Euceros ibex Hopkins, Nascimento & Santos 2026, sp. nov.

Euceros ibex Hopkins, Nascimento & Santos sp. nov. Figs 1 A – F, 2 A – K, 3 A – D Material examined. Six females, basic data here and complete data in the Zenodo repository (Hopkins et al. 2026). Holotype. Uganda • ♀; Kibale National Park, Malaise trap R 01 T 1; 0.5532 ° N, 30.3592 ° E; 13–28 Aug. 2015; Tapani Hopkins leg.; ZMUT http://mus.utu.fi/ ZMUT.28283. Paratypes. Uganda • ♀; Kibale National Park, Malaise trap R 98 T 2; 0.5532 ° N, 30.3579 ° E; 13–28 Aug. 2015; Tapani Hopkins leg.; ZMUT http://mus.utu.fi/ ZMUT.3188 • ♀; Kibale National Park, Malaise trap R 93 T 1; 0.5653 ° N, 30.3568 ° E; 7–14 Sep. 2015; Tapani Hopkins leg.; ZMUT http://mus.utu.fi/ ZMUT.26636 • ♀; Kibale National Park, Malaise trap K 13 T 1; 0.5932 ° N, 30.3598 ° E; 10–27 Aug. 2015; Tapani Hopkins leg.; GenBank: PZ 868595; ZMUT http://mus.utu.fi/ ZMUT.28249. Other material. Cameroon • ♀; Ebogo, Malaise trap 2; 3.3917 ° N, 11.4706 ° E; 6 Oct. 2024; GenBank: PZ 868596; NMPC THNMP 000391 • ♀; Nkoemvon; 2.815 ° N, 11.132 ° E; 1 Aug – 30 Sep 1980; NHMUK 010888236. Diagnosis. Female: Only known mainland Afrotropical Euceros species. The lateral black spots of the metasoma may be a useful additional character to tell it apart from the Malagasy species E. madecassus (but see Remarks). Male: unknown, but likely to share the same diagnostic characters, since other Euceros species are not known to differ strongly between sexes except for the antennae. Description. Holotype female http://mus.utu.fi/ ZMUT.28283. Fore wing length 8.7 mm. Head. Mandibles stout, with dorsal tooth slightly longer than ventral. Margin of clypeus convex when viewed from the front (Fig. 2 B). Clypeal sulcus between clypeus and face not impressed, with no clear border between the clypeus and the rest of the face (Fig. 2 B). Face about 1.3–1.4 times as wide as high (Fig. 2 B). Occipital carina and hypostomal carina reach the base of the mandibles without merging (Fig. 2 C). Ridge-like carina in between antennal sockets (Fig. 2 D). Antennae with 33 flagellomeres. Antennae very slightly flattened and broadened near centre. Mesosoma. Pronotum with a mediodorsal lobe (Fig. 2 E), the apex of which has a concave notch (Fig. 2 F). Epomia absent. Mesoscutum smooth with fine hairs, with strongly impressed notauli (Fig. 2 E). Mesopleuron smooth, with sternaulus absent and with epicnemial carina reaching above level of lower corner of pronotum. Propodeum smooth; anterior transverse carina absent; posterior transverse carina present in between lateral longitudinal carinae, but very weak (Fig. 2 G, H); lateral longitudinal carinae present posterior to the posterior transverse carina, absent otherwise (Fig. 2 G, H). Pleural carina absent, so there is no clear border between the propodeum and metapleuron (Fig. 2 I). Submetapleural carina anteriorly expanded into a rounded lobe (Fig. 2 I). Legs with tarsal claws pectinate. Wings. Fore wing with 2 rs-m long and very close to 2 m-cu, so that the segment of M between the two veins is much shorter than 2 rs-m (Fig. 2 J). 3 rs-m absent (Fig. 2 J). 2 m-cu with one bulla (Fig. 2 J). 1 m-cu & M with a very short ramulus (Fig. 2 J). Metasoma. Spiracle of tergite 1 anterior to centre (Fig. 2 H). Tergite 1 smooth, with lateromedian carinae stretching from the anterior corners diagonally towards the middle, to about 0.4 times the length of the tergite (Fig. 2 G, H). Tergite 2 with an anterior transverse groove (Fig. 2 G, H), similar grooves on at least tergites 3–4, although not as easily visible due to being covered by preceding tergite. Ovipositor very small and weakly sclerotised (Fig. 2 K). Colour. General colour yellow. Black mandibular teeth, area between antennal sockets, interocellar area, vertex, two median spots anterior and posterior on mesoscutum and two lateral stripes on mesoscutum, two lateral spots on anterior propodeum, lateral spots on tergites 2–6. Antennae dark brown. Hind tarsi dark brown. Wings hyaline but with denser hairs making the forewings