Afroracotis (Afroracotis) incompletaria subsp. incompletaria László & Hausmann & Karisch 2023, comb. n.

Afroracotis (Afroracotis) incompletaria incompletaria (Guenée, 1862) comb. n.

(Figs 18, 137, 295)

Boarmia incompletaria Guenée, 1862, in Maillard, Notes sur l’ile de la Réunion (Bourbon) (Annexe G): 27. Holotype female. Type locality: Réunion.

Réunion. 1 female, La Reunion, Plaine D’Affouches, 950m, 26.xii.1999, Georges Orhant leg., gen. slide No.: LG 5048 (ZSM G 20998), DNA barcode/BOLD process id.: BC ZSM Lep 74428/GWORK1356-15 (ZSM).

Taxonomic note. The authors of this paper could not locate the primary type specimen of A. incompletaria (Guenée, 1862), however, they examined a single female non-type specimen from Réunion. In the DNA barcode analyses, the species is recovered as a sister of the A. squalida linegae. The female genitalia configuration (Fig. 295) also supports the distinct taxonomic position of the species expressed by the lack of a sclerotised globular protuberation of the cervix bursae which is typical for the A. squalida complex. However, due to the fact that only a single female specimen was available for the authors to study, and without any knowledge of the male genital morphology, we assign A. incompletaria tentatively to the A. squalida species-group until a male specimen is found.

Diagnosis. Forewing length 22.5 mm. Afroracotis incompletaria incompletaria is a sister taxon of A. squalida, endemic to Réunion island. It is markedly smaller than A. squalida with less speckled wings and a less sharply defined discal spot of the forewing. The discal spot is dark and contrasting on the hindwing, but much narrower than in A. squalida. The hindwing margin of A. incompletaria incompletaria is moderately scalloped, in contrast to that of A. squalida which is evenly arcuate. In the female genitalia, A. incompletaria incompletaria substantially differs from A. squalida in the broader, more heavily sclerotised antrum, the much shorter but markedly broader ductus bursae and the lack of a globular protuberation of the cervix bursae substituted by a short sclerotised distal section of the corpus bursae.

The male is unknown.

Genetic information. Afroracotis incompletaria has been assigned the BIN URI: ACY3424. As only a single specimen was sequenced in this study, the intraspecific variability could not be calculated. The nearest neighbour of the species is A. squalida at a pairwise distance of 4.08–4.20%. The genetically next-closest species is A. aliena sp. n. differing by 4.76%.

Distribution (Map 1). The nominotypical subspecies of A. incompletaria was described from Réunion, representing an endemic taxon.