New species of Epermeniidae from Africa with a distributional checklist of the family for the Afrotropical Region (Lepidoptera: Epermenioidea)

The material collected in Asante Sana contains three species, one of them, Epermenia lutulenta, is a new species. Addi-tionally are described as new: Epermenia aureomaculata ; Epermenia nigrodentata ; Ochromolopis cederbergensis and Ochromolopis lobata. New country records are established for Phaulernis montuosa Gaedike, 2013 (Uganda) and for Ochromolopis namibica Gaedike, 2004 ( South Africa).


Introduction
In recent years new material of Epermeniidae was collected during field trips to Southern Africa and Uganda by staff members of the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin. Intensive faunistic research was performed in the Eastern Cape (RSA) on the privately owned Game Farm" Asante Sana". The investigations in this area became known as the Asante Sana Project. Details of the project and first results were published by Mey & Krüger (2019).
The author was asked to work up the collected material of this family. It has been my pleasure to study a total of 24 specimens including three species from Asante Sana. The examination resulted in the detection of five unknown species and two new country records.
The knowledge of the distribution of the family in the Afrotropis was poor in the past but has increased in the last years (Gaedike, 2004a;2004b;2013;2020). Currently, 43 species in seven genera are known from Africa south of the Sahara. The species are summarized in a checklist, which provides an overview on the distribution of species in the various African countries. The list may be helpful in future studies on the distribution and taxonomy of the family in Africa. Derivatio nominis: the name refers to the colouration of the forewings.

Abbreviations
Diagnosis (Fig. 2): wingspan 8-9 mm (n = 3); entire body dark brown, shiny; antennae without pecten, flagellum somewhat ringed, covered with short ciliae; forewings on dorsum before and after 1/2 with a tuft of raised scales, with a golden brown pattern: in the middle along cell at 1/2 a band, extended to dorsum above tufts, forming a reverse U; a nearly round patch at base of cell and an oval patch at 3/4; the area between the patches and apically the oval patch with silver-coloured scales; fringe dark brown, apically light grey; hindwings dark brown.
Remarks: the new species is characterized by the golden brown pattern on the forewings, which make it distinguishable from the other members of the genus. Derivatio nominis: the name refers to the colouration of the tuft of raised scales on the dorsum of the forewings.
Diagnosis (Fig. 3): wingspan 11 mm (n = 1); head pale light brown, tips of scales whitish; antennae dark grey, with pecten, flagellum somewhat ringed; labial palpi curved upwards, outside dark grey, inside whitish; thorax light brown, tegulae dark grey-brown; forewings on dorsum at 1/2 with a broad black tuft of raised scales, a second minute tuft at 2/3; above first tuft and apically the second tuft each a brown coloured band-shaped area, directed oblique to a dark brown area from cell to costa; at the end of cell a black dot, connected with dorsum by dark brown area reaching apex; basal fourth dark greybrown, wing before the brown band-shaped area above first tuft lighter, more or less pale-coloured; an equally pale patch present between the tufts and a patch above the black dot ; hindwings light grey, shiny.
Male genitalia (Fig. 8): uncus curved, with rounded tip; tegumen with more strongly sclerotized apical edge; valvae a little longer than uncus-tegumen complex, ampulla narrow, curved to pointed tip, border to valvae strongly sclerotized, sacculus ending in an upwardsdirected hook; phallus longer than valvae, slightly curved, cornutus nearly as long as phallus, with two pointed tips. Female genitalia: unknown. Remarks: the new species is externally somewhat similar to E. triacuta Gaedike, 2013, but characterized by the broad black tuft of raised scales on dorsum of forewing. Clear differences are seen in the genitalia structure: the long narrow uncus, characteristic shape of the sacculus (upwards-directed hook at the end) and the long cornutus with two pointed tips make the new species surely distinguishable.
Ochromolopis namibica Gaedike, 2004b ( Fig. 9 Diagnosis (Fig. 4): wingspan 10 mm (n = 1); head, thorax and tegulae somewhat rubbed off, labial palpi light grey, on outside mixed with some darker scales, second segment apically on underside with longer scales; antennae also grey too, scape on underside lighter; forewings with grey ground colour, with scattered darker scales, along cell to apex with a narrow stripe of light brown scales, at 1/2 and at 2/3 extended down to dorsum; in the middle, a minute black dot at 3/4, fringe basally around apex and termen with dark brown scales; the basal half of wing somewhat rubbed off, no clear pattern visible; hindwings shiny light grey.
Male genitalia (Fig. 10): uncus long, narrow, apically U-shaped, wrench-like; tegumen along basal and proximal edges more strongly sclerotized; valvae as long as uncustegumen complex, costal arm nearly 3/4 of the lenght of ventral part of valvae, with rounded apex, closely connected to ventral part, the latter more or less parallel-sided, dorsal margin in the first half with wave-like emargination, basal margin subapically narrower to rounded apex, from base to apex in the mid a longitudinal fold, apically with short pointed tooth; phallus nearly as long as valvae, basally rounded, more strongly sclerotized, narrower to pointed apex, versica with minute sclerotizations. Female genitalia: unknown. Derivatio nominis: the name refers to the shape of the uncus.
Diagnosis (Fig. 5): wingspan 12-13 mm (n = 2); scales on head, thorax and tegulae bi-coloured, basally dark grey, apically light grey; labial palpi curved upwards; scape of antennae with pecten; forewings narrow, with same ground colour as the entire body; on dorsum with tufts of raised black scales at 1/3 and 1/2, an indication of a third tuft near base; in the mid, along cell to apex, a light brown pattern: above the tuft at 1/3 as a square patch, above the tuft at 1/2 as a thin stripe, above the indication of the third tuft near base as a minute dot, in the apical quarter as a thin dash; in the mid at 3/4 apically the light brown strip a minute black dot; the apical half of wing overlaid with darker scales, along termen forming a darker stripe; hindwings light grey, shiny.
Male genitalia (Fig. 11): uncus straight, parallel-sided, apically truncated, basally with two lobes nearly half as long as uncus; tegumen with more strongly sclerotized margin; valvae as long as uncus-tegumen complex, costal arm half the length of ventral part of valvae, narrow, with pointed process dorsally at 1/2, apically rounded; ventral part broadest basally, thereafter more or less parallel-sided, with rounded apex, the longitudinal fold with wave-like dorsal margin, apically ending in a long pointed strong sclerotized tooth, directed upwards; phallus as long as valvae, from base to pointed apex narrower, vesica with numerous small sclerotizations. Female genitalia: unknown.

Remarks:
The new species is distinguishable externally from the other members of the genus by the narrow forewings with light brown pattern. The male genitalia with the long lobes basally on the uncus clearly make the new species distinguishable from the other members of the genus.