Dollmania Tams 1930

Dollmania Tams, 1930 Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 10, 6 (32), 174. Type species: Dollmania plinthochroa Tams, 1930, ibidem. Taxonomic notes. 1. On D. cuprea (Figs 16–20, 33–34, 43–44, 51–52, 55–56). Dollmania cuprea is spread from northeastern RSA northwards to central Malawi as it follows from the analysis of available barcodes (Prozorov et al., 2023). The distribution area of D. cuprea includes the type locality of the Zimbabwean D. purpurascens (Mutare, SMNH) and lays not very far from the type locality of the Zambian D. plinthochroa (Baluba, NHMUK). With the help of our colleagues, we obtained two more sequences from Zambia (Kasanka National Park, ANHRT) and DRC (Mikembo Reserve, CAC). They are not too far from the type locality of D. plinthochroa (199 and 193 km accordingly) but distant from D. purpurascens (764 and 993 km accordingly). Regardless the geographic distance, these two sequences are stored within the same BIN (BOLD:AAN4302) with other sequences of D. cuprea from RSA, Mozambique, and Malawi, having a maximum p -distance of 1.53% in COI-5P (Fig. 56). Lack of significant distinguishing morphologic characters, low genetic variation and wide distribution stand for considering all three taxa as one. Thus, we designate two new synonyms for D. cuprea — D. purpurascens syn. n. and D. plinthochroa syn. n. Dollmania cuprea consequently has the widest distribution in the genus and includes: RSA, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, and DRC (Fig. 55). The northernmost find of D. cuprea (Vwaza Marsh Game Reserve, Malawi, CRM) is only 160 km southwards from the type locality of D. reussi (Kilondo, northeastern coast of Lake Malawi, Tanzania, MfNB). That fact, together with the practical impossibility of the attribution of any Tanzanian specimen to either of D. reussi or D. marwitzi, stands for the importance of the barcoding of the primary type of, at least, D. reussi to understand the taxonomic relationship and geographic border between D. cuprea and the Tanzanian population.Also, an interesting fact is that not even one Dollmania specimen has been collected during a one-year long-term stationary expedition to the central Congolian lowland forests in DRC, from where, already 27 new species were reported (Prozorov et al., 2021 a, 2021b, 2023 a, 2023b, 2023c, 2023d, 2023e; Sulak et al., 2024; Tejuoso et al., 2024; Friend et al., 2024; Prozorov et al., 2024 a, 2024b). 2. On the Tanzanian D. reussi and D. marwitzi (Figs 12–15, 27–30, 41–42, 47–48, 54). Dollmania reussi and D. marwitzi were considered synonyms of the Zimbabwean D. purpurascens (see Aurivillius, 1927). Dollmania purpurascens, in turn, proved to be a synonym of D. cuprea because of the genetic similarity (see Taxonomic note 1 above). The Tanzanian population of Dollmania is represented by the two externally undistinguishable sympatric lineages (see Prozorov et al., 2023a), possibly representing D. reussi and D. marwitzi having a p -distance of 3.5–3.7% in COI-5P (BOLD:AAN4301 and BOLD:ABX5898), while both are 4.9–6.6% away from D. cuprea. Considering such a high genetic distance between D. cuprea and the Tanzanian populations, we raise D. reussi stat. rev. and D. marwitzi stat. rev. to the status of separate species until their primary types are barcoded and the taxonomic position of each is clarified. We illustrate a few of the specimens from Kenya (Figs 12, 14–15, 40–41) which could be new records either for D. reussi or D. marwitzi. However, their attribution is presently impossible.