Nota Lepi. 45 2022: 87-99 | DOI 10.3897/nl.45.61588 Research Article Diversity of the tussock moths (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Lymantriinae) of the wider Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany, with special reference to the fauna of Mozambique MIcHAL RINbDOos!”, ALEXANDER SCHINTLMEISTER®, ZDENEK FALTYNEK FRIc! 1 The Czech Academy of Sciences, Biology Centre, Institute of Entomology, Branixovskd 31, 37005 Ceské Budéjovice, Czech Republic; E-mail: rindom00@prf.jcu.cz, fric@entu.cas.cz University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Science, Branisovska 1760, 37005 Ceské Budéjovice, Czech Republic 3 Calberla Strasse 3, 1D- 01326 Dresden, Germany, E-mail: schintlm@aol.com http://zoobank. org/F E78 BDD 1-423 B-471C-AE96-B4D22F8D9FBA Received 11 September 2021; accepted 10 January 2022; published: 21 January 2022 Subject Editor: Alberto Zilli. Abstract. Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany, one of the African biodiversity hotspots, is defined by a high di- versity of its fauna and flora. Despite numerous studies published about the Lepidoptera of this region, our knowledge of diversity and distributional patterns of moths still remains inadequate. Our study evaluates the tussock moth richness and endemism of the wider Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany region. We describe for the first time the variety of the tussock moth fauna of Mozambique, with seven newly recorded genera (Eu- proctoides Bethune-Baker, 1911; Heteronygmia Holland, 1893; Leucoma Hubner, 1822; Ogoa Walker, 1856; Paraproctis Bethune-Baker, 1911; Polymona Walker, 1855; Tamsita Kiriakoff, 1954). Introduction Biodiversity hotspots are defined as highly threatened biogeographic regions with the occurrence of endemic species of animals and plants (Myers 1988). Containing approximately half of the world’s plant and a significant percentage of world’s vertebrate diversity (Myers et al. 2000), con- servation and thorough investigation of these 35 remarkable regions distributed worldwide became essential for many researchers due to ongoing species mass extinction (Mittermeier et al. 2011; Eisenhauer et al. 2019). The majority of the African hotspots are located in the Afrotropics (Myers et al. 2000). Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany is one of the three recently recognized biodiversity hotspots in the region of southern Africa (Fig. 1). Diversity and endemism are focused in the three major units: Maputaland in the north, Pondoland in the south and Albany in the south-west, comprising fauna and flora of South Africa, Eswatini (Swaziland) and Mozambique (Perera et al. 2011). The dominant habitats of this region bearing the most unique diversity are tropical and sub- tropical moist broadleaf forests and mountain grasslands and scrublands. Despite the uniqueness of this area serving as a meeting point for six of the eight southern African biomes, only 25% of the original extent of the natural habitat remains preserved (Mittermeier et al. 2004). The moth subfamily Lymantritnae (Noctuoidea, Erebidae) occurs worldwide and comprises more than 2600 species in almost 360 genera (Kitching and Rawlins 1998). South Africa can be considered a well-studied part of the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany, with several studies discuss- ing the tussock moth fauna (Hampson 1905 —77 spp., Janse 1917 — 109 spp., Pinhey 1975 — 57 spp., 88 Rindo§ ef al.: Lymantriinae of the Southern Africa Vari et al. 2002 — 187 spp., Staude et al. 2020 — 34 spp.). However, knowledge of the Lymantriinae of the other southern African countries remains fairly insufficient. Presently, approximately 50 species of tussock moths are known to occur in Eswatini (Duke et al. 1999) and five species are reported from Lesotho (Kopij 