Amerila fennia (Druce)
fennia.jpg (9276 Byte) fennia 95-0008.JPG (6765 Byte)
Description
Male. Fw length 24-26 mm; fw dark brown with central area semi-transparent, discally suffused with brown scales but postdiscally a well defined transparent area between the radius and vein m2 with a sharp border towards the outer margin; fw veins finely lined with dark brown scales, a much broader dark streak along the discal vein; hw pinkish red, the central area partly transparent, and the apex and outer margin suffused with dark greyish brown scales. Head, thorax, and outer sides of hind legs dark ochre-brown, fore and mid legs on outer sides dark greyish brown, inner sides of all legs red; tegulae with a single black spot basally. Abdomen dorsally pinkish red, ventrally pale brown, sometimes with a reddish tint; two long brush-like androconial organs of pale-coloured hairs placed ventro-laterally in the intersegmental membrane anteriorly of the genital apparatus.
Female. As male, but with slightly paler fw coloration.
Male genitalia
fennia a.gif (2716 Byte) fennia b.gif (7555 Byte) fennia c.gif (2918 Byte) fennia d.gif (5205 Byte)
view on leftside of vinculum and valva, lateral view inner side of right valva tegumen/uncus, dorsal view aedeagus with vesica everted
Uncus short, broad triangular, with a small tip. Valvae short, oval-shaped and posteriorly rounded, outer surface with long extrusible, hirsute, tube-like coremata; inner sclerotized process short and smooth, strongly curved and apically pointed. Vesica distally with two strong, straight, parallel cornuti fused at their base.
Distribution
West, Central and East Africa; from Gambia to Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Zaire, and Uganda.
Comments
In male genitalia, this species is very close to A. roseomarginata, and for some time we had been tempted to regard the two taxa as conspecific; also, there is no record of a truly sympatric occurence of the two species despite their largely overlapping distribution ranges. The distinct phenotypic differences and minor but constant differences in the ¢ genitalia give reason to classify them as different species. In A. fennia, the valvae are somewhat larger and more oval shaped, the inner sclerotized process has a distinct bend near its base which is orientated more dorsoventrally than in A. roseomarginata, and the membraneous part of the vesica has two basal papillae which originate at about the same distance from the aedeagus.
In specimens from West Africa, Nigeria and Gabon the hw apex and the posterior half towards the outer margin is suffused with dark brown whereas Central and East African specimens tend to have more uniformly pink coloured hw.
Material
Pelochyta fennia Druce, 1887: 669. Lectotype male (designated by Hampson, 1901: 503; examined): Gambia, A.Moloney / Joicey Bequest Brit. Mus.1934-120. / Pelochyta fennia Druce Type / Type / Arctiidae genitalia slide No. 4399 [BMNH; abdomen dissected]. Type locality: GAMBIA.
Rhodogastria metasarca Hampson, 1911: 412. Holotype male (examined): R.Niger. Sapele., F.W.Sampson, 99-107. / Rhodogastria metasarca type male. Hmpsn. / Type / Arctiidae genitalia slide No. 4411 [BMNH; abdomen dissected]. Type locality: NIGERIA: Sapele. Syn.n.
Additional material examined. LIBERIA: Nimba, Grassfield, vi.-vii.1967 (1 female, NMKE), vii.-viii.1968 (1 male, NMKE). Côte d'Ivoire: Tai N.P., 17.xii.1983 (2 males, RS); Tai N.P., Station Mata, 5.27N 6.53W, 18.-20.xi.1981 (2 males, 2 females, RS), 25.-26.iii.1983 (2 males, 1 female, RS); Bingerville, 10.-16.v.1915 (1 male, BMNH). GHANA: Central: Kakum National Park, nr. Cape Coast, 16.iv.1995 (1 male, MB), Kakum National Park, 30.v.1995 (1 male, MB). NIGERIA/CAMEROON: Owena, 14.vii.1957 (1 female, ZMUC). CAMEROON: Sud-Ouest: Kumba, 28.iii.1959 (2 males, ZMUC); Johann-Albrechts-Höhe, 1898 (1 female, BMNH); Elegele, 18.iii.1958 (1 female, ZMUC). GABON: Ogooué-Maritime: Port Gentil, viii.1969 (1 male, ZFMK); Moyen Ogooué: Lambarene (1 male, BMNH); N'Gounié: Muila (1 male, NMKE). ZAIRE: Kasai Occidental: Luluabourg [= Kananga], ix.1963 (2 males, 1 female, MRAC); Oriental: Sankuru, Lusambo, 13.viii.1950 (1 male, MRAC); Shaba: Lulua, Kapanga (1 female, MRAC). UGANDA: Toro, Kibale Forest, v.1966 (1 male,NMKE); Kallinzu Forest, 7.-10.i.1965 (1 male, ZSSM), Kalinzu Forest, vi.1970 (1 male, NMKE).