Afroracotis (Afroracotis) squalida voeltzkowii ( Pagenstecher, 1907 ) László & Hausmann & Karisch, 2023

László, Gyula M., Hausmann, Axel & Karisch, Timm, 2023, Integrative taxonomic revision of the African taxa of the Racotis Moore, 1887 generic complex (Lepidoptera, Geometridae, Ennominae, Boarmiini), Zootaxa 5308 (1), pp. 1-109 : 19

Afroracotis (Afroracotis) squalida voeltzkowii ( Pagenstecher, 1907) comb. n.

( Figs 11–14 , 133–134 , 216 , 292 )

Boarmia voeltzkowii Pagenstecher, 1907 , in Voeltzkow, Reise in Ostafrika in den Jahren 1903–1905 2 ( Lepidoptera —Heterocera): 98, pl. 6, fig. 3. Syntypes, male, female Madagascar (east): Ile-aux-Prunes, Tamatave (MfN).

Type material examined

Lectotype (hereby designated), female, red label “Holotypus Nr.” / [blue label] “O.- Madagaskar Ile aux Prunes Tamatave Voeltzkow S. ” / [white label] “77879” / [with handwritten] “159”, gen. slide No.: 4781 (prepared by P. Viette) ( MfN).

Paralectotype (hereby designated), male, red label “Holotypus Nr.” / [blue label] “O.- Madagaskar Ile aux Prunes Tamatave Voeltzkow S. ” / [white label] “77877” / [with handwritten] “ Boarmia voeltzkowii (6 ♁, 2 ♀) Pagenst.*” / “1904” / “Characterschmetterling der Insel, sehr häufig” / “159”, gen. slide No.: TK 3458 ( MfN) .

Additional material examined

Comoros. 1 male, Moheli, Miringoni , 1.viii.1989, B. Turlin leg., gen. slide No.: LG 5047 ( ZSM G 20997 ), DNA barcode/BOLD process id.: BC ZSM Lep 74427/GWORK1355-15 ( ZSM) . Madagascar. 1 male, Diego Suarez , 16.iv.1917, G. Melou, gen. slide No.: LG 4100 ; 1 male, same locality and collector, but 21.iv.1917, gen. slide No.: TK 3326 ; 1 female, same locality and collector, but 12.v.1917, gen. slide No.: TK 3327 ; 1 female, Tananarivo , ree. from Stichel, gen. slide No.: LG 4101 ( NHMUK) .

Diagnosis. The male genitalia of the Madagascan and the nominotypical subspecies do not show any noticeable differences. In the female genitalia, however, ssp. voeltzkowii has a somewhat smaller, more elongate, less protruding cervix bursae which is larger and more sphaerical in the nominate subspecies (cf. figs. 290–292).

Genetic information. Afroracotis squalida voeltzkowii is genetically nearly identical to the nominate subspecies with pairwise distance ranging between 0.00–0.61%.

Distribution ( Map 1 ). This subspecies of A. squalida is endemic to Madagascar. The authors had no opportunity to examine a female specimen from the Comoros to confirm whether or not the Comoran population belongs to the Madagascan taxon, therefore the single A. squalida specimen from the Comoros is treated here tentatively as ssp. voeltzkowii .

Figures

MAP 1. Distribution of the Afroracotis (Afroracotis) squalida species-group.

