Meganola usambarana Hacker 2012

Meganola usambarana Hacker, 2012 Meganola usambarana Hacker, 2012, Esperiana 17: 444. TL: Tanzania, Tanga, Usambara Mts, Masumbai. Holotype, male, in coll. Hacker /ZSM. Genetic information. This species was not sequenced in this study. Taxonomic note. The validity of this taxon was examined by László (2020), who suggested that it may only be a pale form of M. furvitincta. However, a thorough examination of the M. furvitincta complex indicates that this taxon is valid and probably confined to the Usambara Mountains. This mountain range is part of the Eastern Arc Mountains, which are known for their exceptional diversity and endemism (Rodgers & Homewood 1982). Although the clasping apparatus of both subspecies of M. furvitincta and M. usambarana is identical, the latter species features a distinctly narrower and approximately 20% longer aedeagus in the male genitalia. Additionally, the female genitalia of M. usambarana are notably different from those of M. furvitincta, characterized by a funnel-shaped antrum that is about 1.5 times longer and slightly curved. Based on these unique morphological traits, M. usambarana is upheld as a valid species. However, specimens identified under this taxon in Hacker et al. (2012) from Rwanda, Uganda, and DRC (Lubumbashi) belong to M. furvitincta poliographa.