About

Objective(s)

The main objective of this searchable website is to make all relevant information on every Afrotropical moth species hitherto known, accessible to any user worldwide.

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Afrotropical region

The zoogeographic area covered can be defined as the Africa continent south of the Sahara (i.e. excl. Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt), the islands in the Atlantic Ocean: Amsterdam Island, Ascension, Cape Verde Archipelago, Inaccessible Island, St. Helena, São Tomé and Principe, Tristan da Cunha, and the islands in the Indian Ocean: Comores (Anjouan, Grande Comore, Mayotte, Mohéli), Madagascar, Mascarene Islands (La Réunion, Mauritius, Rodrigues), Seychelles (Félicité, Mahé, Praslin, Silhouette, a.o.).

Furthermore, also those moth species occurring in the transition zone to the Palaearctic fauna have been included, namely most of the Arabia Peninsula (Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen with Socotra) but not Iraq, Jordan and further north. Also, some Saharan species have been included (e. g. Hoggar Mts. in Algeria, Tibesti Mts. in South Libya).

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Structure and how to use the website

The website provides information on:

  • the current taxonomic status of every Afrotropical moth family, genus and species
  • bibliographical reference to the original description
  • synonyms of families, genera and species
  • type genera of families
  • type species of genera
  • type locality of species
  • information on type specimens and their depository
  • geographical distribution (country names)
  • larval host plant(s)

The sequence of families, genera and species is alphabetical to enable the user to easily retrieve the necessary information.

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Links to other databases

Encyclopedia of Life

Generic Names of Butterflies and Moths of the World

Caterpillar Host Plant Database

The Global Lepidoptera Names Index

Global Taxonomic Database of Tineidae

Global Taxonomic Database of Gracillariidae

Afrotropical Gracillariidae

World Aganainae

Afrotropical Arctiinae

Torts Online World Catalogue of the Tortricidae

Global Information System on Pyraloidea

Afrotropical Butterflies

Global Butterfly Names (Lepidoptera Taxome Project)

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How to cite

Utmost care was taken that the data incorporated in the database are correct. We decline any responsibility in case of damage to soft- or hardware based on information used in this website. Persons retrieving information from this website for their own research or for applied aspects such as pest control programmes, should acknowledge the usage of data from this website in the following format:

De Prins, J. & De Prins, W. 2012. Afromoths, online database of Afrotropical moth species (Lepidoptera). World Wide Web electronic publication (www.afromoths.net) [accession date]

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Abbreviations used for type depositories

AMNH American Museum of Natural History, New York, U.S.A.
ANSP Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, U.S.A.
BPBM Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A.
BMNH The Natural History Museum, London, U.K.
CAS California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, U.S.A.
CIS California Insect Survey, Berkeley, U.S.A.
CNC Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids, and Nematodes, Ottawa, Canada
CU Cornell University, Ithaca, U.S.A.
EIHU Entomological Institute, Hokkaidō University, Sapporo, Japan
ELKU Entomological Laboratory, KyŪshŪ University, Hakozaki, Japan
EMUL Entomological Museum of the University of Lund, Sweden
FNHM Finnish Natural History Museum, Helsinki, Finland
FRIM Forest Research Institute of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
HDOU Hope Department of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Oxford, U.K.
HES Hawaii Entomological Society, Honolulu, U.S.A.
HNHM Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, Hungary
IEUT Istituto di Entomologia della Università degli Studi, Torino, Italy
IZAS Institute of Zoology, Academia Sinica, Peking, China
KBIN Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium
LACM Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, U.S.A.
LNK Landessammlung für Naturkunde, Karlsruhe, Germany
MACN Museo Argentino de Ciencas Naturales, Buenos Aires, Argentina
MCSM Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano, Italy
MCSV Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Verona, Italy
MCZC Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge (Massachusetts), U.S.A.
MCZR Museo Civico di Zoologia, Rome, Italy
MLP Museo de Ciencias Naturales de La Plata, Argentina
MMB Moravian Museum, Brno, Czech Republic
MMNB Merrick Museum, New Brighton, U.S.A.
MHNG Muséum d'histoire naturelle de la Ville de Genève
MNHN Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France
NHMH Naturhistorisches Museum Hamburg, Germany
NHMO Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Norway
NHMW Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Austria
NMNW National Museum of Namibia, Windhoek
NMNZ Museum New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand
NZAC New Zealand Arthropod Collection, Auckland, New Zealand
NZSI National Zoological Collection, Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta, India
OOLL Ober-Österreichisches Landesmuseum Linz, Austria
RMCA Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium
RNHL National Natural History Museum Naturalis, Leiden, The Netherlands
RSME Royal Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, U.K.
SAMC South Africa Museum, Cape Town, South Africa
SCAU South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
TLMF Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum, Innsbruck, Austria
TMSA Ditsong National Museum of Natural History (formerly Transvaal Museum), Pretoria, South Africa
UCB University of California, Berkeley, U.S.A.
UCD University of California, Davis, U.S.A.
UPLB University of the Philippines, Los Baños, Philippines
USMB Übersee-Museum, Bremen, Germany
USNM National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian, Washington D. C., U.S.A.
VPU Vilnius Pedagogical University, Vilnius, Lithuania
ZIN Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia
ZIUL Zoological Institute of the University of Lund, Sweden
ZMA Zoological Museum of the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
ZMHB Zoologisches Museum der Humboldt Universität, Berlin, Germany
ZMUC Zoological Museum of the University of Copenhagen, Denmark
ZSM Zoologische Staatssammlung München, Germany

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Acknowledgements

We cordially thank our lepidopterist colleagues, who have contributed in various ways to the present online database.

Vladimir Dubatolov – Arctiinae

Cees Gielis – Pterophoridae and literature

Bernard Landry – Type specimens in MHNG

Lukasz Przybylowicz – Thyretini and literature

Godard Tweehuyzen – Literature

Ustjuzhanin P. – Pterophoridae and literature

Hugo van der Wolf – Coleophoridae

Roman Yakovlev – Cossidae and literature

Zolotuhin A. V. – Lasiocampidae

The website's banner includes an image licensed by Kevin Dooley under Creative Commons license.

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