2006). The current knowledge of the fauna of Mozambique is based mainly on past taxonomic works carried out on museum materials (e.g., Collenette 1955) counting roughly 50 species. Nonetheless, previously published works also include numerous mistakes in systematics (e.g., published synonyms, identification errors, etc.) and creates “ghost” diversity. The purpose of this study was to provide an up-to-date overview and fill the gaps in the poor knowledge in the diversity of tussock moths of Afrotropical biodiversity hotspots. Verified distri- bution data also recovers potential endemic species and thus plays a significant role in the global conservation effort. In addition, we provide a first faunistic summary of the tussock moths of Mo- zambique, recording seven genera new to the country. Material and methods For the compilation of the list of Lymantriinae of the wider Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany we used presence/absence datasets covering the fauna of South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini and Mo- zambique (Table 1). The data were mined from literature (e.g., Vari et al. 2002), corrected and supplemented by data obtained by the revision of the following museum collections: African Nat- Zimbabwe Namibia South Africa Figure 1. Map of the studied area, modified from Weller et al. (2017). The area of the Maputaland-Pon- doland-Albany is highlighted by lighter colour. Nota Lepi. 45: 87-99 89 Table 1. The presence, or absence of tussock moth species of the wider Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany. New genus records are marked with symbol (*) and endemic species highlighted with bold. Species Mozambique Lesotho South Africa Eswatini Aroa anthora (Felder R., 1874) 0 0 0 Aroa difficilis Walker, 1865 Aroa discalis Walker, 1855 Aroa melanoleuca Hampson, 1905 Bracharoa dregei (Herrich-Schaffer, 1854) Bracharoa mixta (Snellen, 1872) Bracharoa quadripunctata (Wallengren, 1875) Bracharoa tricolor (Herrich-Schaffer, 1856) Cataphractes arenacea (Linnaeus, 1767) Cataphractes fasciata (Walker, 1855) Cimola opalina Walker, 1855 Conigephyra rikatia Collenette, 1956 Creagra liturata (Guérin-Méneville, 1844) Cropera phlebitis (Hampson, 1905) Cropera sericea (Hampson, 1910) Cropera stilpnaroma Hering, 1926 Cropera testacea Walker, 1855 Crorema adspersa (Herrich-Schaffer, 1854) Crorema fulvinotata (Butler, 1893) Crorema setinoides (Holland, 1893) Dasychira albimaculata Hering, 1926 Dasychira amata Hering, 1926 Dasychira aurivillii Hering, 1926 Dasychira batoides (Pl6tz, 1880) Dasychira bryophilina Hampson, 1910 Dasychira confinis Distant, 1899 Dasychira curvivirgata Karsch, 1895 Dasychira didyma Collenette, 1956 Dasychira diplogramma Hering, 1927 Dasychira eclipes Collenette, 1939 Dasychira esthlopis Collenette, 1953 Dasychira extatura Distant, 1897 Dasychira extorta Distant, 1897 Dasychira fusca (Walker, 1855) Dasychira gephyra Hering, 1926 Dasychira hampsoni Hering, 1926 Dasychira herbida (Walker, 1856) Dasychira hughesi Collenette, 1933 Dasychira lunensis Hampson, 1905 Dasychira mediofasciata Hering, 1926 Dasychira nubifuga (Holland, 1893) Dasychira octophora (Hampson, 1905) Dasychira phenax Collenette, 1932 Dasychira pheosia Hampson, 1910 Dasychira pluto Hering, 1926 Dasychira polia Hering, 1926 Dasychira postpura Hampson, 1905 Dasychira pulcherrima Hering, 1926 Dasychira pyrosoma Hampson, 1910 Dasychira rocana Swinhoe, 1906 Dasychira thanatos Hering, 1926 Dasychira vilis (Felder R., 1874) Eudasychira amata (Hering, 1926) ooorococ9c}jcooo orocooccoroqoocorroccoocnjooqcoooqcocoorocroOoOoOrrRrRrF ODO CO OFF OF FO ooooncooqccroooocoocoooqoocooqcooqcoocoocoooooqoocoooqoocoocoroeoo9qocjcoooorroroo9qoo ee eo ey eo eo SS CE iO i OO OO OS OOOO OOOO i CO ee a Ss ee Sd OS OE SO OO 90 Rindo§ ef al.: Lymantriinae of the Southern