Amauris (Amaura) albimaculata interposita Talbot, 1940

Larsen 1996: pl. 27, fig. 393 i. d ’ Abrera 1997: 191 (1 fig., of A. albimaculata albimaculata). Kielland 1990: 272 (3 figs, of other subspecies).SI: Figure 5a – d.

Forewing length: male 31 – 38 mm [mean (n = 13) 34.75 mm, SD = 1.689]; female 35.5 – 40 mm [mean (n = 5) 38.12 mm, SD = 1.165].

Note: see Appendix 3 regarding a potential problem with the subspecies name applicable to this taxon.

Records

Known from the Northern Highlands, including Mt Kwaraha, the Mbulu Mountains, Oldeani-Ngorongoro, and Meru, Kilimanjaro and Longido, at 1200 – 2600 m (Kielland 1990, p. 74). The type locality is ‘ West Kilimanjaro, Ngare-Nairobi ’, with a paratype female collected at over 2200 m on Mt Meru (Talbot 1940, p. 327). The BMNH has numerous specimens of both sexes collected from West Kilimanjaro by Cooper, including the types. OUMNH has material from New Moshi (Lamborn), north Kilimanjaro (Kenya), and slopes of Kilimanjaro (ex Rogers). Said by Aurivillius (1911a, p. 77, as A. albimaculata hanningtoni Butler, 1888) to be very common on Kilimanjaro, Liseki (2009) encountered this butterfly on the mountain in November 2001, at 2000 m. Beyond Tanzania this subspecies occurs in Kenya (central and west) and Unyoro District, Uganda (Talbot 1940, p. 327). With a total of eight recognized races, A. albimaculata Butler, 1875, is generally a highland butterfly found in eastern Africa, from Somalia to Natal, but also in DRC and Cameroun (Ackery et al. 1995, p. 272).