Meharia ganslmeieri Yakovlev & Witt

Yakovlev, Roman V. & Witt, Thomas J., 2015, Meharia ganslmeieri sp. nov. — a new Cossidae species from Zambia (Lepidoptera), Zootaxa 4032 (3), pp. 319-321 : 319-320

Meharia ganslmeieri Yakovlev & Witt , sp. nov.

( Figures 1−2 )

Material. Holotype: male, Africa, Zambia, Luangwa Valley, 600 m, 15.0 6.2010, leg. N. Pürzer & C. Ganslmeier (Museum Witt, Munich).

Description. Forewing length 15 mm, wingspan 32 mm. Antenna yellowish-brown, bipectinate, about 3/4 length of forewing, pecten long, four times longer than diameter of flagellum. Labial palpi pale-yellow, twice as long as diameter of head. Thorax and base of abdomen covered by white-yellow scales. Distal part of abdomen covered with brown scales dorsally. Forewing narrow, long, with rounded apex. Forewing yellowish-brown, weakly paler in distal zone, with poorly developed skew brown band along wing, fringe long, yellowish-brown. Hindwing brown, patternless, with yellow basal zone, yellowish-brown margin and fringe.

Male genitalia of typical shape for the genus.

Uncus short, stout, with rostral apex; tegumen medium-sized; branches of gnathos stout, medium-sized; gnathos pyramidal, strongly sclerotized, smooth; valva short, broad, parallel-sided and with rounded apex; juxta V-shaped, with long lateral processes diverged at sharp angle; saccus small, deflected; phallus stout, slightly concave at proximal third, pore of vesica in apically-abdominal position, its diameter comes to ⅓ phallus length; vesica with 6 tooth-like cornuti (4 on the right, 2 on the left) which are directed nearly perpendicularly to phallus axis.

Female unknown.

Diagnosis. The new species is easily distinguished from two most similar species M. murphyi , and M. ostrauskasi , both African taxa by:

Contrasted coloration of wings with very pale forewing and dark hindwing ( M. murphyi , and M. ostrauskasi both have pale brown wings)

Contrasted coloration of abdomen with yellowish proximal third and brown distal 2/3 of abdomen ( M. murphyi , and M. ostrauskasi have pale brown abdomen)

Phallus stout, slightly concave at proximal third, pore of vesica at apically-abdominal position, its diameter to ⅓ phallus length; vesica bears 6 tooth-like cornuti (4 on the right, 2 on the left) which are directed nearly perpendicularly to phallus axis (length of phallus in M. murphyi 2/3 of the length of than valva, thick with wide caecum, strongly curved with two aciform cornuti that are ventrally directed; M. ostrauskasi has short phallus that is massive in base, curved, in apex in ventral side with one, and in dorsal side with two short strong aciform cornuti).

Etymology. The new species is named after the collector of the holotype, German entomologist C. Ganslmeier.

Figures

FIGURES 1 − 2. Meharia ganslmeieri sp. nov., adult specimen and genitalia. M. ganslmeieri sp. nov., holotype, male; 2. Male genitalia of M. ganslmeieri sp. nov., (holotype, GenPR MWM: 25264).