FIGURES 1–20. Adults, dorsal view. 1. Racotis boarmiaria, LT, ♁, India (NHMUK); 2. Afroracotis squalida squalida, HT of Ophthalmodes squalida, ♀, Nigeria (NHMUK); 3. Ibidem, HT of Boarmia uhligi, ♀, Tanzania (MfN); 4. Ibidem, ♁, Cameroon (ANHRT); 5. Ibidem, ♁, Zambia (ANHRT); 6. Ibidem, ♁, Togo (ANHRT); 7. Ibidem, ♁, Gabon (ANHRT); 8. Ibidem, ♁, Ethiopia (RCDS); 9. Ibidem, ♀, Ethiopia (RCDS); 10. Ibidem, ♀, Cameroon (ANHRT); 11. A. s. voeltzkowii, LT of Boarmia voeltzkowii, ♁, Madagascar (MfN); 12. Ibidem, ♁, Comoros (ZSM); 13. Ibidem, ♁, Madagascar (NHMUK); 14. Ibidem, ♀, Madagascar (NHMUK); 15. A. s. thomensis ssp. n., HT, ♁, São Tomé (ANHRT); 16. Ibidem, PT, ♀, São Tomé (ANHRT); 17. Ibidem, ♀, PT, São Tomé (NHMUK); 18. A. incompletaria incompletaria, ♀, Réunion (ZSM); 19. A. i. atrilunaria, HT of Boarmia atrilunaria, ♀, Mauritius (NHMUK); 20. Ibidem, ♀, Mauritius (ANHRT).

FIGURES 131–150. Adults, ventral view. 131. Afroracotis squalida squalida, ♁, Cameroon (ANHRT); 132. Ibidem, ♀, Cameroon (ANHRT); 133. A. s. voeltzkowii, ♁, Comoros (ZSM); 134. Ibidem, ♀, Madagascar (NHMUK); 135. A. s. thomensis ssp. n., HT, ♁, São Tomé (ANHRT); 136. Ibidem, PT, ♀, São Tomé (ANHRT); 137. A. incompletaria incompletaria, ♀, Réunion (ZSM); 138. A. i. atrilunaria, HT of Boarmia atrilunaria, ♀, Mauritius (NHMUK); 139. A. aliena sp. n., HT, ♀, Tanzania (ANHRT); 140. A. angulosa, HT of Racotis angulosa, ♁, Cameroon (ZSM); 141. Ibidem, ♀, Cameroon (ZSM); 142. A. canui, HT of Racotis canui, ♁, São Tomé (ZSM); 143. Ibidem, ♁, Princípe (ZSM); 144. A. stadiei sp. n., PT, ♀, Tanzania (ZSM); 145. A. violetteae sp. n., HT, ♁, Guinea (ANHRT); 146. Ibidem, PT, ♀, Liberia (ANHRT); 147. A. fiebigi sp. n., HT, ♁, Liberia (ANHRT); 148. Ibidem, PT, ♀, Ethiopia (RCDS); 149. A. albitrigonis, ♁, São Tomé (ANHRT); 150. Ibidem, ♀, São Tomé (ANHRT).

FIGURES 211–216. Male genitalia, a: clasping apparatus, b: aedeagus. 211. Racotis boarmiaria, Nepal, slide No. LG 3677 (RCGL); 212. Afroracotis squalida squalida, Togo, slide No. LG 5434 (ANHRT); 213. Ibidem, Uganda, slide No. DS 229-2019 (RCDS); 214. Ibidem, Zambia, slide No. LG 4959 (ANHRT); 215. Ibidem, Ethiopia, slide No. DS 226-2019 (RCDS); 216. A. s. voeltzkowii, Madagascar, slide No. LG 4100 (NHMUK).

FIGURES 290–297. Female genitalia. 290. Afroracotis squalida squalida, Cameroon, slide No.: LG 4088 (NHMUK); 291. Ibidem, Tanzania, slide No.: LG 4068 (ANHRT); 292. A. s. voeltzkowii, Madagascar, slide No.: LG 4101 (NHMUK); 293. A. s. thomensis ssp. n., PT, São Tomé, slide No.: LG 5447 (ANHRT); 294. Ibidem, PT, São Tomé, slide No.: NHMUK 010316166 (NHMUK); 295. A. incompletaria incompletaria, Réunion, slide No.: LG 5048 (ZSM); 296. A. i. atrilunaria, Mauritius, slide No.: LG 4105 (NHMUK); 297. A. aliena sp. n., HT, Tanzania, slide No.: LG 4084 (ANHRT).