Alucita fokami Ustjuzhanin & Kovtunovich

Ustjuzhanin, Peter, Kovtunovich, Vasily, Safian, Szabolcs, Maicher, Vincent & Tropek, Robert, 2018, A newly discovered biodiversity hotspot of many-plumed moths in the Mount Cameroon area: first report on species diversity, with description of nine new species (Lepidoptera, Alucitidae), ZooKeys 777, pp. 119-139 : 119

Alucita fokami Ustjuzhanin & Kovtunovich sp. n.

Type material.

Holotype, male, (NECJU 201806) CAMEROON, Bamboo Camp, 350 m a.s.l., Mount Cameroon (SW slope), N4.08791°, E9.05051°, 17-23.IV.2015, V. Maicher, Sz. Sáfián, Š. Janeček, R. Tropek. Paratypes: 1 female (NECJU), same data as holotype; 1 male (CUK), PlanteCam, 11-18.XII. 2014; 2 males, 1 female (NECJU, CUK), Drinking Gari, 11-23.IV.2015, V. Maicher, Sz. Sáfián, Š. Janeček, R. Tropek.

Diagnosis.

The mottled colour of the wings and the median arched band on the fore wing in A. fokami . is similar to A. escobari . A. fokami is characterised by the absence of such a band on the hind wings and by the base of the wings darkened with brown scales. In the male genitalia, the absence of the valva in the new species is similar to A. janeceki . These species differ from each other by the long needle-shaped cornutus, narrow elongated saccus, and the shape of the uncus in A. fokami .

External characters.

Head with pale yellow spiky hairs, thorax and tegula pale brown. Labial palpus yellow-brown, 1.5 × longer than eye diameter. Antenna yellow. Wingspan 12-13 mm, of holotype 12 mm. Wing yellowish brown with three white transverse bands. Wing base darkened with brown scales. Fringe on wing yellow. Hind leg white.

Male genitalia.

Uncus basally narrow, distally wide, apex with small oval cut. Gnathos short, 3 × smaller than uncus, narrow, slightly tapered to apex. Gnathos arms thick, long, undulate, apically tapered. Median process between gnathos arms well developed. No valva. Anellus arms very short, in shape of wide lobes, equal to gnathos in length. Saccus narrow, elongated, exceeds length of uncus with tegumen. Phallus short, almost straight, distally with long needle-shaped cornutus exceeding total length of phallus.

Female genitalia.

Papilla analis narrow, elongated. Posterior apophyses very long, slightly undulated. Anterior apophyses straight, long, slightly shorter than posterior apophyses. Antrum narrow, short. Ductus long, corrugated, with well-expressed longitudinal cords. Ductus narrow at confluence to bursa copulatrix. Ductus seminalis short, wide. Bursa copulatrix oval, small, equal to papilla analis, without signa.

Distribution.

Cameroon.

Flight period.

April, December.

Etymology.

The authors name this species in recognition of Dr. Eric Bertrand Fokam, the current head of the Department of Zoology and Animal Physiology, University of Buea. Eric is a renowned ecologist and a keen field scientist. He has not only been an active collaborator during the field research on Mount Cameroon, but has also brought up a new generation of young Cameroonians to continue the scientific work on insects and other animal groups in Cameroon.