Meganola foviferoides
Creators: name: László, Gyula M.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Nolidae
Meganola
Meganola foviferoides

description: Meganola foviferoides (Poole, 1989)
(Figs 44–45, 82–83, 103)
Nola foviferoides Poole, 1989, Lepidopterorum Catalogus 118, Noctuidae: Part II: 695. Type locality: [Zambia] N.E. Rhodesia, Fort Jameson. Holotype, ♂ (NHMUK).
Nola fovifera Hampson, 1911, Annals and Magazine of Natural History (8)8: 397. Nom. praeocc., junior secondary homonym of Celama fovifera Hampson, 1903.
= Meganola longisigna Hacker, 2012, Esperiana 17: 418, syn. n.
= Meganola politzari Hacker, 2012, Esperiana 17: 511, syn. n.
Type material examined. Holotype. ♂, red ring type label, “N.E. Rhodesia, Ft. Jameson, to Lundazi, 4,000 ft. 9.VI.1910. S.A. Neave, 1910-406.”, with handwritten: “ Nola fovifera type ♂. Hmpsn.”, NHMUK 010598825, Arctiidae gen. slide No. 536 (NHMUK).
Additional material examined. Togo. 2 ♂, 415m, Fazao-Malfakassa NP, Point de vue campsite (Sudanian savannah), 8°48’50”N, 0°49’3.2”E, 16–23.viii.2018, Actinic Light Trap, Aristophanous, M., Geiser, M., Moretto, P., Sanbena, B. leg., ANHRT:2018.31, slide Nos.: LGNA 597 ♂, LGNA 598 ♂. Cameroon. Long series of both sexes, 900m, North Region, Wack (La Falaise), 07°40’16.5”N, 13°33’18.4”E, 2–21.x.2018, Cold Cathode UV Light Trap, Sáfián, Sz., Simonics, G. leg., ANHRT:2018.36, slide Nos: LGNA 578, LGNA 579, LGNA 855 (all ♀) (ANHRT). Zambia. 1 ♂, 1030m, Kundabwika Falls, Kalungwishi River, S 09°13’00”, E29°18’17”, 5–7. V.2013, Light Trap, leg. Smith, Takano & Oram, ANHRT:2017.9, slide No.: LGNA 32 ♂; 1 ♀, 1191 m, Kasanka River Pontoon, Kasanka N.P. S12°34’23”, E30°14’05”, 2–4.XII.2012, Light Trap, leg. Smith, R. & Takano, H., ANHRT:2017.7, slide No.: LGNA 33 ♀; 1 ♂, 2 ♀, 1416m, Changwena Falls, N. Swaka F. R., Copperbelt, S13°22’48”, E29°33’18”, 27– 28.X.2014, Light Trap, leg. Smith, Takano & Oram, ANHRT:2017.12, slide Nos: LGNA 95 ♂, LGNA 34 ♀, LGNA 37 ♀; 1 ♂, 1166 m, Ntumbachushi Falls, Ngona River, Luapula Prov., S09°51’12”, E28°56’40”, 12–13. V.2013, Light Trap, leg. Smith, Takano & Oram, ANHRT:2017.9, slide No.: LGNA 58 ♂; 1 ♂, same locality and collectors, but 3–4.XI.2014, slide No.: LGNA 17 ♂; 1 ♂, 1 ♀, 1160m, Lake Kashiba, Mpongwe, S13°26’55”, E27°56’40” 25–26.X.2014, Light Trap, leg. Smith, Takano & Oram, ANHRT:2017.12, slide Nos: LGNA 101 ♀, LGNA 102 ♂; 2 ♀, 1320m, Lukangaba F. R., Mansa, S11°25’18”; E28°58’34”, 30–31.X.2014, Light Trap, leg. Smith, Takano & Oram, ANHRT:2017.12, slide Nos: LGNA 106 ♀, LGNA 108 ♀ (ANHRT).
Remark. The clasping apparatus of the holotype of M. foviferoides had not been mounted in a flattened position during the preparation of the genitalia and has therefore proved difficult to compare with other genitalia that have been prepared and mounted in the standard fashion. This is likely the reason why Hacker was unable to recognise the identical genitalia characters of M. foviferoides and M. longisigna Hacker, 2012. Nevertheless, aside from the external similarity between the holotype of M. foviferoides and the specimens of M. longisigna illustrated in Hacker et al. (2012: 418), the main distinctive characters of the male genitalia are visible even on the poorly prepared genitalia slide of M. foviferoides, namely: the long, robust, almost straight, pointed uncus, the medially curved, apically dilated and broadly rounded valva, the relatively large and thick, medially incurved, apically broadly rounded harpe and the small, but conspicuous, thorn-like tooth of the carina. Based on a misinterpretation of the visible characters of this slide, Hacker suggested M. spermophaga to be a junior synonym of the M. foviferoides, despite the dissimilarities between the shape of the uncus, valva, harpe and aedeagus of the two species. Furthermore, the species was mistakenly described by Hacker 93 pages later in the monograph under the name M. politzari (Hacker et al. 2012: 511). As there is no noticeable difference between these three species, neither in habitus nor in genital morphology, M. longisigna and M. politzari are synonymised here with M. foviferoides. The rather polymorphic and abundant species is widely distributed throughout the open woodlands of Sub-Saharan Africa from Ivory Coast throughout Southern Ethiopia, reaching NW Zambia and Malawi in Southern Africa. Based on the extensive material of M. foviferoides housed in the ANHRT collection, the species can be considered as one of the most common and widely distributed Nolinae in Africa. The closest relative of M. foviferoides is M. obliquivittata Hacker, 2012 described from Madagascar.
Distribution. Zambia (the type locality of M. foviferoides was erroneously given as Zimbabwe in Hacker et al. (2012)), in addition, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi, Cameroon, D.R. Congo, Burundi, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Togo (Hacker et al. 2012).
description: Published as part of László, Gyula M., 2020, Review of the genus Meganola Dyar, 1898 of Ivory Coast and adjacent areas with descriptions of 5 new species and several taxonomic updates (Lepidoptera Nolidae, Nolinae) - Taxonomic studies on West African Nolinae I., pp. 151-182 in Zootaxa 4853 (2) on pages 173-174, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4853.2.1, http://zenodo.org/record/4410542