Thubdora yekepaensis Dutton & Park, 2025

Karisch, Timm, Dutton, Amy-Jayne, Yu, Tae-Uk & Park, Kyu-Tek, 2025, Lecithoceridae (Lepidoptera: Gelechioidea) from Nimba Mts. bordering Liberia and Guinea, Part I: The subfamily Torodorinae, with descriptions of 15 new species, Zootaxa 5728 (2), pp. 247-286 : 280-281

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5728.2.2
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:3588FC65-B5B1-43BC-9149-3C8610920278
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03BE2A4A-FF90-FFD8-51A9-7EDCFA86FE9D
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Thubdora yekepaensis Dutton & Park
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

9. Thubdora yekepaensis Dutton & Park , sp. nov.

LSID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:

( Fig. 20 View FIGURE 20 )

Type specimens. Holotype: Female, Liberia, Nimba Mountains , alt. 1050 m, 4.2 km SE Yekepa, camp secondary-forest on SE slope 7°32’35.6’’N 8°31’20.3’’W, 23 viii 2022, LF (125 W HQL), leg. T. Karisch, gen. slide no. 4187/ Karisch, barcoding CBNU690 , in MNVD. GoogleMaps

Diagnosis. The new species is similar to T. wendyae sp. nov. in the forewing colour pattern, but it can be distinguished by the hind tibia which is dark-brown evenly on dorsal surface (in T. wendyae sp. nov., with golden-yellow band at middle and apex). The female genitalia possess a uniquely blade-shaped signum, which distinguishes it from all known congeners.

Description. Male ( Figs 20A, B View FIGURE 20 ). Wingspan 18.0 mm.

Head: Dark brown dorsally.Antenna filiform, slightly shorter than forewing (broken terminal part); basal segment dilated distally; flagellum serrate, pale yellowish or golden, with dark brown annulations. Second palpomere of labial palpus long, thickened, greyish brown; third palpomere as long as second, greyish yellow, darker ventrally.

Thorax: Dark brown dorsally; tegulae also dark brown. Hind tibia dark brown dorsally. Forewing narrow, elongated; ground colour dark brown evenly; costa convex at basal 1/4, nearly straight medially, then convex pre-apically; costal patch small, triangular, yellowish white; apex somewhat produced; termen oblique; fringes concolorous with ground colour, with narrow, yellowish-white basal line. Hindwing evenly greyish brown, termen sinuate; fringes also greyish brown, with a narrow, yellowish-white basal line.

Abdomen ( Fig. 20D View FIGURE 20 ): Dark brown dorsally; spinous zones well-developed, with strong spines.

Female genitalia ( Fig. 20C View FIGURE 20 ). Abdominal sternite VIII incised medially. Ostium bursae slightly incised at middle, triangularly produced laterally. Antrum cup-shaped, weakly sclerotized, about 1/5 the length of corpus bursae. Ductus bursae slightly longer than corpus bursae; ductus seminalis arising from near the middle. Corpus bursae large, ovate; signum large, blade-shaped, about 1/4 the width of corpus bursae; upper margin heavily sclerotized and lower margin serrated.

Distribution. Liberia ( Nimba Mts.).

Etymology. The species name is derived from the type locality. An adjective in the nominative singular.