Elachista knudlarseni Sruoga & Prins, 2026, sp. nov.

Résumé fourni par la source

Elachista knudlarseni sp. nov. Figs 3, 4 Material examined. Holotype. Tanzania • ♂; Iringa, Kigogo forest; 1880 m; 18 km S. Kibau; 26–28. Nov. 2004; K. Larsen & T. Zandersen leg.; gen. prep. VS 398; VU. Diagnosis. Elachista knudlarseni belongs to the E. bifasciella species group. Superficially, E. knudlarseni resembles many species of the E. bifasciella species group, which have a white transverse fascia on a dark-coloured forewing. However, the male genitalia are highly distinctive, characterised by a narrow, parallel-sided cucullus with a sharply angled dorso-terminal margin and a tapered digitate process. Until now, only two species of the E. bifasciella species group were known from tropical Africa: E. iriphaea (Meyrick, 1932) from Uganda and E. planca Sruoga & De Prins, 2009 from Kenya. The male genitalia are known only for E. iriphaea, which, based on the characters described here, differs markedly from E. knudlarseni. Elachista planca is known only from adult and female genitalia, but this species is clearly larger, and its forewing is narrower than in E. knudlarseni. Description. Male. (Fig. 3). Forewing length 3.1 mm; wingspan 6.7 mm (N = 1). Head: frons, vertex and neck tuft greyish white, some scales with brown-grey tips; labial palpus twice as long as width of head, white above and brown-grey below; antenna 0.7 × as long as forewing, brown-grey, except last flagellomere greyish white; flagellum weakly annulated in basal part. Thorax, tegula, and forewing strongly mottled with scales, basally greyish white and distally greyish brown; antemedian transverse fascia greyish white, blurred; blackish brown scales forming two irregular spots beyond fascia; small costal and tornal spots blurred, greyish white; fringe greyish brown. Hindwing and its fringe greyish brown. Female. Unknown. Male genitalia (Fig. 4). Uncus lobes narrow, as long as wide, tapered and widely separated by a U-shaped incision; median margin straight, lateral margin curved in basal part. Basal arms of gnathos reinforced; spinose knob slightly wider than long. Valva nearly straight; basal fold of costa extending to distal 3 / 4 of valva, where it meets distal lobe and forms broad, indistinct hump; cucullus parallel-sided, not produced dorsally, dorsal and terminal margins forming an angle of 70 °. Juxta lobes large, median margin straight, joining straight distal margin at right angle, distal margin convex, ventral surface laterally with few setae. Digitate process slender and tapered, almost glabrous, with one or two setae apically. Vinculum with weak median ridge; saccus narrow. Phallus almost 4 / 5 as long as valva, narrow, bent in basal part and tapered to acute apex; vesica without cornuti. Biology. Unknown. Flight period. The only known specimen was captured in late November. Distribution. Central Tanzania. Etymology. The species is named after Knud Larsen, a Danish entomologist who collected the type specimen. Remarks. The head in the holotype is somewhat abraded; therefore, the description is approximate.

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