Eberhardfischeria husemanni, Lehmann & Dalsgaard, 2023

Lehmann, Ingo & Dalsgaard, Thure, 2023, Revision of Saalmulleria Mabille, 1891 (Lepidoptera, Metarbelidae) from Madagascar with the description of three new genera and fifteen new species, Evolutionary Systematics 7 (1), pp. 133-182 : 133

publication ID	https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/evolsyst.7.85204
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:24DF15AD-F8A0-4086-AD8C-60AD39C8A4AA
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/B371828A-4A34-45F0-9CD5-927BA0177B62
taxon LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:act:B371828A-4A34-45F0-9CD5-927BA0177B62
treatment provided by	Evolutionary Systematics by Pensoft
scientific name	Eberhardfischeria husemanni
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Eberhardfischeria husemanni sp. nov.

Figs 4c, d View Figure 4 , 5a View Figure 5 , 7a View Figure 7 , 13a, b View Figure 13 , 16B, D View Figure 16

Material examined.

Female , Holotype, Madagascar, [Western Region], “Diégo Suarez" [Antsiran̈ana], "6 Aug 17" [6th August 1917], G. Melou [leg.], a second label with number “403”; genitalia slide number 02/102007 I. Lehmann (BMNH). Paratype, female, same locality data, "16 July, 17" [16th July 1917], G. Melou [leg.], genitalia slide number 03/112008 I. Lehmann (BMNH).

Description.

Holotype. Head: Rough-scaled; medium long hair-like scales of olive-buff and dark olive-buff; labial palpi olive-buff. Antennae bipectinate, narrow and long branches 3.5 × longer than width of shaft, branches are widely separated at base with 1.5 × width of branch, dorsal and lateral sides of branches not scaled, but with many setae in pairs ventrally and laterally, dorsal and lateral sides of flagellum scaled deep olive-buff mixed with brownish-olive.

Thorax: Densely covered with hair-like scales of dark olive-buff with chestnut on upper half of scales on patagia, scales with tiny light grey or pale olive tip, scales on patagia form a collar ring, scales on tegulae long hair-like, chestnut mixed with some scales of pale olive-buff with a light lilac glint; scale crest on metathorax pale olive-buff with a cream base, dark chestnut at centre. Fore and mid legs deep olive-buff with long dense hair-like structures and a light golden glint. Epiphyses 1.9 mm long, broad and flat. Wingspan is 39.0 mm. Forewing short, triangular with a rounded apex, upperside deep olive-buff and towards termen with a light golden glint, with a narrow, almost triangular band of dark olive-buff from costa towards end of CuA1, the latter and CuA2 are narrowly dark olive-buff, several very narrow bands and lines of dark olive-buff from costa to dorsum, a dark chestnut patch below base of 1A+2A, 40% length of 1A+2A. Hindwing elongated and rounded, largely with short scales of deep olive-buff with a light golden glint, without any pattern, a faded dark olive patch at center is present.

Forewing venation with 1A+2A deeply forked at base, fork is 25% the length of 1A+2A; CuP absent, but represented by a continuous fold that is not sclerotized; CuA2 originating from near hind margin of posterior cell; CuA1, M3 and M2 separate and originating from apical angle of posterior cell; M1 originating from distal margin of median cell and not near its anterior angle; R1+R2 originating from a long stalk (the stalk has the length of ca. 50% of R3) and initiating from anterior angle of median cell; R3+R4+R5 are long stalked and originating from anterior angle of median cell, the basal point of this stalk is exactly opposite of the basal point of the stalk of R1+R2; Sc more or less parallel to R1. Hindwing venation with 3A present, 1A+2A present as a strong sclerotized fold, without a small fork at base, CuP represented by a sclerotized fold; CuA2 originating from near hind margin of posterior cell; CuA1, M3 and M2 originating from apical angle of posterior cell, separated; M1 and Rs originating from anterior cell, broadly separated, with M1 at center of distal margin of anterior cell; a bar from Rs to Sc+R1 is absent, a vein in discocellular cell on both fore- and hindwing is present and forked distally in forewing. The discocellular cell on the hindwing is similar in shape like a fishtail, with upper and lower tip not in opposite position, and both tips not pointed. Fringe scales very long on forewing and hindwing, 1.5 mm, deep olive-buff with a glint.

