Abstract
This paper describes two new species of plume moths from the group of the so-called “giant” Platyptilia Hubner, 1825: Platyptilia fletcheri Ustjuzhanin & Kovtunovich sp. nov. and P. stanleyi Ustjuzhanin & Kovtunovich sp. nov. Both species were collected in the Rwenzori Mountains in Uganda and Rwanda, respectively. Platyptilia stanleyi Ustjuzhanin & Kovtunovich sp. nov. exceeds all the known African species of Pterophoridae in its wingspan of 49 mm.
Highlights
The genus Platyptilia Hübner, 1825 is widespread all over the world
Among them are very large species, having about five centimeters in wingspan. They have been described by Meyrick (1924, 1932, 1938), Gielis (2008, 2011) and Kovtunovich & Ustjuzhanin (2014) and include: Platyptilia aarviki Gielis, 2008, P. daemonica Meyrick, 1932, P. melitroctis Meyrick, 1924, P. postbarbata Meyrick, 1938, P. rhyncholoba Meyrick, 1924, P. nyungwea Gielis, 2011 and P. mugesse Kovtunovich & Ustjuzhanin, 2014
When examining material at the Natural History Museum, London, we discovered two more new species, belonging to the group of “giant Platyptilia”: Platyptilia fletcheri Ustjuzhanin & Kovtunovich sp. nov. and P. stanleyi Ustjuzhanin & Kovtunovich sp. nov
Summary
The genus Platyptilia Hübner, 1825 is widespread all over the world. It is represented by 80 species, more than 40 of them known from Africa (Gielis 2003, 2011). New species of “giant” plume moths of the genus Platyptilia (Lepidoptera, Pterophoridae) from Uganda. When examining material at the Natural History Museum, London, we discovered two more new species, belonging to the group of “giant Platyptilia”: Platyptilia fletcheri Ustjuzhanin & Kovtunovich sp. Holotypes and paratypes of the new species are stored in BMNH, and two paratypes of Platyptilia fletcheri Ustjuzhanin & Kovtunovich sp.
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