Vansoniella chirindensis gen. n., sp. n. – an unusual taxon with translucent wings from Zimbabwe (Lepidoptera, Limacodidae)

Abstract

The genus Vansoniella gen. n. is established to accommodate the species V. chirindensis sp. n., collected in Zimbabwe by Van Son in 1937. The new species differs externally from other African taxa by translucent fore-and hindwings in the male sex. The wing venation is highly derived and the male genitalia are also structurally different from other genera. The genus occupies an isolated position within the family.

A contribution to the knowledge of the slug moths (Zygaenoidea: Limacodidae) of the Maputo Special Reserve

“…De Prins & De Prins (2021) list 587 available speciesgroup names including synonyms for the entire Afrotropical region. This particular family is one of the least studied in Africa: with the exceptions of a newly described genus from Zimbabwe (Mey 2018) and a new species from Yemen (Solovyev & Saldaitis 2010), Janse's (1964) review of Limacodidae remains the latest most comprehensive work on the family, although its coverage is restricted to South Africa. With regards to the Limacodidae fauna of Mozambique, 33 valid species of Limacodidae have currently been recorded in the country (De Prins & De Prins 2021), far fewer than the 103 species recorded by Janse (1964) for South Africa.…”