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Issue: Vol. 5679 No. 4: 15 Aug. 2025
Type: Article
Published: 2025-08-15
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5679.4.5
Page range: 552-572
Abstract views: 29
PDF downloaded: 1

Three new species of the ghost moth Magnificus Yan from China and India (Lepidoptera, Hepialidae)

Research Associate; OpenScience Lab NZ; Ngaio; New Zealand
Nature Research Centre; Akademijos str. 2; 08412 Vilnius-21; Lithuania
Altai State University; pr. Lenina 61; RUS-656049 Barnaul; Russia
Altai State University; pr. Lenina 61; RUS-656049 Barnaul; Russia; Tomsk State University; Laboratory of Biodiversity and Ecology; Lenina pr. 36; RUS-634050 Tomsk; Russia; Samarkand State University; University blv. 15; 140104 Samarkand; Uzbekistan
University of Sciences; Techniques and Technology of Bamako; BP 1805 Bamako; Mali; Kuvin Center for the Study of Infectious and Tropical Diseases; Hadassah Medical School; The Hebrew University; Kalman Ya’akov Man St.; 91120 Jerusalem; Israel
Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum; Entomology I department; Senckenberganlage 25; 60325 Frankfurt am Main; Germany
Research Associate; McGuire Center for Lepidoptera & Biodiversity; Gainesville; FL 32611; USA; Caixa postal 1206; 84.145-000 Carambeí; Paraná; Brazil
Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-Security; Yunnan University; Kunming 650500; China; Institute of International Rivers and Eco-security; Yunnan University; Kunming; 650500; China; Asian International River Center; Kunming; 650500; China
Xian; Shaanxi; 710000; China
World Insect Gallery; Taikos str.; 1; Linkaičiai; Joniškis reg.; Lithuania
Lepidoptera Biogeography Himalayas Lectotype Red River Fault taxonomy tectonics

Abstract

Three new species of Magnificus Yan, 2000 are described: M. florianii sp. nov. from western Yunnan and M. shaosiming sp. nov. from southern Shaanxi, both in China, and M. ignatevi sp. nov. from West Bengal, India. Six female specimens that could not be positively attributed to any of the species described in this paper were investigated; five specimens (morphotype 1) are considered most similar to Magnificus bouvieri (Oberthür, 1913), and one (morphotype 2) to Magnificus dirschi (Bang-Haas, 1939). These two determinations are described here in detail for future evaluation of the genus. The current southern distributional boundary seems to correspond to two tectonic boundaries—the subduction zone between India and Asia, and the Red River Fault, marking a major tectonic boundary resulting from the accretion of the Indian continent. These tectonic boundaries are consistent with the Laurasian ancestral range, but the new Himalaya record is an indication that Magnificus may be more widely distributed in eastern Asia.

 

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How to Cite

Grehan, J.R., Saldaitis, A., Prozorov, A.M., Yakovlev, R.V., Müller, G.C., Ignatev, N., Mielke, C.G.C., Xu, Z.-B., Duan, Y. & Dūda, J. (2025) Three new species of the ghost moth Magnificus Yan from China and India (Lepidoptera, Hepialidae). Zootaxa, 5679 (4), 552–572. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5679.4.5