Thubdora ochsei Karisch & 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 : 269-270

2. Thubdora ochsei Karisch & Park , sp. nov.

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

( Fig. 13 )

Type specimens. Holotype: Male, 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, 28 viii 2022, leg. T. Karisch, gen. slide no. 4169/Karisch, barcoding SDEI300017 , in SDEI . Paratype: Female same data as holotype, gen. slide no. 4172/Karisch, barcoding SDEI300019 , in MNVD .

Diagnosis. One of the smallest species of the genus (wingspan 13–14 mm). It can be distinguished from its allies by the forewing with irregular light-yellow patches between costa and cell; male genitalia with a large spatulate uncus, valva with broad expansion in basal 1/3, and cucullus distinctly convex around 2/3 on costal margin.

Description. Male ( Figs 13A, B ). Wingspan 13.0–14.0 mm.

Head: Dark greyish brown, pale yellowish scales laterally. Antenna filiform; basal segment broadened, pale yellowish-brown; flagellum serrated, pale yellowish-brown, dorsal darker. Labial palpus with thickened second palpomere; pale greyish white, mixed with some dark-brown scales on outer surface; third palpomere about 4/5 as long as second, pale yellowish brown, suffused with greyish brown outwardly.

Thorax: Dark greyish brown, edges pale yellowish. Hind tibia shiny golden, speckled with brown scales, especially distally; median spurs golden yellow, inner one twice as long as outer; apical spurs golden yellow, with some black dots, inner one half longer than outer. Forewing rather broad, dark greyish brown, slightly more fuscous in basal third; costa nearly straight beyond basal; costal patch, triangular, yellowish white; apex slightly produced; termen slightly concave before middle; fringes greyish brown, with a yellowish narrow basal line. Hindwing greyish brown evenly; fringes also greyish brown, with a narrow, yellowish-white basal line.

Abdomen ( Fig. 13D ): Dark greyish brown with a yellowish white scale terminally; spinous zones on dorsal surfaces well-developed with strong spines; a pair of hair-pencils arising from anterior margin of segment VIII; segment VIII with a small, crescent sclerotized plate dorsally and a large, specifically developed ventral plate, as long as sternite VIII, anterior margin emarginated medially.

Male genitalia ( Figs 13C, C 1 ): Uncus long, broadened apically, somewhat spatulate with lateral margins slightly convex in basal 2/3 and then narrowed before apex. Basal plate of gnathos broadly expanded distally as shown in Fig. 13C ; median process narrower toward apex, strongly bent downward pre-apically, with sharply pointed apex. Tegumen inverted with V-shaped incision anteriorly. Valva with broad expansion in basal 1/3 anteriorly; cucullus elongated, convex beyond 2/3, densely setose; ventral margin gently arched basally; apex rounded; sacculus invisible. Juxta large, with broadly expanded median plate. Vinculum banded. Aedeagus shorter than valva, slightly angled at near basal 1/5 ventrally, bifurcate apically; cornuti consisting of a bundle of long spines before middle and two rows of conical spines beyond middle.

Female genitalia ( Fig. 13E ). Abdominal sternite VIII deeply incised medially. Ostium bursae deeply concave, with latero-caudal processes. Antrum tubular, weakly sclerotized, about 2/5 the length of corpus bursae. Ductus bursae broadened distally, narrowed anteriorly. Corpus bursae large, ovate, longer than ductus bursae; signum large, elongated, length about four times than width, lateral plates divided by a large central groove.

Distribution. Liberia ( Nimba Mts.).

Etymology. Named in honour of Dr. Michael Ochse, Weisenheim am Berg, who helped to organize the trip to the Nimba Mountains. A noun in the genitive case.

Figures

FIGURE 1. A, Topographic map of the Guinea Highlands (Wikipedia.org./wiki/Guinea_Highlands/, Tom Radulovich, CC BY- SA 4.0, colours adapted); B, Blue itabirit at Blue Lake in laminar formation with other minerals (photo: A.-J Dutton, 2022); C, View from the NW-SE-exposed mountain ridge to the main ridge of Nimba Mountains in Liberia, in the middle with the excavations for iron ore. (photo: A.-J. Dutton, 2022); D, Blue Lake and its surroundings showing the extent of iron ore mining in the southern part of the Nimba Mountains (photo: T. Karisch, 2022); E, Cloud covered main ridge of the southern part of the Nimba Mountains (photo: A.-J Dutton).

FIGURE 13. A, Thubdora ochsei Karisch & Park, sp. nov.: A, male (holotype); B, head with labial palpus; C, male genitalia (gen. slide no. 4169/Karisch); C1, aedeagus; D, abdomen; E, female genitalia (gen. slide no. 4172/Karisch).