ABSTRACT
The genus Lecithocera Herrich-Schffer, 1853 in the Democratic Republic of theCongo (DR Congo) is reviewed, with descriptions of four new species: Lecithocera katangaica Park, sp. nov., L. seydeliella Park, sp. nov., L. cornutispina Park, sp. nov., and L. lusingensis Park, sp. nov. Five species are already recorded from this country: 1) L. chloroscia Meyrick described from DR Congo; 2) L. lucernata Meyrick previously reported from DR Congo by Ghesquire in 1940; 3) L. trifera Meyrick and 4) L. xanthochalca Meyrick, their generic assignments still remain doubtable; and 5) L. ideologa Meyrick. Lecithocera dicentropa Meyrick, 1938 is synonymized as a junior synonym of L. ideologa Meyrick. Adults and the genitalia of the new species and L. ideologa Meyrick are illustrated, and a lectotype for L. trifera Meyrick is designated herein.
Subject(s)
Lepidoptera , Moths , Animals , Democratic Republic of the Congo , Animal Distribution , GenitaliaABSTRACT
The taxonomy and nomenclature of three South-East Asian species of Amata all named leopoldi is clarified. Leopoldina leopoldi Hering, 1934 syn. n., is synonymized with Amata sperbius (Fabricius, 1787), Syntomis leopoldi Hering, 1934 is transferred to Amata as Amata leopoldi (Hering, 1934) comb. n. and Syntomis leopoldi Tams, 1935 is renamed as Amata tamsi nom. n., due to its primary homonymy with Syntomis leopoldi Hering, 1934. A synonymic list of the three species is provided, together with a colour plate of the holotypes and other relevant specimens.
Subject(s)
Moths , Animals , ColorABSTRACT
Taxonomy is the basic discipline in biology. The taxonomist defines each taxon and provides a unique name for it. Of the systematic categories, the species level is crucial. When a species is described and named, great care should be taken to ensure that all information related to the name is correct. Information on ecology, biology, distribution, etc. is linked to the name, and may be added and repeated in subsequent literature. Great confusion may arise from ambiguous descriptions and/or mislabelled figures. Therefore editors should take special care to ensure that taxonomic papers containing descriptions of new taxa receive careful refereeing and editing. Here we present a case where descriptions of new species became misleading when the labels of the type specimens were switched. If the manuscript had been more thoroughly refereed, the mistake could have been discovered and avoided.
Subject(s)
Lepidoptera , AnimalsABSTRACT
In 1862, F. Walker described Darala lineosa in the family Liparidae (now Erebidae, subfamily Lymantriinae) on a single female (he stated that it is a male but see Swinhoe 1892: 209) from Australia (Walker 1862: 269). The genus Darala is now considered a synonym of the large genus Anthela which belongs to the Anthelidae, a family entirely confined to the Australian region with representatives in Australia and New Guinea (Edwards & Fairey 1996: 258). These authors mention 61 Anthela species with about the same amount of synonymic species-group names, but they do not cite Darala lineosa, already indicating that this species does not belong to the Australian fauna and hence that the indication of "Australia" in the original description, and repeated in Walker (1865: 369), is erroneous.
Subject(s)
Moths , Animal Distribution , Animals , Australia , Female , Male , New GuineaABSTRACT
ABSTRACT Gracillariidae (Lepidoptera) are commonly known by the leaf miner habit found in the larval stage of most species. By using worldwide, public databases on species diversity and DNA sequences available for extant gracillariid species, we determined changes in the rate of taxonomic species descriptions through time, mapped their spatial distributions, examined their phylogenetic diversification, and estimated the number of species yet to be described for the family in the Neotropics. We recovered 185 species, a number that is smaller than that found in any other biogeographic region. However, it was estimated that at least 3875 additional species remain to be described in the region. Phylogenetic diversification showed a pattern of expanding diversity. A few entomologists have been involved with gracillariid taxonomy in the Neotropics, having 39% of the species been described by a single taxonomist. In most of such cases, descriptions were based on the adults only. A few species have been described from biomes known to have some of the greatest diversity on earth, such as the Atlantic Forest. Thus, such a scenario results from low sampling and scarce taxonomic activity that has prevailed for this family of moths in the Neotropics. It may also be associated with their small body size and to the fact that gracillariids do not seem to be attracted to light traps as much as other moths, which make their collection and identification by non experts difficult. We also suggested scientific and political actions that could be adopted to overcome such an unfavorable scenario.
