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

description: Meganola lucia (van Son, 1933)
(Figs 11–13, 61, 92)
Roeselia lucia van Son, 1933, Annals of the Transvaal Museum 15: 227. Type locality: [RSA] Zululand, St. Lucia Lake. Holotype, ♂ (TMSA).
= Meganola togatulella Hacker, 2012, Esperiana 17: 243, syn. n.
= Meganola subterminalis Hacker, 2012, Esperiana 17: 314, syn. n.
= Meganola lupii Hacker & Hausmann, 2012, Esperiana 17: 505, syn. n.
Material examined. Ivory Coast. 2 ♂, 1 ♀, 174m Tai NP., Tai Research Station (SRET), 05°50’00”N, 07°20’32.0”W, 25.III.–17.IV.2017, MV light, Aristophanous, A., Aristophanous, M., Geiser, M., Moretto, P. leg., ANHRT:2017.25, slide Nos: LGNA 472 ♂, LGNA 979 ♂, LGNA 420 ♀. Cameroon. 2 ♂, 1246m, Adamawa Region, Adamawa Plateau, 7.3km West of Bazanga, Chute de Tello, 07°13’50.6”N, 13°56’29.2”E, 24–30.ix.2018, MV Light Trap, Sáfián, Sz., Simonics, G. leg., ANHRT:2018.36, slide No.: LGNA 567 ♂. Zambia. 1 ♂, 1080m, Mayukuyuku, Kafue, N.P., S14°54’55, E26°03’47”, 9–11.IV.2014, Light Trap, leg. Smith, R., Takano, H., Chmurova, L., Smith, L., ANHRT:2017.11, slide No.: LGNA 50 ♂; 1 ♀, 1400 m, Hillwood, Ikelenge, S11°16’02”, E24°18’59”, 17– 24.III.2013, Light Trap, leg. Smith, R. & Takano, H., ANHRT:2017.8, slide No.: LGNA 79 ♀. Mozambique. 1 ♀, Maputo Special Reserve, 9m, Mangrove Camp, Mangrove-Woodland Mosaic, 26°19’35.9”S, 32°42’35.7”E, 7–9.XII.2016, Light Trap, Aristophanous, M., Cristovao, J., László, G., Miles, W. leg., ANHRT:2017.22, slide No.: LGNA 352♀; 1 ♂, 15m, nr Swamp Forest, Sand Thicket, 26°27’59”S, 32°54’16”E, 28. V.2017, Actinic Light Trap, Aristophanous, M., László, G., Miles, W., Vetina, A. leg., ANHRT:2017.26, slide No.: LGNA 381♂; 1 ♂, 11m, forest clearing campsite, Sand Forest, 26°17’24”S, 32°45’45”E, 29–12. VI.2017, MV Light Trap, Aristophanous, M., László, G., Miles, W., Vetina, A. leg., ANHRT:2017.26, slide No.: LGNA 382♂; 1 ♂, 22m, Maputo Special Reserve, West Gate, Sand Forest, 26°30’14.2”S, 32°42’59.6”E, 13–15.II.2018, MV Light Trap, László, G., Mulvaney, J., Smith, L. leg., ANHRT:2018.2, slide No.: LGNA 447♂ (ANHRT).
Remark. Hacker et al. (2012) illustrated a drawing of the male genitalia of M. lucia (van Son, 1933) taken from the original description of the species. László & Vetina (2019) provided photographic figures of both the male and female genitalia of M. lucia for the first time based on specimens from South Mozambique. M. lucia slightly resembles the Palaearctic Meganola togatulalis (Hübner, 1796) with its darker medial area of the forewing and a characteristically arcuate medial line. Numerous specimens with similar habitus in the ANHRT collection from different countries display identical genital morphology suggesting the species has a much wider distribution than was previously thought. Meganola togatulella Hacker, 2012 was described based on a single female specimen collected in Uganda. Females with the same external habitus from Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Zambia and Mozambique display identical genital morphology to that illustrated in the description of M. togatulella (Hacker et al. 2012: 243). As the females were collected at the same time and site with externally identical males (including in South Mozambique near the type locality of M. lucia), M. togatulella, subterminalis and lupii are here synonymised with M. lucia.
Distribution. South Africa, Ethiopia, D.R. Congo, Uganda (Hacker et al. 2012) and Mozambique (László & Vetina 2019). Specimens from Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Zambia represent new country records.
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 159-161, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4853.2.1, http://zenodo.org/record/4410542