Africa Species Mozambique Lesotho South Africa Eswatini Eudasychira georgiana (Fawcett, 1901) 1 0 0 Eudasychira metathermes (Hampson, 1905) Eudasychira poliotis (Hampson, 1910) Eudasychira proleprota (Hampson, 1905) Euproctis aethiopica Snellen, 1872 Euproctis aspersum (Felder R., 1874) Euproctis beato Bryk, 1934 Euproctis bicolor Walker, 1855 Euproctis chionea Collenette, 1956 Euproctis crocata (Boisduval, 1847) Euproctis flavicincta Janse, 1915 Euproctis haemodetes Hampson, 1905 Euproctis hardenbergia (Janse, 1915) Euproctis iridescens Janse, 1915 Euproctis kettlewelli Collenette, 1956 Euproctis mayottensis Collenette, 1956 Euproctis melanura (Wallengren, 1860) Euproctis nigripuncta Janse, 1915 Euproctis pallida (Kirby, 1896) Euproctis petavia (Stoll, 1782) Euproctis producta (Walker, 1863) Euproctis punctifera (Walker, 1855) Euproctis rufopunctata (Walker, 1862) Euproctis sanguigutta Hampson, 1905 Euproctis stellata Distant, 1897 Euproctis straminicolor Janse, 1915 Euproctis subalba (Janse, 1915) Euproctis terminalis (Walker, 1855) Euproctoides ertli (Wichgraf, 1922) * Griveaudyria cangia (Druce, 1887) Hemerophanes libyra (Druce, 1896) Heteronygmia dissimilis (Aurivillius, 1910) * Homochira poecilosticta Collenette, 1938 Homochira rendalli (Distant, 1897) Homoeomeria flavicapilla (Wallengren, 1860) Homoeomeria nivea Aurivillius, 1909 Lacipa bizonoides Butler, 1893 Lacipa exetastes Collenette, 1952 Lacipa florida (Swinhoe, 1903) Lacipa gracilis Hopffer, 1857 Lacipa nobilis (Herrich-Schaffer, 1855) Lacipa ostra (Swinhoe, 1903) Lacipa picta (Boisduval, 1847) Lacipa pulverea Distant, 1898 Lacipa quadripunctata Dewitz, 1881 Lacipa sarcistis Hampson, 1905 Lacipa sexpunctata Distant, 1897 Laelia amaura Hering, 1926 Laelia angustipennis (Walker, 1855) Laelia aureus Janse, 1915 Laelia bifascia Hampson, 1905 Laelia bonaberiensis (Strand, 1915) Laelia clarki Janse, 1915 ScocooOO OF COR SFE HR OR HRP CO OR EP HR HEH HDC DO COCO OHR HO OH OC OC OOO OC OCC OH OO COOH ecooccoocoorcooeoHr ooo oeooeo ooo oO OH OC OOOOH COCO OC OOO COCO COC OCC OHFR OO cC OCS ec cn ca ca en FPcoroooorocoocococoococororooHP coor ocorocoorF cocoa ocooOrF oC OF OOH OOH Nota Lepi. 45: 87-99 Species Laelia figlina Distant, 1899 Laelia fracta Schaus & Clements, 1893 Laelia gwelila (Swinhoe, 1903) Laelia haematica Hampson, 1905 Laelia janenschi Hering, 1926 Laelia lavia Swinhoe, 1903 Laelia melaxantha (Walker, 1865) Laelia municipalis Distant, 1897 Laelia nigripulverea Janse, 1915 Laelia punctulata (Butler, 1875) Laelia robusta Janse, 1915 Laelia rosea Schaus & Clements, 1893 Laelia subrosea (Walker, 1855) Laelia subviridis Janse, 1915 Laelia swinnyi Janse, 1915 Laelioproctis leucosphena Collenette, 1939 Lepidopalpus hyalina Janse, 1915 Leptaroa sp. Leptaroa paupera Hering, 1926 Leucoma ogovensis (Holland, 1893) * Leucoma parva P\étz, 1880 * Leucoma sevastopuloi Collenette, 1955 * Lymantria kettlewelli Collenette, 1953 Lymantria lutea (Boisduval, 1847) Lymantria subfusca (Boisduval, 1847) Marblepsis flabellaria (Fabricius, 1787) Marblepsis melanocraspis (Hampson, 1905) Micraroa minima Janse, 1915 Micraroa rufescens Hampson, 1905 Morasa modesta Walker, 1855 Naroma varipes (Walker, 1865) Ogoa simplex Walker, 1856 * Olapa fulviceps Hampson, 1910 Olapa nigribasis Janse, 1917 Olapa nigricosta Hampson, 1905 Olapa tavetensis (Holland, 1892) Olene basalis (Walker, 1855) Palasea albimacula Wallengren, 1863 Paraproctis chionopeza Collenette, 1954 * Pirga pellucida Wichgraf, 1922 Pirga transvalensis Janse, 1915 Pirgula atrinotata (Butler, 1897) Polymona rufifemur Walker, 1855 * Porthesaroa maculata Collenette, 1938 Psalis securis Hubner, 1823 Pseudobazisa perculta (Distant, 1897) Pteredoa monosticta (Butler, 1898) Pteredoa subapicalis Hering, 1926 Pteredoa usebia (Swinhoe, 1903) Rhypopteryx hemichrysa Collenette, 1960 