Ezishnola xantholeuca ( Hacker, 2012 ), 2025

Ezishnola xantholeuca ( Hacker, 2012) comb. n.

( Figs 18–21 View Figures 16–30 , 48–49 View Figures 44–49 , 66–67 View Figures 59–66 View Figures 67–74 )

Meganola xantholeuca Hacker, 2012 View in CoL , Esperiana View in CoL 17: 498. Type locality: Côte d’Ivoire, Danane. Holotype, male, in coll. ZSM.

Material examined.

Côte d’Ivoire. 1 male, Mt. Tonkoui Peak , 07°27'15.2"N, 07°38'12.5"W, 1171m, 19–27.xi.2019, Actinic Light Trap, Aristophanous, M., Derozier, V., Moretto, P., Ouattara, S. leg. ( ANHRT) GoogleMaps . Gabon. 1 male, Mikongo (Rougier), Monts de Cristal (Secondary Forest), 0°29'47"N, 11°10'42"E, 430m GoogleMaps , 28.vii–

12.viii.2019, MV light trap, Albert , J-L., Aristophanous, M., Bie Mba, J., Dérozier, V., Moretto, P. leg., gen. slide No.: LGNA 1256 ( ANHRT) . Guinea. 13 males, 619km ESE of Conakry, Nzerekore Region, Prefecture de Lola, Ziela env., 540–600m, x.2017, 7°42'N, 8°21'W, local collectors leg GoogleMaps .; 1 female, Nimba Mts, SMFG concession area, (Societe des Mines de Fer de Guinee), Cite 1, 7°42'2.83"N, 8°23'58.60"W, 700m, 16–25.VII.2017, general coll. at light, Sáfián Sz. leg., gen. slide No.: LGNA 998 ( ANHRT) GoogleMaps . Liberia. 3 males, Nimba County, Nimba Mts, ENNR, Cellcom road, 7°33'3.78"N, 8°31'46.49"W, 750m, 16–28.xii.2018 Cold Cathode UV Light Trap (8 W), Sáfián, Sz., Simonics, G. leg., gen. slide Nos: LGNA 953, LGNA 954, LGNA 1277 GoogleMaps ; 2 males, Nimba Mts, Mount Gangra western slope, 7°33'29.73"N, 8°38'16.4"W, 701m, 16–17.iii.2017, Light Trap (250W blended bulb) & cold cathode UV light bucket trap (8W), Sáfián, Sz., Simonics, G. leg., gen. slide No.: LGNA 1845 GoogleMaps ; 1 male, ENNR, Nimba Mts, Cellcom Rd. ,, 7°32'47.5"N, 8°32'1.33"W, 700m, 10–24.iii.2017, light trap (250W blended bulb) & cold cathode UV light bucket trap (8W), Sáfián, Sz., Simonics, G. leg., gen. slide No.: LGNA 1850 GoogleMaps ; 3 males, Lofa County, Wologizi Mts, Ridge Camp 2, 8°07'20.79"N, 9°56'50.75"W, 883m, 22–31.xi.2018, light trap (blended bulb 250W and cold cathode UV 8W), Sáfián, Sz., Simonics, G. leg., gen. slide No.: LGNA 1986 ( ANHRT) GoogleMaps .

Diagnosis. Forewing length 9.0–10.0 mm in males, 10.0–11.0 mm in females. Ezishnola xantholeuca is easily distinguished from the sympatric E. cretacea by its interrupted postmedial line and the lack of dark postmedial fascia and tornal patch. The species also occurs sympatrically in West Africa with the highly similar E. inscripta sp. n. and E. magnisignata sp. n. Both species have noticeably darker ground colour and more contrasting forewing markings than E. xantholeuca ; however, reliable identification requires comparison of the genital structures. Ezishnola truncata sp. n., which is also a sympatric congener, is indistinguishable from E. xantholeuca by external features, but the two species can easily be identified through genitalia comparison. Ezishnola carcassoni is considerably larger, with a more elongated forewing and more contrasting transverse lines, as well as denser blackish markings, compared to E. xantholeuca .

In the male genitalia, the valva shape of E. xantholeuca is most similar to that of E. cretacea but without a produced apex. However, the former species has a noticeably longer and more robust harpe. Compared to all congeners, E. xantholeuca has a markedly narrower and ca. 10-20% longer aedeagus.

The female genitalia configuration of E. xantholeuca is most similar to that of E. inscripta sp. n., distinguished by the ca. 20% longer ductus bursae and ca. 20% shorter tubular distal section of the corpus bursae, and the slightly larger and noticeably broader signa bursae compared to the latter species. Ezishnola xantholeuca has a similar configuration of the ductus and corpus bursae as in E. nitidipicta sp. n. and E. congolana sp. n. with markedly larger elliptical signa bursae. Compared to E. magnisignata sp. n., E. xantholeuca has a ca. three times longer tubular distal section of the corpus bursae and markedly smaller signa bursae.

Genetic information. The holotype specimen of E. xantholeuca , along with the specimens from Liberia included in the genetic analysis, belongs to the BIN URI: BOLD ABA7669 (sample id.: BC ZSM Lep 41674). A single specimen from Gabon, which exhibits a rather distinctive habitus, has been assigned the BIN URI: BOLD AEL6060, diverging from the West African samples by 2.71–2.88%. The infraspecific divergence among the West African specimens (BOLD ABA7669) ranges from 0.15% to 0.31%. The genetically closest species to E. xantholeuca are E. truncata sp. n., E. inscripta sp. n., and E. magnisignata sp. n., with divergences of 2.50–2.66%, 2.49–3.00%, and 2.83–3.48%, respectively.

Distribution. Ezishnola xantholeuca was described from Côte d’Ivoire. This study confirms the presence of the species in Guinea and Liberia. The single, externally markedly distinct specimen from Gabon probably belongs to a separate taxon; see note below.

Taxonomic notes. In the original description of the species, Hacker et al. (2012) mistakenly illustrated the male genitalia of a Meganola specimen (cf. M. nyungwe Hacker, 2012 ). Furthermore, the three female genitalia depicted under M. xantholeuca actually belong to M. pachygrapha Hacker, 2012 ( László 2025). The author of this paper was unable to locate the original genitalia slide of the holotype of M. xantholeuca ; however, the DNA barcode of the specimen clearly assigns it to the BIN URI BOLD:ABA7669. During this study, three Ezishnola specimens from Liberia were found to fall under this BIN URI, matching the habitus of the holotype specimen of M. xantholeuca illustrated in Hacker et al. (2012) perfectly. Thus, it can be concluded that the holotype of M. xantholeuca actually belongs to the genus Ezishnola (comb. n.), and the correct male genitalia of this species are illustrated here ( Figs 48–49 View Figures 44–49 ).

Interestingly, a single male specimen from Gabon with an identical male genitalia configuration to E. xantholeuca was found, although it has a notably darker forewing colouration. In the ML analysis, this specimen was recovered as a direct sister to E. xantholeuca and belongs to the BIN URI: BOLD AEL6060; therefore, it cannot be ruled out that the Gabonese specimen represents a distinct taxon. However, due to the absence of a female specimen matching this BIN URI, there is currently no conclusive morphological evidence to support the taxonomic distinctness of this single Gabonese specimen, and it is treated here tentatively as E. xantholeuca .