holotype) and reared specimens from Kenya. Furthermore, DNA barcodes do not separate the small specimens from the larger Kenyan specimens, the latter of which are identical to Thaumatovalva limbata from the Seychelles. All eight of our Thaumatovalva limbata sequences are identical throughout their sequenced length. Nonetheless, the broad elevational range and size differences suggest that more than one species may be concealed under this name.