Aristobatina melasma sp. n.

Figs 16, 21–23

Etymology: From the Greek for “black spot” referring to the distinctive discal macula that characterizes this and the closely related A. metamelasma .

Description:

Length (head to wing tip): 11–15 mm.

Colour: Head orange anteriorly, reddish brown posteriorly, swollen part of frontal vitta dark reddish brown; thorax reddish brown; abdomen shiny blue­black; fore femur orange in basal ⅔, brown distally; mid femur uniformly orange except for black apex; hind femur orange at base and apex, but brown medially; basal 2 tarsomeres of fore and hind legs white, tarsomere 3 darker, tarsomeres 4 and 5 black; mid tarsus dark brown or black; abdominal pleurae entirely black in life (Fig. 21), grey on the pinned holotype (same individual as in Fig. 21).

Head: Scape bare except for marginal ring of short setae; pedicel short­setose, with some longer ventral apical setae; frontal vitta with strongly convex circular area surrounding ocelli, extending ½ distance from anterior ocellus to anterior margin of frons; 2 pairs of fronto­orbital setae, 1 large above level of ocelli, 1 smaller below; postocellar, outer and inner vertical setae well­developed.

Thorax: Cervical sclerite flat and dull, with lateral indentation and small anterolateral vertical carina; proepisternum with a few long marginal ventral setae on posterior ½; katepisternum with double row of thin black setae, anterior row with only 5 setae, barely overlapping with lower end of posterior row; scutellum with 1 pair of marginal setae only, 1 small to minute seta between postalar and dorsocentral setae.

Wing: CuA 2 virtually at right angle to and in line with bm­cu, wing membrane with a small circular discal macula extending from just anterior to R 4+5 to M and having a distinctly infuscated tip; tegula and basicosta brown, similar to adjacent wing base, but base of stem vein black and dorsally microsetulose; wing base with 3 long costagial setae, inner one very long and inclinate.

Female abdomen: Paired spermathecae short, 1.2× as long as wide, with a transversely striate surface (Fig. 16); spermathecal duct densely covered with knob­like processes beyond the division of the common duct into two straight branches. Single spermatheca not observed.

Male: unknown.

Holotype ♀: TANZANIA: Morogoro Region, Udzungwa Mts Nat. Park, 07°50'35''S 36°49'49''E, 11–13. xi.2009, 1000 m, T. Pape & S. A. Marshall (DEBU#00323614, deposited in ZMUC).

Comments:This appears to be a close sister species to A. metamelasma from the Uluguru Mountains.