Even hotter hotspot: description of seven new species of many-plumed moths (Lepidoptera, Alucitidae) from Mount Cameroon.

Mount Cameroon, SW Cameroon, has already been described as a unique hotspot of the many-plumed moth (Lepidoptera, Alucitidae), with their local diversity unrivalled in the entire Afrotropics. We confirm its importance with description of seven new species: Alucita bakweri Ustjuzhanin & Kovtunovich, sp. nov. , Alucita jana Ustjuzhanin & Kovtunovich, sp. nov. , Alucita bakingili Ustjuzhanin & Kovtunovich, sp. nov. , Alucita tatjana Ustjuzhanin & Kovtunovich, sp. nov. , Alucita zuza Ustjuzhanin & Kovtunovich, sp. nov. , Alucita deja Ustjuzhanin & Kovtunovich, sp. nov. , and Alucita bokwango Ustjuzhanin & Kovtunovich, sp. nov. These descriptions have raised the known local diversity of many-plumed moth species on Mount Cameroon to 22, i.e., over a quarter of the known Afrotropical biodiversity of this group. This study also emphasises the great conservation importance of the area.
(Peter Ustjuzhanin, Vasily Kovtunovich, Vincent Maicher, Szabolcs Sáfián, Sylvain Delabye, Alexander Streltzov, Robert Tropek.)