Trogocrada deleter Tams, 1953

Taberer, Tabitha R. & László, Gyula M., 2022, A contribution to the knowledge of the slug moths (Zygaenoidea: Limacodidae) of the Maputo Special Reserve, Metamorphosis 33 (1), pp. 6-20 : 9-10

Trogocrada deleter Tams, 1953 ( Figs 33–34 , 52 )

Trogocrada deleter Tams, 1953 , Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History (Entomology), 3(2): 70. Type locality: [ Mozambique], Portuguese E. Africa, Micaune. Holotype, male (NHMUK).

Trogocrada dimorpha Janse, 1964 syn. nov. The Moths of South Africa Volume VII: Limacodidae . Transvaal Museum , Pretoria, 105. Type locality: South Africa, Zululand, Dukuduku. Holotype, male (TMSA).

Type material examined:

Holotype of Trogocrada deleter . Male: red circle “Type HT” label / handwritten “ Trogocrada deleter Tams Holotype ♂” / handwritten “Portuguese E. Africa Micaune B.M. 1953-666” / QR code label with unique id. NHMUK 010917876 .

Allotype of Trogocrada deleter . Female: yellow circle “Allotype” label / handwritten “ Trogocrada deleter Tams Allotype ♀ ” / handwritten “Portuguese E. Africa Micaune B.M. 1953-666” / QR code label with unique id. NHMUK 010917872 .

Material examined: Mozambique, MSR. 5 males, West Gate (Sand Forest, Sand Thicket), 22 m, 26°30′14.2″S, 32°42′59.6″E, 21–22.ii.2018, László, G., Mulvaney, J., Smith, L. leg. ANHRT:2018.2 ; 1 male, same site and collectors, 10–17.ii.2018, gen. slide No. LG5702 (male) ; 1 male, same site, 3–13.xii.2016, Aristophanous, M., Cristóvão, J., László, G., Miles, W. leg., ANHRT:2017.22 ; 2 males, same site and collectors, 21–30.xi.2016 ; 2 males, Ponta Milibangalala (Dune Grassland, Dune Forest Ecotone), 15 m, 26°26′58.6″S, 32°55′29.8″E, 25– 30.v.2017, Aristophanous, M., László, G., Miles, W., Vetina, A. leg., ANHRT:2017.26 ; 1 male, same site, 30.xi– 3.xii.2016, Aristophanous, M., Cristóvão, J., László, G., Miles, W. leg., ANHRT:2017.22 ; 3 males, Futi Corridor (Sand Forest Woodland Mosaic), 17 m, 26°32′10.1″S, 32°43′09.7″E, 23–24.ii.2018, László, G., Mulvaney, J., Smith, L. leg. ANHRT:2018.2 ; 2 males, Mangrove Camp (Mangrove-Woodland Mosaic), 9 m, 26°19′35.9″S, 32°42′35.7″E, 7–9.xii.2016, Aristophanous, M., Cristóvão, J., László, G., Miles, W. leg. ANHRT:2017.22.

Distribution: This species is known from Mozambique, South Africa, and Tanzania.

Taxonomic note: Trogocrada dimorpha is identical in external morphology to T. deleter , whereby adult males possess blackish-brown forewings, a darker curved postmedial fascia, and the distal portion of the wing diffused with tawny brown. Hindwings are greyish in the basal area, diffusing to blackish-brown (see Figs 33 – 34 ). Females of the species display similar patterns although lighter brown, also possessing a darker curved postmedial fascia. Furthermore, both the description and image of Janse’s (1964) genitalia dissection of a male T. dimorpha specimen are identical to what is observed in a specimen of T. deleter from MSR (see Fig. 52 ). These species have highly modified genitalia in contrast to other members of the Limacodidae (e.g. Latoia , Parasa ), characterised by a very narrow, pointed uncus, two latero-distal processi of the tegumen, and a gnathos comprised of three, flat, sclerotised, apically rounded lobes. The valvae are short and wide, with long hairs at the apex. Despite the large number of highly modified characters of the male genitalia, no differences were found between the original illustration of T. dimorpha and the Mozambican specimen identified as T. deleter , suggesting that the two names refer to the same species.

Janse (1964) described T. dimorpha as a new species based merely on Tams’ (1953) original description of T. deleter without examining the type or any material: “I have not seen a specimen of this species” ( Janse, 1964). The only difference Janse (1964) specifies between the two species is that the female of T. dimorpha is lighter in colour than the males. However, similar sexual dimorphism is also observed in T. deleter when looking at the female allotype and its characters described by Tams (1953). In conclusion, due to the identical morphological features, T. deleter is here considered a senior synonym of T. dimorpha Janse, 1964 syn. nov.

Figures

Figures 26–37. Adults (collected in the MSR and deposited in coll. ANHRT). 26 – Zinara cymatoides, female; 27 – ibidem, male; 28 – Micraphe lateritia, male; 29 – ibidem, male; 30 – Neomocena convergens, male; 31 – ibidem, male; 32 – ibidem, male; 33 – Trogocrada deleter, male; 34 – ibidem, male; 35 – Niphadolepis auricincta, male; 36 – ibidem, male; 37 – Unidentified Limacodinae sp., male.

Figures 50–52. Male genitalia of Limacodidae (a: clasping apparatus; b: phallus). 50 – Gavara velutina (MSR), genitalia slide No. LG5703 (ANHRT); 51 – Unidentified Limacodinae sp. (MSR), genitalia slide no. LG 5704 (ANHRT); 52 – Trogocrada deleter (MSR), genitalia slide No. TT 074 (ANHRT).