The Lasiocampidae (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampoidea) of Maputo Special Reserve, Mozambique: a provisional checklist with descriptions of three new species and taxonomic notes
Author
Takano, Hitoshi
African Natural History Research Trust, Street Court, Leominster, HR 6 9 QA, UK.
Author
László, Gyula M.
0000-0001-9862-8290
African Natural History Research Trust, Street Court, Leominster, HR 6 9 QA, UK.
gyula.laszlo@anhrt.org.uk
text
Zootaxa
2024
2024-08-05
5492
2
231
259
http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5360.3.8
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.5492.2.5
1175-5326
13219306
4EBF5CFE-4C49-4D87-A4B2-514640ACED97
Bombycopsis (Bufoidia) nigrovittata
Aurivillius, 1927
(
Figs 49–53
)
[3B]—
1♂
; [3C]—
1♂
; [3D]—
1♂
; [4A]—
3♂♂
; [4B]—
1♀
; [4C]—
6♂♂
; [4D]—
17♂♂
; [4G]—
1♂
; [4H]—
4♂♂
; [4I]—
5♂♂
.
Remarks
. In
Joannou & Krüger’s (2009)
revision of
Bombycopsis
C. Felder & R.
Felder, 1874
,
B. (Bufoidia) pallida
Joannou & Krüger, 2009
, a sympatric new species allied to
B. nigrovittata
, was described based mainly on phenotypic differences despite noting the latter was very variable in colouration.
Prozorov
et al
. (2023)
found barcodes of both phenotypes to be almost identical (maximum PWD of 0.3%) and yet they maintained that “stable morphological differences” were not supported by the genetics in spite of the aforementioned variability of
B. nigrovittata
and the identical genitalia. Numerous specimens in ANHRT of
B. nigrovittata
(including insects with the
pallida
phenotype) from throughout its range (
South Africa
,
Tanzania
and
Zambia
) were recently barcoded and it is apparent that
B. pallida
is merely a pale form of
B. nigrovittata
and the former is synonymised with the latter, thus:
Bombycopsis (Bufoidia) nigrovittata
Aurivillius, 1927
=
B. (Bufoidia) pallida
Joannou & Krüger, 2009
syn. n.
(junior subjective synonymy).