slightly darker apically. Remarks. Euceros ibex sp. nov. is easy to recognise since there are only two other known African species, of which E. madecassus is likely confined to Madagascar. The other African species, E. tunetanus, from North Africa outside the Afrotropics, is mostly black (Barron 1978), and has clear morphological differences (e. g., face densely punctate or granulate, as opposed to polished: Schmiedeknecht 1900; Gauld and Wahl 2002). In the material we have examined, E. ibex sp. nov. also differs from E. madecassus in the lateral black spots of the metasoma: the spots are present from tergite 2 onwards in the Ugandan material and absent in the Cameroonian material, whereas E. madecassus has the spots from tergite 3 onwards. However, when comparing specimens to E. madecassus it should be noted that some of the available information about that species is contradictory. Gauld and Wahl (2002) claim it has vestigial notauli and that the submetapleural carina is not expanded into a lobe, and a photograph of the holotype shows no submetapleural lobe (MNHN and Hervé 2014); yet notauli are clearly visible in photographs of the holotype and other specimens (MNHN and Hervé 2014; van Noort 2025), photographs of other specimens seem to show a submetapleural lobe (van Noort 2025), and the non-type specimen we examined has a submetapleural lobe. These may be data errors or unclear photographs, but we have a sneaking suspicion several (likely undescribed) species are involved and are being misidentified as E. madecassus. The Ugandan and Cameroonian specimens of E. ibex sp. nov. differ substantially in their COI barcode (3.67 %), and show milder differences in morphology and colour. We suspect they may be two separate species, but do not feel confident enough to split the species until more material can be examined. Variation. The posterior transverse carina of the propodeum varies from very weak to missing in the Ugandan specimens, and is very weak in both Cameroonian specimens. The number of flagellomeres varies from 31 to 33 in the Ugandan specimens (http://mus.utu.fi/ ZMUT.28249 not examined), and is 31 in the Cameroonian specimen THNMP 000391 (the other Cameroonian specimen NHMUK 010888236 has broken antennae). The fore wing length of the Cameroonian specimen THNMP 000391 is 9.4 mm (cf. Ugandan holotype http://mus.utu.fi/ ZMUT.28283 8.7 mm; other specimens not measured). The ramulus in the fore wing varies from vestigial to absent in the Ugandan specimens, and is absent in Cameroonian specimen THNMP 000391 (other Cameroonian specimen NHMUK 010888236 not examined). The Ugandan specimens have a clearer concave notch on the mediodorsal lobe of the pronotum than the Cameroonian specimens, whose lobe is very shallowly incised, if at all. However, this character is very hard to see accurately on some specimens. The general colour varies from bright yellow (the holotype http://mus.utu.fi/ ZMUT.28283, and paratype http://mus.utu.fi/ ZMUT.3188), to faded whitish yellow with the tip of the metasoma bright yellow (paratypes http://mus.utu.fi/ ZMUT.26636, http://mus.utu.fi/ ZMUT.28249), to dark yellow (Cameroonian specimens, cf. Fig. 3). The head of Cameroonian specimen THNMP 000391 is a burnt ochre in colour, the other Cameroonian specimen NHMUK 010888236 bright yellow. We suspect much of this colour variation may be due to fading or preservation (e. g. THNMP 000391 had the inner tissues digested for DNA extraction), and that the holotype is closest to the natural colour. The Ugandan specimens have lateral black spots on tergites 2 onwards (Fig. 1 B), while the Cameroonian specimens lack these spots (Fig. 3 B). Etymology. The specific epithet refers to the shape of the antennae, which resemble the horns of an ibex goat, and is a noun in apposition. The name was suggested by readers of the first authors local newspaper, Österbottens Tidning, who in 2026 sent in name suggestions and voted among five of the suggested names. Holotype condition. The left fore wing of the holotype is loose.