Published December 10, 2025 | Version v1
Taxonomic treatment Open

Dragmatucha gracilinea Park & Karisch 2025, sp. nov.

  • 1. Museum für Naturkunde und Vorgeschichte, 06842 Dessau-Rosslau, Germany; Senckenberg Deutsches Entomologisches Institut, Eberswalder Strasse 90, 15374 Müncheberg.
  • 2. Kingsley, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST 10 2 AS, U. K.
  • 3. Department of Plant Medicine, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, CB 28644, Korea.
  • 4. The Korean Academy of Science and Technology, Seungnam 13630, Korea.

Description

2. Dragmatucha gracilinea Park & Karisch, sp. nov.

LSID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: A08B20A4-BC0E-45F5-B29A-45B834561876

(Fig. 4)

Type specimens. Holotype: Male, Liberia, Nimba Mountains, alt. 1060 m, 4.4 km SE Yekepa, 0.2 km SSW camp secondary-forest near Parinari-forest 7°32’27.3’’N 8°31’24.3’’W, 28 viii 2022 LF (125 W HQL), leg. T. Karisch & A.-J. Dutton, gen. slide no. 4165/ Karisch, barcoding SDEI300013, in SDEI.

Paratypes: 2♂, Liberia, Nimba County, 750 m, ENNR, Cellcom Road, 7°33’3.8”N 8°31’46.49”W, 16.-28 xii 2018, Cold Cathode, UV Light Trap (W), leg. Sáfián, Sz., Simonics, G., and 1♂, gen slide no. 4222/ Karisch, barcoding SDEI-TK-R, in ANHRT.

Diagnosis. The new species is similar to D. curvalis sp. nov. in the forewing markings but distinguished from the latter by the antemedian fascia more broadened at costa, the postmedian fascia not so sharply angled in lower quarter, and the termen less concave beyond the apex. The cucullus of the male genitalia is modified, forming an “ankle”.

Description. Male (Figs 4A, B). Wingspan 14.0–15.0 mm.

Head: Shiny pale yellowish dorsally, with a triangular brown-patch occipitally. Antenna filiform; basal segment dark brown, slightly broadened apically; flagellum pale yellowish throughout. Labial palpus arched upwards; second palpomere slightly thickened, dark brown dorsally, yellowish white intermixed with yellowish-brown scales laterally, and pale yellowish medially; third palpomere blackish brown, pale yellowish basally and apically.

Thorax: Dark brown dorsally, with a row of whitish or whitish brown scales along anterior edges. Hind tibia pale yellowish, with very long fuscous or black scales from base to middle dorsally, with a white tip. Forewing ground dark brown; costa slightly convex around basal 1/4 and beyond 2/3; apex slightly produced; costal patch pale yellowish white at about 1/3 and 3/4; antemedian fascia oblique, slightly angulate, arising from the first triangular costal patch extending by a narrow line from cell to dorsum; postmedian fascia narrow, arising from the second triangular costal patch, strongly convex between M 1 and M 2. Termen slightly concave medially; fringes with pale yellowish basal line, yellowish brown medially, and pale yellowish pale apically. Hindwing greyish brown; postmedian line narrow, pale yellowish, running from costa to near tornus; fringes similar to those of forewing.

Abdomen (Fig. 4D): Dark brown dorsally, pale yellowish ventrally; dorsal spinous zones broadly occupied with spines rarely.

Male genitalia (Figs 4C, C 1): Uncus narrow, heavily sclerotized, gently arched downward, exceeding gnathos basal plate. Basal plate of gnathos expanded into quadrate distally; median process strongly arched downward beyond middle. Valva with weakly sclerotized expansion on costa basally; cucullus shortened, broadly developed forming an ankle; outer margin slightly convex, densely setose; sacculus broadly developed, but very short, about 1/5 the length of valva. Juxta rather small, weakly sclerotized, with a long, whip-like median process arising from middle, about 2/3 the length of valva; caudal margin slightly concave. Vinculum narrowly banded, heavily sclerotized. Aedeagus stout, as long as valva nearly parallel-sided, slightly bent medially; cornuti consisting of a row of stripe bearing spines and a cluster of minute spinules.

Female unknown.

Distribution. Liberia (Nimba Mts.)

Etymology. From the Latin, gracilis (= thin), referring to the slender median process of the juxta in the male genitalia. An adjective in the nominative singular.

Notes

Published as part of 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, pp. 247-286 in Zootaxa 5728 (2) on pages 255-257, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5728.2.2, http://zenodo.org/record/17894560

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Linked records

Additional details

Biodiversity

Collection code
ANHRT , ENNR , HQL, T, SDEI , UV
Material sample ID
SDEI300013
Event date
2018-12-16 , 2022-08-28
Verbatim event date
2018-12-16/28 , 2022-08-28
Scientific name authorship
Park & Karisch
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Order
Lepidoptera
Family
Lecithoceridae
Genus
Dragmatucha
Species
gracilinea
Taxon rank
species
Taxonomic status
sp. nov.
Type status
holotype , paratype
Taxonomic concept label
Dragmatucha gracilinea Karisch & Park, 2025