Dactyloceras lucina

Dactyloceras lucina
upper and underside of male in Ghana
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Brahmaeidae
Genus:	Dactyloceras
Species:	D. lucina
Binomial name
Dactyloceras lucina (Drury, 1782)
Synonyms
Phalaena (Attacus) lucina Drury, 1782

Dactyloceras lucina is a species of very large moth of the family Brahmaeidae. It is found in central and west Africa, where it has been recorded from Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Zambia. The species was first described by Dru Drury in 1782.

Description

Upperside: Antennae yellow and pectinated (comb like). Thorax and abdomen brown. Wings russet brown and cream coloured, disposed in a great variety of different shaped marks. Anterior wings next the body with a number of angulated lines following each other in a regular succession; the middle being composed of another succession of undulated lines crossing the wings from the anterior to the posterior edges: a black oval spot is placed at the tips, and a row of different sized oval marks runs along the external edges. Posterior wings next the body dark brown, the middle and bottom having a series of undulated lines crossing them in regular succession from the anterior to the abdominal edges, while a row of light and dark oval marks is placed along the external edges.

Underside: Palpi brown. Legs cream coloured. Breast, sides, and abdomen brown. Wings differing but slightly from the upper side; the general manner of marking being still preserved here. On the upper part of the posterior wings, next the body, is a triangular cream spot, the inner space being brown. Margins of the wings entire. Wingspan 6+3⁄4 inches (170 mm).

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