Meharia

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Classis: Insecta
Cladus: Dicondylia
Subclassis: Pterygota
Cladus: Metapterygota
Infraclassis: Neoptera
Cladus: Eumetabola
Cladus: Endopterygota
Superordo: Panorpida
Cladus: Amphiesmenoptera
Ordo: Lepidoptera
Subordo: Glossata
Cladus: Coelolepida
Cladus: Myoglossata
Cladus: Neolepidoptera
Infraordo: Heteroneura
Cladus: Eulepidoptera
Cladus: Ditrysia
Cladus: Apoditrysia
Superfamilia: Cossoidea

Familia: Cossidae
Genus: Mehariinae
Genus: Meharia
Species: M. acuta – M. avicenna – M. breithaupti – M. fischeri – M. ganslmeieri – M. hackeri – M. incurvariella – M. interrupta – M. murphyi – M. ostrauskasi – M. philbyi – M. rolandi – M. scythica – M. semilactea – M. tancredii – M. tanganyikae – M. turatii – M. yakovlevi
Name

Meharia Chrétien, 1915

Type species: Meharia incurvariella Pierre Chrétien, 1915 by monotypy.
Synonyms

Blalia Rungs, 1943
Type species: Blalia vittata Rungs, 1943 by original designation

References

Borth, R.; Ivinskis, P.; Saldaitis, A.; Yakovlev, R. 2011: Cossidae of the Socotra Archipelago (Yemen). ZooKeys, 122: 45–69. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.122.1213
Chrétien 1915: Ann. Soc. ent. France, 84, 367.
Saldaitis, A. & Ivinskis, P., 2010: Meharia yakovlevi, a new species (Lepidoptera, Cossidae) from Yemen. Esperiana Buchreihe zur Entomologie 15: 379–382. Reference page.
Seizmair, M. 2018. Eine neue Art der Gattung Meharia Chretien, 1915 aus Dhofar (Oman) Meharia interrupta spec. nov. (Lepidoptera, Cossidae). Atalanta 49(1-4): 204-205. Full article (PDF). Reference page.
Yakovlev, R.V. 2011. Catalogue of the Family Cossidae of the Old World. Neue Entomologische Nachrichten 66: 1–129. full article zobodat (PDF). Reference page.
Yakovlev, R.V. 2014: A new species of Meharia Chrétien, 1915 (Lepidoptera, Cossidae) from the United Arab Emirates, with a world catalogue of the genus. Zootaxa 3895(3): 401–410. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3895.3.4 [[Template:Yakovlev,_2014|reference page]
Yakovlev, R.V. 2019a. Meharia turatii — new species of Carpenter Moth (Lepidoptera: Cossidae) from Libya. Russian Entomological Journal 28(1): 84-85. full article (PDF). Reference page.
Yakovlev, R.V., Ivinskis, P., Rimsaite, J. & Saldaitis, A. 2013: Description of two new species of Meharia Chrétien, 1915 (Lepidoptera: Cossidae) from East Africa. Zootaxa 3635(5): 587–590. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3635.5.9 Reference page.
Yakovlev, R.V. & A. Saldaitis 2008: New species of Palaearctic and Oriental Cossidae (Lepidoptera). III. New species of genus Meharia Chrétien, 1915 from Morocco. Eversmannia, 15/16: 49–52.
Yakovlev, R.V. & Witt, T.J. 2015a. Meharia ganslmeieri sp. nov.—a new Cossidae species from Zambia (Lepidoptera). Zootaxa 4032(3): 319–321. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4032.3.7. Preview (PDF) Reference page.

Meharia is a genus of moths belonging to the family Cossidae.

Diagnosis

Meharia is distinguished from all other Cossidae genus by a number of apomorphous characters: the specific “tineoid appearance”, the reduction of the lateral processes of the juxta, the specific dorsolateral sclerotization of the asymmetric aedeagus and the specific ribbon – like epiphysis.
Description

These are small to medium-sized moths, females larger; eyes naked; male and female antennae bipectinate along their length; proboscis reduced; legs long, slender; foretibia bearing a ribbon-like epiphysis; forewing elongate, rounded on the outer margin; forewing pattern has alternate dark and pale spots and bands transversely; hindwing uniform.
Distribution

Eleven species have been reported so far, primarily from the deserts and arid mountains of the Western Palearctic and Africa.
Species

Meharia acuta Wiltshire, 1982
Meharia avicenna Yakovlev, 2011
Meharia fischeri Yakovlev & Saldaitis, 2008
Meharia hackeri Saldaitis, Ivinskis & Yakovlev, 2011
Meharia incurvariella Chrétien, 1915
Meharia incurvariella incurvariella Chrétien, 1915
Meharia incurvariella persica (Wiltshire, 1946)
Meharia murphyi Yakovlev, 2013
Meharia philbyi Bradley, 1952
Meharia scythica D. Komarov et Zolotuhin, 2005
Meharia semilactea (Warren et Rothschild, 1905)
Meharia tancredii Sutton, 1963
Meharia tanganyikae Bradley, 1952
Meharia yakovlevi Saldaitis & Ivinskis, 2010

References

Cossidae of the Socotra Archipelago (Yemen)
Yakovlev & Murphy, 2013. The Cossidae (Lepidoptera) of Malawi with descriptions of two new species. Zootaxa 3709 (4): 371–393