Introduction

Our knowledge on the Carpenter moths (Lepidoptera: Cossidae) fauna of West Africa is rather incomplete. Extensive faunistic research regarding the entire Afrotropical Region has only been conducted in a few countries: Zimbabwe (YAKOVLEV & LENZ, 2013), Malawi (YAKOVLEV & MURPHY, 2013), Zambia (YAKOVLEV, 2014), and Swaziland (YAKOVLEV & WITT, 2016a). MEY (2015, 2016, 2017) provided a detailed overview of the Southern African (including Namibian) Cossidae.

The Cossidae (as well as other Heterocera) fauna of Gabon is poorly known, single references on the distribution of the family representatives in this country are given in a few articles only (YAKOVLEV, 2011; YAKOVLEV & WITT, 2018a, b).

During the course of studying Afrotropical Cossidae, several materials collected in Gabon, have been located in the collections of the African Natural History Research Trust (Leominster), Royal Museum of Central Africa (Tervuren), and Museum Witt (Munich). This article presents the first check list of Cossidae recorded from Gabon to date.

Abbreviations

ANHRT - African Natural History Research Trust, Leominster, UK

DMP - Ditsong National Museum of Natural History (formerly Transvaal Museum), Pretoria, South Africa

MNHN - Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France

MWM - Museum Witt, Munich, Germany

NHMUK - (formerly BMNH) - The Natural History Museum (formerly British Museum of Natural History), London, UK

RMCA - Royal Museum of Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium

Materials and methods

Images of adults were taken by the digital camera of Apple iPhone 7, illuminated in lightbox.

List of species

Macrocossus toluminus (Druce, 1887) (Fig. 1)

Cossus toluminusDruce, 1887: 684-685

Type locality: Gambia

Type material: Holotype in NHMUK, examined.

Material examined: 1 ♂, Gabon, Ogooue Ivindo PN, Ivindo Station de Recherche d’Ipassa, 450 m, 14-26-VI-2016, N0º 30’ 43” / E 12º 48’ 12”, Ruzzier, E., Tasane, T. leg., ANHRT: 2017.19 (coll. ANHRT).

Distribution: From Ivory Coast to Malawi, Tanzania, Namibia, S. Africa (GRÜNDBERG, 1910; SCHOORL, 1990; VÁRI et al., 2002). New record for Gabon.

Tarsozeuzera livingstoni Yakovlev, 2006 (Fig. 2)

Tarsozeuzera livingstoniYakovlev, 2006: 211

Type locality: Rep. Pop. Congo, Dimonica

Type material: Holotype in MNHN, examined.

Material examined: 1 ♂, Gabon, Ogooue Ivindo PN, Ivindo Station de Recherche d’Ipassa, 450 m, 14-26-VI-2016, N0º 30’ 43” / E 12º 48’ 12”, Ruzzier, E., Tasane, T. leg., ANHRT: 2017.19 (coll. ANHRT).

Distribution: Congo, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe (YAKOVLEV, 2011; YAKOVLEV & MURPHY, 2013; YAKOVLEV, SOKOLOVA & WITT, 2018). New record for Gabon.

Pseudozeuzera biatra (Hampson, 1910) (Fig. 3)

Duomitus biatraHampson, 1910: 131-132

Type locality: S. Nigeria, Old Calabar [Calabar city]

Type material: Holotype in NHMUK, examined.

Material examined: 1 ♂, Gabon, Monila, 30-II-1964, Rec. V. Allard (coll. RMCA).

Distribution: Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, Cameroon, Togo, Central African Republic, Congo, Gabon (SCHOORL, 1990; YAKOVLEV, 2011; YAKOVLEV & WITT, 2018a).

Aethalopteryx squameus (Distant, 1902) (Fig. 4)

Duomitus squameusDistant, 1902: 213

Type locality: Transvaal, Pretoria (S. Africa)

Type material: Cotypes in coll. NHMUK and DMP, examined.

Material examined: 1 ♂, Gabon, Ogooue Ivindo PN, Ivindo Station de Recherche d’Ipassa, 450 m, 14-26-VI-2016, N0º 30’ 43” / E 12º 48’ 12”, Ruzzier, E., Tasane, T. leg., ANHRT: 2017.19 (coll. ANHRT).

Distribution: South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Malawi, Ghana, Angola, Tanzania, CAR (PINHEY, 1979; VÁRI et al., 2002). New record for Gabon.

Strigocossus moderata (Walker, 1856) (Fig. 5)

Zeuzera moderataWalker, 1856: 1533

Strigocossus vosseleri; Yakovlev, 2011: 83

Strigocossus moderata; Yakovlev & Murphy, 2013: 381

Type locality: Sierra Leone

Type material: Holotype in NHMUK, examined.

Material examined: 5 ♂♂, Gabon, Monts Cristal, 5-X-1991, leg. Dr. Politzar (coll. MWM).

Distribution: South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Cameroun, Gabon etc. (PINHEY, 1979; VÁRI et al., 2002; YAKOVLEV, 2011; YAKOVLEV & MURPHY, 2013).

Strigocossus crassa (Drury, 1782) (Fig. 6)

Phalaena (Noctua) crassaDrury, 1782: Pl. 2: fig. 1

Type locality: Sierra Leon [Sierra Leone]

Type material: It is lost.

Material examined: 2 ♂♂, Gabon, Andok foula, 0º 25’ 51”N / 10º 7’ 43”E, 19-22-V-2011, 72 m, leg. Viktor Siniaev & Yury Bezverkhov (MWM); 4 ♂♂, Gabon, Monts de Cristal, SONG, 0º 31’ 59”N / 10º 12’ 55”E, 25-V-2011, 139 m, leg. Viktor Siniaev & Yury Bezverkhov; 3 ♂♂, Baraka, 3 km NE No-Ayong Village, 0º 38’ 24” / 9º 41’ 37”E, 1-3-VI-2011, 35 m, leg. Viktor Siniaev & Yury Bezverkhov (coll. MWM).

Distribution: From Central to Southern Africa. New record for Gabon.

Eburgemellus geminatus (Gaede, 1930) (Fig. 7)

Xyleutes geminatusGaede, 1930: 546, Taf. 80c

Eburgemellus geminatus; Yakovlev & Witt, 2018: 4

Type locality: Kriby, S. Cam. [Kribi, SW Cameroon]

Type material: Holotype in NHMUK, examined.

Material examined: 2 ♂♂, Gabon, Baraka, 3 km NE No-Ayong village, 0º 36’ 24” N / 9º 41’ 37”E, 1-3-VI-2011, leg. Viktor Siniaev & Yury Bezverkhov (coll. MWM).

Distribution: Cameroon, Cot d’Ivoire, Congo, Gabon (YAKOVLEV & WITT, 2018b).

Acknowledgements

The first author is indebted to Mr. Geoff Martin and Mr. Alessandro Giusti (London) for their kind assistance provided during studying the type material of the Natural History Museum; moreover, to Mr. Richard Smith (Leominster), Dr. Joel Minet (Paris), Dr. Didier Van den Spiegel and Mrs. Alice Buset (Tervuren), Dr. Martin Krüger (Pretoria) for providing opportunity of studying the collection of their institution.

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YAKOVLEV, R. V. & WITT, TH. J., 2018b.– Redescription and Catalogue of little known Genus Pseudozeuzera Schoorl, 1990 (Lepidoptera: Cossidae).– Russian Entomological Journal, 27(3): 289-292. doi: 10.15298/rusentj.27.3.09

Author notes

*Autor para la correspondencia / Corresponding author. E-mail: yakovlev_asu@mail.ru