Tanzania
On May 21, 2007, Thierry indicated to me that those moths in Tanzania previously thought to be Aurivillius fuscus are actually Aurivillius orientalis which flies in Malawi, Tanzania and Kenya.
The United Republic of Tanzania is in central eastern Africa. It consist of an area up to 939,652 square kilometers or 362,706 square miles.
Tanzania shares its borders with Burundi, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The country consists of the mainland, which is mostly a large central plateau with grasslands and mountain ranges, plus the major islands of Zanzibar, Pemba and Mafia. The coast is protected by a coral reef. The permanently snow-capped Mt Kilimanjaro (only 210 miles south of the Equator) in the north is the highest mountain in Africa at 5,895 meters ?,340 feet.
It is also the tallest free-standing mountain on the Earth’s land surface. It is accompanied by about 20 other nearby volcanoes, some of which, like Mount Meru, are seen to the west. These volcanic mountain slopes are commonly fertile and support thick forests favourable to Saturniidae, while the much drier grasslands of the plains are home to elephants, lions, and other savanna wildlife.
The Great Rift Valley runs through the center of the country and contains many lakes. In the north, the country borders Lake Victoria and in the west Lake Tanganyika.
Tanzania’s climate ranges from a tropical climate with high temperatures and humidity on the coast and islands. The average daytime temperature is 23ºC / 73 Fahrenheit from June to September and 27º C 81 Fahrenheit from December to March.
Annual rainfall is more than 1000 mm / 40 inches. On the central plateau it is much drier. Annual rainfall there is only 250 mm / 10 inches. On peaks above 1,500 meters / 5,000 feet there is a semi temperate climate with permanent snow on the highest peaks.
Below is an active checklist for Tanzania. A special thanks goes to Teemu Klemetti and Rodolphe Rougerie and Kari Korhonen for their help with this list. Rodolphe's entire list with references is available.
Amani (see map) is in the Tanga region in northeastern Tanzania at Longitude: 39,71667 Latitude: -5,366667. That is the origin of images from the East Usambara Mts, 900 m, Oct 2003, that can be accessed below. (Norbert Cordeiro)
Visit the Saturniidae from Amani in the East Usumbara Mountains.
The Rubeho Mountains (see map) in the Dodomo Region, Mpwapwa District, Kilosa District and Morogoro region are host to the Ubaena species, with diferent mountains credited with diferent subspecies. (Teemu Klemetti)
Njombe just north of Songea in southwestern Tanzania (see map) is host to Nudaurelia renwazorum, Nudaurelia kilumiorum, Nudaurelia broschi, and Nudaurelia rhodina. (Otso Reunanen)
Tarime in the Mara district is host to Melanocera pinheyi (Teemu Klemetti)Kari Korhonen has just sent me additional information regarding Tarime: TARIME is a small town in northern Tanzania in Mara Region about 20 km from the Kenyan border near the main road from Mwanza to Kenya (Kisii, Kericho etc). The town is situated on the hills at altitude of 1500-1700 m above sea level. The area is forest savannah with small forests and small to medium size rivers. TARIME is the home of many Saturniidae species. The best months for collecting Saturniidae are during and after the monsoon rains, in spring after heavy rains in April-June and after small rains in November-December. From the Tanzanian Saturniidae species I have collected in Tarime at least the following species:
1. Bunaea alcinoe (KK) Information in this table is courtesy of Kari Korhonen. |
MWANZA is a large town in northern Tanzania in Mwanza Region on the southern coast of Lake Victoria. The town is situated on and near the coast of Lake Victoria at altitude of 1100-1200 m above sea level. The area is dry savannah with some trees and bushes.MWANZA is the home of a few Saturniidae species. The best months for collecting Saturniidae are during and after the monsoon rains, in spring after heavy rains in April-May and after small rains in November-December. From the Tanzanian Saturniidae species I have collected in Mwanza at least the following species:
1. Bunaea alcinoe (KK) Information in this table is courtesy of Kari Korhonen. |
David Bygott writes, "Kirawira, in the western Serengeti (Mara Region), has a long strip of riverine forest with big dense trees, which passes thru the Kirawira area, and a lot of thicket patches, so there could be a mix of moist savanna and forest species there. Kirawira is very close to Lake Victoria; my location there was 34º8'10"E, 2º12'22" at 4170 ft altitude."David sends images of Argema mimosae, Bunaea alcinoe, Gonimbrasia zambesina, Goodia smithi and Tagoropsis flavinata septentrionalis from the Kirawira area.
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It is my hope to someday break the species list into checklists for the different regions in Tanzania. If you have specific collecting data, please pass it along as it will be most helpful.
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