Rhypopteryx lugardi (Swinhoe, 1903) Rhypopteryx rhodalipha (Felder R., 1874) Rhypopteryx rhodea (Hampson, 1905) Mozambique 0 — eS OOO SS Oe eS eS RK ORK KS eS RP CO. O Se RK eS RE oO Or SK Ooo OK EK CO Oo Kr OOO OE Oo SO. OE CO oO CO oS Lesotho 0 SO OO O'S Or Or: @ @ © SO CO 'OrOQ SS ©..O-9' ©, © OG O-S: OOO 2 2 Oy :@: :@ © @ Sr :O--Os OO CO 2] O. 0.2 ©. ©. SOS O72 South Africa i i i i i i i i i i ei i i i i i i ei i i i a ei i ia i i ik i i i i i i i i i i i a ea a Eswatini 1 FS Sa th SSS OS, SOO @ Or ORS: © 1O 3, Oe O> ESO Oe Ot 1? - OS | 5S OOS EO 91 O2 Rindo§ ef al.: Lymantriinae of the Southern Africa Species Mozambique Lesotho South Africa Eswatini Rhypopteryx rubripunctata (Weymer, 1892) 0 0 0 Rhypopteryx tacita (Hering, 1927) Rhypopteryx triangulifera (Hampson, 1910) Ruanda eleuteriopsis Hering, 1926 Ruanda furva (Hampson, 1905) Ruanda nuda (Holland, 1897) Stracena bananae (Butler, 1897) Tamsita habrotima (Tams, 1930) * eFrOorrRO;S acoococno OrFrFrFP ORR» acoococr ural History Research Trust (Leominster, United Kingdom), Natural History Museum (London, United Kingdom), Museum Witt (Munich, Germany), Bavarian State Collection of Zoology (Mu- nich, Germany), and Naturalis Biodiversity Centre (Leiden, Netherlands). In total 2352 speci- mens from South Africa, 2079 specimens from Mozambique, 18 specimens from Lesotho and 61 specimens from Eswatini were revised. The specimens were photographed using a Nikon D90 camera with Nikkor AF Micro 60 mm lens and assembled for our plates using the Corel DRAW X7 computer program. We compared the faunal diversity of the regions using number of species, and similarity or uniqueness of the species composition expressed as a nestedness of the species and species turno- ver expressed as binary presence/absence data. We calculated the data in R v. 4.0.3. (R Core Team 2018), by a command “nestedbetajac” (package vegan — Oksanen et al. 2019). Species endemicity was evaluated based on the data of species occurrence available from online database (De Prins and De Prins 2021) and from literature (e.g., Swinhoe 1903). Results We reported altogether 168 species of tussock moths belonging to 43 genera currently occurring in the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany biodiversity hotspot. We are listing 158 species from South Africa, 62 species from Mozambique, 48 species from Eswatini and 10 species from Lesotho. The faunal comparison analysis also revealed 44 potentially endemic species from South Africa and six potentially endemic species from Mozambique (Table 1). By the term “potential endemic species” we mean a species reported so far from only one country, but we cannot rule out its distribution in surrounding countries. The following genera are recorded for the first time from Mozambique: Euproctoides Bethune-Baker, 1911; Heteronygmia Holland, 1893; Leucoma Hubner, 1822; Ogoa Walker, 1856; Paraproctis Bethune-Baker, 1911; Polymona Walker, 1855; Tamsita Kiriakoff, 1954 (Fig. 2). Euproctoides Bethune-Baker, 1911 Euproctoides ertli (Wichgraf, 1922) Fig. 2A Material. MozamBiquE * 14; Zambezia Province, Mt. Namuli, SW slopes near Mucunha village (forest remnant); 15°22'33"S, 37°05'05.7"E; 15-16 Aug. 2018; 1245 m; MV Light Trap; G. Laszlo, W. Miles, A. Vetina leg.; ANHRT: 2018.30, ANHRTUK 00094093. Nota Lepi. 45: 87-99 93 Figure 2. Seven representatives of newly recorded genera of tussock moths in Mozambique. A. Euproctoi- des ertli (Wichgraf, 1922); B. Heteronygmia dissimilis (Aurivillius, 1910); C. Leucoma ogovensis (Holland, 1893); D. Ogoa simplex Walker, 1856; E. Paraproctis chionopeza Collenette, 1954; F. Polymona rufifemur Walker, 1855; G. Zamsita habrotima (Tams, 1930). Scale bars: 1 cm. 94 Rindo§ ef al.: Lymantriinae of the Southern Africa Distribution. Angola (Wichgraf 1922), South Africa (Vari et al. 2002). Heteronygmia