Prototheoridae
Encyclopedia
Prototheoridae or the "African Primitive Ghost Moths" is a family of insects in the lepidoptera
n order, contained in the superfamily Hepialoidea
. These moths are endemic to Southern Africa
.
(Kristensen, 1999: 60; Nielsen et al., 2000) or to Angola
(Prototheora angolae) and Mulanje Massif
of Malawi
(Davis, 2001). See also revisions by Janse (1942) and Davis (1996).
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
n order, contained in the superfamily Hepialoidea
Hepialoidea
Hepialoidea is the superfamily of "ghost moths" and "swift moths". See Kristensen for a broad review.- Fossils :Fossil Hepialoidea appear to be few. Prohepialus has been described from the about 35 million year old Bembridge Marls of Isle of Wight. A mid-Miocene hepialoid fossil is also known...
. These moths are endemic to Southern Africa
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...
.
Diversity and distribution
The Prototheoridae comprise 13 currently recognised species, with one genus (Prototheora) endemic to South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
(Kristensen, 1999: 60; Nielsen et al., 2000) or to Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
(Prototheora angolae) and Mulanje Massif
Mulanje Massif
The Mulanje Massif, also known as Mount Mulanje, is a large monadnock in southern Malawi near the city of Blantyre, rising sharply from the surrounding plains of Chiradzulu, and the tea-growing Mulanje district...
of Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
(Davis, 2001). See also revisions by Janse (1942) and Davis (1996).
List of species
- Prototheora parachloraPrototheora parachloraPrototheora parachlora is a species of moth of the Prototheoridae family. It is found in South Africa, where it is only known from the Karkloof forest region of KwaZulu-Natal....
(Meyrick, 1919) (originally in Metatheora)- =Prototheora paraglossa; Janse, 1942
- Prototheora petrosemaPrototheora petrosemaPrototheora petrosema is a species of moth of the Prototheoridae family. It is found in South Africa, where it ranges through much of the predominantly Fynbos Cape vegetation to the temperate Knysna Forest. It has been found frequently around the lower slopes of Table Mountain in Cape Town.The...
Meyrick, 1917 - Prototheora monoglossaPrototheora monoglossaPrototheora monoglossa is a species of moth of the Prototheoridae family. It is found in South Africa....
Meyrick, 1924 - Prototheora corviferaPrototheora corviferaPrototheora corvifera is a species of moth of the Prototheoridae family. It is found in South Africa, where it is known only from the top of Table Mountain. The rocky surface of this sandstone mesa is predominantly covered by a low, bushy vegetation generally referred to as mountain fynbos.The...
(Meyrick, 1920) (originally in Metatheora) - Prototheora mergaPrototheora mergaPrototheora merga is a species of moth of the Prototheoridae family. It is found in South Africa, where it is only known from the Schoemanspoort in the Cape Province.The wingspan is about 18 mm...
Davis, 1996 - Prototheora quadricornisPrototheora quadricornisPrototheora quadricornis is a species of moth of the Prototheoridae family. It is found in South Africa, where it ranges widely through the southern Cape Province from near sea level at the southern tip of the Cape of Good Hope to the summit of Table Mountain and west to the Tsitsikama Forest at...
Meyrick, 1920 - Prototheora biserrataPrototheora biserrataPrototheora biserrata is a species of moth of the Prototheoridae family. It is found in South Africa, where it known from only one and possibly two localities in the southern Cape Province. The holotype was collected in the wet, temperate Groenkop forest near George...
Davis, 1996 - Prototheora serruligeraPrototheora serruligeraPrototheora serruligera is a species of moth of the Prototheoridae family. It is found in South Africa, where it known only from two somewhat disjunct southern coastal Cape sites, one at 1,220 meters in mountain Fynbos vegetation in the Hottentot-Holland Mountains and the other in the wetter,...
Meyrick, 1920 - Prototheora cooperiPrototheora cooperiPrototheora cooperi is a species of moth of the Prototheoridae family. It is found in South Africa, where it has been found at three widespread locations in Cape Province, all characterized largely by Fynbos vegetation within the Capensis region. It was found most commonly at a rather xeric site...
Janse, 1942 - Prototheora geniculataPrototheora geniculataPrototheora geniculata is a species of moth of the Prototheoridae family. It is found in South Africa, where it known only from the Schoemanspoort in the Cape Province, which is located in a southern extension of the Karoo Desert, generally referred to as the Little Karoo.The wingspan is 14-17 mm...
Davis, 1996 - Prototheora drackensbergaePrototheora drackensbergaePrototheora drackensbergae is a species of moth of the Prototheoridae family. It is found in South Africa, where it is known only from the type locality east of the Drackensberg escarpment in KwaZulu-Natal.The wingspan is about 20.3 mm.-Etymology:...
Davis, 1996 - Prototheora angolaePrototheora angolaePrototheora angolae is a species of moth of the Prototheoridae family. It is found in Angola, where it known only from the type locality which is located in central Angola.The wingspan is about 20 mm. Adults have been recorded in early November....
Davis, 1996 - Prototheora malawiensisPrototheora malawiensisPrototheora malawiensis is a species of moth of the Prototheoridae family. It is found in Malawi....
Davis, 2001