Afrocerura bifasciata bifasciata ( Janse, 1920 )

Mulvaney, Lydia R. J., 2021, Notes on the life history and taxonomy of Cerurina marshalli (Noctuoidea: Notodontidae: Cerurinae), Metamorphosis 32 (1), pp. 1-12 : 6-7

Afrocerura bifasciata bifasciata ( Janse, 1920)

( Figs 20‒21 , genitalia Figs 37‒38, 46)

Cerura bifasciata Janse, 1920: 171 .

Afrocerura leonensis bifasciata ( Janse, 1920) : Kiriakoff, 1963: 213.

Afrocerura bifasciata bifasciata ( Janse, 1920) : Schintlmeister & Witt, 2015: 31.

Name bearing type:

Holotype ♀ ( Fig. 20 ): “// Cerura / bifasciata Janse. [handwritten] / Type No. 1655 [number handwritten] // S. Rhodesia / ex. Bulaw. Mus. [handwritten] // Photo done by / A. SCHINTLMEISTER / #25.977 [yellow label]//” ( TMSA).

Additional material examined: (all ANHRT) ZAMBIA. 1♂ – 1400 m, Kankonde Camp , Mutinondo Stream, 12°23′29″S, 31°19′24″E, 12‒15.xi.2014, MV Light Trap, leg. Smith, R. & Takano, H., ANHRT:2017.12, ANHRTUK00073573 , Gen. slide No. LG5364 ♂; 1♂ – 1197 m, Bufumu Forest , Kasanka National Park, 12°29′50″S, 30°11′31″E, 1.xii.2012, Actinic Light, leg. Smith, R. & Takano, H., ANHRT:2017.7, ANHRTUK00073572 , Gen. slide No. LG5363 ♂; 1♂ – 1340 m, Jiwundu swamp, 11°51′54″S, 25°33′20″E, 21‒24. xi.2014, MV Light Trap, leg. Smith, R. & Takano, H., ANHRT:2017.12, ANHRTUK00010143 , ANHRT GEN. SLIDE NO. 00313 ♂; 2♀♀ – 1179 m, Greystone, Kitwe , Copperbelt Province, 12°55′50″S, 28°14′29″E, 17‒18.xi.2014, MV Light Trap, leg. Smith, R. & Takano, H., ANHRT:2017.12, ANHRTUK00043083 and ANHRTUK00042917 , ANHRT GEN. SLIDE NO. 00316 ♀.

Remarks

This species was originally described from a single female specimen from Zimbabwe. Kiriakoff (1963: 214) designated a (redundant) neallotype (NHMUK) and transferred bifasciata to the genus Afrocerura as a subspecies of A. leonensis . Schintlmeister & Witt (2015) considered bifasciata to be a good species, a view which is upheld here. As previously stated under leonensis , the morphological differences between the genitalia of leonensis and bifasciata are found to be distinctive enough to consider them as being separate species. The male genitalia and habitus of true bifasciata are illustrated here for the first time (Figs 37‒38, 21).

Distribution

The specimens collected in Zambia represent a new country record. The species is now known from Zimbabwe, Tanzania (De Prins & De Prins, 2019) and Zambia.

Figures

Figures 18–31: Adults of examined Afrocerura spp. (all ANHRT, unless otherwise indicated), arrows indicate diagnostic generic characters. 18. A. leonensis, holotype ♀, Sierra Leone (NHMUK), a. antemedial fascia often interrupted or deleted entirely, b. subterminal fascia almost always present; 19. A. leonensis, Guinea, Dalaba (ANHRTUK00103029, LG5368♂); 20. A. bifasciata bifasciata, holotype ♀, Zimbabwe, (Type no. 1655) (TMSA); 21. A. bifasciata bifasciata, Zambia, Kasanka N.P. (ANHRTUK00073572, LG5363♂); 22. A. bifasciata tanganyikae, holotype ♂ [without holotype label] Kenya, Mombassa (NHMUK); 23. A. thomensis, holotype ♂, São Tomé (NHMUK); 24. A. thomensis, paratype (allotype) ♀, São Tomé (NHMUK); 25. A. thomensis, São Tomé, Bom Successo (ANHRTUK00041722, LG5362♂); Comparative specimens of A. cameroona: 26. A. cameroona, Gabon, Ivindo N.P. (ANHRTUK00044930, ANHRT slide no. 00521♂); 27. A. cameroona, holotype ♀, Cameroon, Bitye, (NHMUK); 28. A. cameroona, Zambia, Kitwe (ANHRTUK00081593, ANHRT slide no. 00523♀); 29. A. cameroona, Zambia, Kafue N.P. (ANHRTUK00081592, ANHRT slide no. 00522♂); 30. ♀(ZMHB) & 31. ♂ (ZMHB) A. cameroona, (=Cerura argentina Schultze, 1916 syntypes), Süd-Kamerun, Molundu.