Polyptychoides niloticus

Last updated

Polyptychoides niloticus
Polyptychoides niloticus BMNHE270350 female up.jpg
Polyptychoides niloticus niloticus, female
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Sphingidae
Genus: Polyptychoides
Species:
P. niloticus
Binomial name
Polyptychoides niloticus
(Jordan, 1921) [1]
Synonyms
  • Polyptychus niloticusJordan, 1921
  • Polyptychus unilineataClark, 1935

Polyptychoides niloticus is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is found from Zambia to Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia. [2]

This species is subject to considerable seasonal and climatic variation. Extreme dry season specimens and specimens from arid areas are very small, sandy, with all markings faint or obsolete and more regular wing margins. Specimens from moister areas, or taken in the wet season are consistently larger, darker grey, more heavily marked and have scalloped wing margins. Both forms may occur in the same areas.

The length of the forewings is 28–43 mm for males and 34–52 for females. The ground colour is grey with a black basal dot. The antemedial, postmedial and submarginal lines are straight and clearly defined. The hindwings are grey, but darker near the inner margin. In the extreme dry form (niloticus) the ground colour is pale sandy.

Subspecies

Related Research Articles

<i>Mimas tiliae</i> Species of moth

Mimas tiliae, the lime hawk-moth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is found throughout the Palearctic region and the Near East, and has also been identified in Canada's east and western provinces and in northern Spain (Europe). The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.

<i>Belenois aurota</i> Species of butterfly

Belenois aurota, the pioneer or pioneer white or caper white, is a small to medium-sized butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites, which is found in South Asia and Africa. In Africa, it is also known as the brown-veined white, and is well known during summer and autumn when large numbers migrate north-east over the interior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willowherb hawkmoth</span> Species of moth

The willowherb hawkmoth is a moth in the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Peter Simon Pallas in 1772.

<i>Deilephila porcellus</i> Species of moth

Deilephila porcellus, the small elephant hawk-moth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.

<i>Acosmeryx shervillii</i> Species of moth

Acosmeryx shervillii, the dull forest hawkmoth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Jean Baptiste Boisduval in 1875. It is found from the Indian subregion, Sri Lanka, to Sundaland, the Philippines and Sulawesi. Acosmeryx pseudonaga is sometimes treated as a valid species.

<i>Basiothia charis</i> Species of moth

Basiothia charis, the lesser brown striped hawk, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1856. It is fairly common in most habitats, excluding very dry areas, throughout Africa south of the Sahara. It has not been recorded from Madagascar.

Neopolyptychus serrator is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is known from forests from the Congo to Uganda and western Kenya. It is also known from Cameroon.

Pseudoclanis aequabilis is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is known from Tanzania.

<i>Falcatula cymatodes</i> Species of moth

Falcatula cymatodes is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is known from lowland forests in Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Uganda, and the Central African Republic.

<i>Falcatula tamsi</i> Species of moth

Falcatula tamsi is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is known from Ethiopia.

Phylloxiphia oweni is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is found from Sierra Leone east to the Central African Republic and then south to Gabon, the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

<i>Temnora burdoni</i> Species of moth

Temnora burdoni is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is known from Tanzania.

<i>Temnora sardanus</i> Species of moth

Temnora sardanus is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is known from forests and heavy woodland from Sierra Leone to Congo and Angola, then to Zimbabwe and East Africa.

<i>Temnora pylas</i> Species of moth

Temnora pylas is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is known from South Africa and Zimbabwe.

<i>Callionima grisescens</i> Species of moth

Callionima grisescens is a species of moth in the family Sphingidae. It was originally described by Rothschild as Calliomma grisescens, in 1894.

<i>Maassenia heydeni</i> Species of moth

Maassenia heydeni is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is known from Madagascar and the Comoro Islands.

<i>Theretra cajus</i> Species of moth

Theretra cajus is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is known from South Africa and Zimbabwe.

<i>Theretra orpheus</i> Species of moth

Theretra orpheus is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is known from most of Africa.

<i>Xylophanes vagliai</i> Species of moth

Xylophanes vagliai is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is known from Ecuador.

<i>Enpinanga vigens</i> Species of moth

Enpinanga vigens is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is known from southern Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

References

  1. "CATE Creating a Taxonomic eScience – Sphingidae". Cate-sphingidae.org. Archived from the original on 2012-03-16. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
  2. Carcasson, R. H. (1967). "Revised Catalogue of the African Sphingidae (Lepidoptera) with Descriptions of the East African species". Journal of the East Africa Natural History Society and National Museum. 26 (3): 1–173 via Biodiversity Heritage Library.