Holland, 1893 Heteronygmia dissimilis (Aurivillius, 1910) Fig. 2B Material. MozaAMBIQUE * 1¢; Manica Province, Chimanimani National Reserve, Moribane Forest, Ndzou Camp (Moist Forest); 19°44'01.4"S, 33°20'15.1"E; 3-5 Aug. 2018; 630 m; Actinic Light Trap; G. Laszlo, W. Miles, A. Vetina leg.; ANHRT: 2018.30, ANHRTUK 00046725. Distribution. Kenya (Hering 1926), Malawi (Murphy and Chipeta 2018), Tanzania (Aurivillius 1910), Zimbabwe (Hering 1929). Leucoma Hiibner, 1822 Leucoma ogovensis (Holland, 1893) Fig. 2C Material. MozamBIQUE * 14; Maputo Special Reserve, West Gate (Sand Forest); 26°30'14.2"S, 32°42'59.6"E; 21-22 Feb. 2018; 22 m; MV Light Trap; G. Laszlo, J. Mulvaney, L. Smith leg.; ANHRT: 2018.2, ANHRT 00027695. Distribution. Cameroon (Aurivillius 1904), Congo (Holland 1920), Gabon (Holland 1893), Ghana (Swinhoe 1903), Kenya (Le Cerf 1922), Nigeria (Swinhoe 1903), South Africa (Hering 1926). Ogoa Walker, 1856 Ogoa simplex Walker, 1856 Fig. 2D Material. MozamBIQUE * 14; Maputo Special Reserve, West Gate (Sand Forest); 26°30'14.2"S, 32°42'59.6"E, 13-15 Feb. 2018; 22 m; MV Light Trap; G. Laszlo, J. Mulvaney, L. Smith leg.; ANHRT: 2018.2, ANHRTUK 00038737. Distribution. Kenya (Butler 1898), South Africa (Walker, 1856), Tanzania (Grinberg 1907). Paraproctis Bethune-Baker, 1911 Paraproctis chionopeza Collenette, 1954 Fig. 2E Material. MozamBIQuE * 14; Maputo Special Reserve, Mangrove Camp (Mangrove-Woodland Mosaic); 26°19'35.9"S, 32°42'35.7"E; 7-9 Dec. 2016; 9 m; MV Light Trap; M. Aristophanous, J. Cristovao, G. Laszlo, W. Miles leg.; ANHRT: 2017.22, ANHRTUK 00053987. Distribution. DR Congo (Afromoths, N. Voaden), South Africa (Vari et al. 2002), Zambia (Col- lenette 1954), Zimbabwe (Afromoths, R. Butler). Nota Lepi. 45: 87-99 95 Polymona Wakker, 1855 Polymona rufifemur Walker, 1855 Fig. 2F Material. MozamBIQuE * 14; Maputo Special Reserve, Ponta Milibangalala (Dune Grassland — Dune-Forest Ecotone); 26°26'58.6"S, 32°55'29.8"E; 30 Nov.-3 Dec. 2016; 15 m; Light Trap; M. Aristophanous, J. Cristovao, G. Laszl6, W. Miles leg.; ANHRT: 2017.22, ANHRTUK 00055859. Distribution. Botswana (Pinhey 1975), Djibouti (Dall’ Asta 1977), Eritrea (Berio 1939), Ethi- opia (Collenette 1938), Gambia (Druce 1887), Kenya (Le Cerf 1922), Lesotho (Kopij 2006), Ma- lawi (Swinhoe 1903), Namibia (Dall’Asta 2004), South Africa (Janse 1915), Tanzania (Pinhey 1975), Zambia (Pinhey 1975), Zimbabwe (Swinhoe 1903). Tamsita WKiriakoff, 1954 Tamsita habrotima (Tams, 1930) Fig. 2G Material. MozamBiquE * 14; Zambezia Province, Mt. Namuli, SW slopes near Mucunha village (forest remnant); 15°22'33"S, 37°05'05.7"E; 15-16 Aug. 2018; 1245 m; MV Light Trap; G. Laszlo, W. Miles, A. Vetina leg.; ANHRT: 2018.30, ANHRTUK 00050678. Distribution. Kenya (Tams 1930), Uganda (Tams 1930). Lymantriinae diversity patterns The highest species richness of tussock moths was recognised in the Republic of South Africa (N = 157) representing 93% of all recorded species (Table 2). The highest turnover among studied countries was found in Lesotho (37.8%). The neighbouring countries Mozambique, Lesotho and Eswatini yielded approximately the same values (60%) of species exchange between each other (Table 3). Surprisingly, neither Leso- Table 2. Evaluation of tussock moth richness patterns in the wider Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany. species nestedness turnover Mozambique 62 0.315 0.295 Lesotho 10 0.265 0.379 South Africa 157 0532 0.103 Eswatini 12 0.380 0.238 Table 3. Faunal exchange (turnover) among studied countries of the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany. Mozambique Lesotho South Africa Eswatini Mozambique 0.000 0.667 0.229 0.648 Lesotho 0.667 0.000 0.182 0.667 South Africa 0.229 0.182 0.000 0.000 Eswatini 0.648 0.667 0.000 0.000 96 Rindo§ ef al.: Lymantriinae of the Southern Africa