Abdomen: With dense hair-like scales of deep olive-buff mixed with dark olive and short abdominal tuft, ca. 20% of abdomen length. Female postabdominal structure with large lobes of papillae anales, one lobe as large as 35% of papillae anales, lobes in almost vertical position; dorsal part elliptic in posterior view, covered with short and many long setae. Segment 8 represents a medium broad rectangular sclerotized band, more narrow ventrally, setose along its whole posterior margin with long setae, with a narrow band attached ventrally extending to the base of anterior apophysis; anterior apophysis 2.3 × as long as segment 8 dorsally, on their basal half of length 2 × as broad as at tip, at middle knee-like shaped and in the basal half with a long, deep horizontal graben-like structure; posterior apophysis narrow with a three times broader base on one-third of their entire length, 50% the length of anterior apophysis, with medium large sclerotized base 30% the size of papillae anales in lateral view.

Distribution.

Although “Diégo Suarez" [Antsiran̈ana], located close to the northern tip of Madagascar at an altitude of 9-112 m, is mentioned as the collecting site on the label of the holotype and paratype, it is not sure that both females were collected in or near Antsiran̈ana. In his thesis, Pierre Viette (1962) stated on pages 13, 36 and 52 about Gaston Melou, who collected Lepidoptera in the region of Diégo Suarez in the years 1916 and 1917, that Melou included areas such as Montagne d’Ambre (altitude up to 1.475 m) as well as Montagne des Franҫais (altitude up to 393 m) in his collecting site termed “Diégo Suarez". The latter fact was confirmed by Dr. Albert Legrain (pers. comm. to I.L. in 2008). The forest of the Montagne des Franҫais is a "Dry deciduous forest" ( Pearce 2003) and hence, belongs to the highly threatened primary dry deciduous forest and woodland patches of the "Madagascar Dry Deciduous Forests" ecoregion sensu Crowley (2004) that covers large areas of the "Western Region". The Montagne d’Ambre was excluded from the "Western Region" by Gautier and Goodman (2003) as far as areas above 1.000 m are concerned. The latter belong to the montane areas of the "Central Region" sensu Humbert (1965) with extremely reduced forests of the "Moist montane forest type" or "Subhumid forest" occurring scattered across the central highlands of Madagascar ( Gautier and Goodman 2003). Forests on Montagne d’Ambre belong largely to the "Madagascar Humid Forests" ecoregion sensu Crowley (2004), cf. also fig. 9 on plate V in Viette (1962), and are less dominated by woody legumes, but mainly by species of the genera, e.g. Diospyros L. ( Ebenaceae ), Ocotea Aubl. ( Lauraceae ), Tambourissa Sonn. ( Monimiaceae ); below 200 m altitude particularly by species of the family Palmae and of the genus Dypsis Noronha ( Arecaceae ); portions of "Madagascar Subhumid Forests" ecoregion sensu Crowley (2004) also occur and are characterized by a cool, dry season between July and September (cf. collecting dates) and a dominance of the Sarcolaenaceae and Euphorbiaceae , e.g. species of Croton L. as C. jennyanus Gris around Diégo Suarez. Hence, Eberhardfischeria husemanni sp. nov. might occur in dry deciduous forests and woodlands or in humid forests or in moist montane forest types of northern Madagascar. The new species is certainly under threat, maybe close to extinction, due to degradation of its habitats by fires and agriculture.

Biological traits.

The biology of E. husemanni sp. nov. is unknown.

Etymology.

The species is named for Dr. habil. Martin Husemann (Head of the Section Hymenoptera and Hemimetabolous Insects in the Leibniz-Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change, Hamburg, Germany) for his substantial support of studies on Metarbelidae until present.