Meganola bispermutata Hacker 2012
Creators: name: László, Gyula M.
name: Vetina, Alvaro A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Nolidae
Meganola
Meganola bispermutata

description: Meganola bispermutata Hacker, 2012
(Figs 32, 33, 60, 80)
Meganola bispermutata Hacker, 2012, Esperiana 17: 368. Type locality: RSA, EC, Port St-Jones. Holotype male, in coll. Legrain, later MRAC.
= Meganola meridianissima Hacker, 2012 syn. n.
= Meganola kakamega Hacker, 2012 syn. n.
Material examined: Mozambique, Maputo Special Reserve. 2 ♀, 22m, West Gate, Sand Forest, 26°30'14.2"S, 32°42'59.6"E, 3–13.XII.2016, Light Trap, Aristophanous, M., Cristovao, J., Laszlo, G., Miles, W. leg., slide Nos: LGNA 355 ♀, LGNA 521 ♀; 1 ♀, same locality and collectors, but Sand Thicket, collected at 21–30.XI.2016, slide No.: LGNA 520 ♀; 1 ♀, same locality, but collected at 24–25.II.2018, Actinic Light Trap, Laszlo, G., Mulvaney, J., Smith, L., slide No.: LGNA 522 ♀; 4 ♂, 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., Laszlo, G., Miles, W. leg., slide Nos: LGNA 356 ♂, LGNA 357 ♂, LGNA 358 ♂, LGNA 359 ♂ (coll. ANHRT).
Taxonomic notes. M. bispermutata was described from Port St. Jones in Eastern Cape province of the RSA. The species is very similar externally to M. swierstrai (van Son, 1933) described from Transvaal, Pietersburg District. Although the holotype of M. swierstrai, deposited in the TMSA, Pretoria, has not been dissected, the male genitalia of the paratype found in the NHMUK looking convincingly conspecific with the holotype was dissected by Hacker and figured in his revision. Comparison of the male genitalia of the paratype specimen of M. swiestrai and M. bispermutata lead to the conclusion that the two species are different and easily distinguishable based on their male genitalia (Hacker et al 2012). Several further species described by Hacker (2012) display, however, no difference in genitalia and external characters compared to M. bispermutata, therefore Meganola meridianissima Hacker, 2012 (described also from South Africa) and Meganola kakamega Hacker, 2012 (described from Kenya) are synonymized here with M. bispermutata due to the lack of any distinctive features. Further two species, i.e. M. stigmatolalis Hacker, 2012 (described from Ethiopia) and M. cryptochra Hacker, 2012 (from Cameroon), are also very similar to M. bispermutata, however the slight differences in their genitalia and the fact that their distribution area is rather remote from that of M. bispermutata may justify their taxonomic distinctness at least on subspecific rank. The specimens collected in the Maputo Special Reserve are undoubtedly conspecific with M. bispermutata. New country record for Mozambique.
description: Published as part of László, Gyula M. & Vetina, Alvaro A., 2019, Contribution to the knowledge of the Nolini of the Maputo Special Reserve in South Mozambique with description of two new species and several taxonomic updates (Lepidoptera, Nolidae, Nolinae), pp. 225-246 in Zootaxa 4571 (2) on page 236, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4571.2.3, http://zenodo.org/record/2608276