Table 4. Faunal nestedness among the countries of the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany. Mozambique Lesotho South Africa Eswatini Mozambique 0.000 0.259 0.446 0.058 Lesotho 0.259 0.000 0.762 0.239 South Africa 0.446 0.762 0.000 0.696 Eswatini 0.058 0.239 0.696 0.000 tho nor Eswatini show any faunal exchange with South Africa. All three countries also displayed high species richness differences towards South Africa (Table 4). Due to its geography, the fauna of Lesotho is, not surprisingly, deeply nested in the fauna of South Africa. However, South Africa showed the lowest value in nestedness towards Mozambique (44.6%). Discussion Our study has reviewed the tussock moth fauna hitherto recorded from the wider Maputaland-Pon- doland-Albany and analysed the faunal diversity between those four southern African countries abut- ting the area of the hotspot. We also have presented a first summary of the tussock moths occurring in Mozambique along with seven genera newly recorded in the country. All these were expected to occur in Mozambique because of their presence in neighbouring countries and these records connect their disjunctive distribution ranges with South Africa. The only exception is the genus 7amsita Kiriakoff, 1954, the presence of which in Mozambique represents the southernmost occurrence of the genus. The diversity of the tussock moths in Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany displayed several peculiar distributional trends. In spite of the large amount of faunistic studies published about the South African fauna and flora, only very few of them discussed their distributional or biogeographic pat- terns with regards to the studied countries. We found that the fauna of Lesotho is deeply nested in the South African fauna, but otherwise it has a high turnover among all other countries. This result outlined the potential origin scenario. Lesotho is a country with the high average altitude and the occurrence of specific alti-montane ecoregions (e.g., Drakensberg grasslands and woodlands) with difficult accessibility and hard conditions. Therefore, 1t was colonized by tussock moth species from neighbouring countries (Sayre et al. 2013). On the other hand, the South African fauna can be considered very similar to the fauna of Mozambique based on the values of nestedness, and simultaneously does not exhibit any faunal exchange towards Eswatini and Lesotho. Thus it forms a gradient of almost the same fauna along the Indian Ocean coast. Our results also highlighted that approximately 27.8% of the South African fauna and 9.6% of the species of Mozambique are potentially endemic to the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany. In conclusion, we reviewed and extended the current knowledge of the diversity and distribution patterns of tussock moths in southern Africa. What is more, we also provided a pilot snapshot of species endemicity of Lymantriinae in this region, which contributes to future conservation efforts of this remarkable biodiversity hotspot. Acknowledgements We are greatly indebted to Gyula M. Laszl6 (The African Natural History Research Trust, United Kingdom) for his help with photographing of specimens and draft reading. We would also like to thank Richard Smith Nota Lepi. 45: 87-99 97 (The African Natural History Research Trust, United Kingdom), Alberto Zilli, Geoff Martin (Natural Histo- ry Museum London, United Kingdom), Thomas Witt (T) (Museum Witt/Witt Foundation, Germany), Axel Hausmann (Bavarian State Collection of Zoology, Germany) and Rob de Vos (Naturalis Biodiversity Centre, Netherlands) for providing us access to the collections under their care. Work of MR was supported by grant GA JU 038/2019/P provided by the University of South Bohemia. 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