Xanthopan morganii
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''Xanthopan'' is a
monotypic genus In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...
of sphinx moth, with ''Xanthopan morganii'' (often misspelled as "''morgani''"), commonly called Morgan's sphinx moth, as its sole species. It is a very large
sphinx moth The Sphingidae are a family of moths (Lepidoptera) called sphinx moths, also colloquially known as hawk moths, with many of their caterpillars known as “hornworms”; it includes about 1,450 species. It is best represented in the tropics, but ...
from Southern Africa (
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
,
Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...
,
Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...
) and
Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
. Little is known about its biology, though the adults have been found to visit
orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...
s and are one of the main pollinators of several of the Madagascar endemic baobab (''
Adansonia ''Adansonia'' is a genus made up of eight species of medium-to-large deciduous trees known as baobabs ( or ). They are placed in the Malvaceae family, subfamily Bombacoideae. They are native to Madagascar, mainland Africa, and Australia.Tropic ...
'') species,Baum, D. A. (1995). "A Systematic Revision of ''Adansonia'' (Bombacaceae)". ''Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden''. 82 (3): 440-471. including the critically endangeredLetsara, R.; Faranirina, L.; Razafindrahaja, V. & Faramalala, M. (2019). "''Adansonia rubrostipa''". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T37679A64366919. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T37679A64366919.en. Retrieved 8 July 2020. ''
Adansonia perrieri ''Adansonia perrieri'', or Perrier's baobab, is a critically endangered species of deciduous tree, in the genus ''Adansonia''. This species is endemic to northern Madagascar. It has been documented in only 10 locations, including Ankarana, Ampas ...
'' or Perrier's baobab.


Overview

In January 1862 while researching
insect pollination Entomophily or insect pollination is a form of pollination whereby pollen of plants, especially but not only of flowering plants, is distributed by insects. Flowers pollinated by insects typically advertise themselves with bright colours, some ...
of orchids,
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
received a package of orchids from the distinguished horticulturist
James Bateman James Bateman may refer to: *James Bateman (horticulturist) (1811–1897), British landowner and horticulturist *James Bateman (artist) (1893–1959), English painter of rural scenes *James Bateman (MP), MP for Carlisle (UK Parliament constituency), ...
, and in a follow up letter with a second package Bateman's son
Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
confirmed the names of the specimens, including ''
Angraecum sesquipedale ''Angraecum sesquipedale'' , also known as Darwin's orchid, Christmas orchid, Star of Bethlehem orchid, and king of the angraecums, is an epiphytic orchid in the genus ''Angraecum'' endemic to Madagascar. The orchid was first discovered by the Fre ...
'' from Madagascar. Darwin was surprised at the defining characteristic of this species: the "astonishing length" of the whip-like green
spur A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to back ...
forming the
nectar Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...
y of each flower, and remarked to
Joseph Hooker Joseph Hooker (November 13, 1814 – October 31, 1879) was an American Civil War general for the Union, chiefly remembered for his decisive defeat by Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863. Hooker had serv ...
"I have just received such a Box full from Mr Bateman with the astounding ''Angræcum sesquipedalia'' with a nectary a foot long— Good Heavens what insect can suck it" ref name=Letter3411> The spur of the flower is from its tip to the tip of the flower's lip. The name "sesquipedale" is Latin for "one and a half feet," referring to the spur length. From his observations and experiments with pushing a probe into the spur of the flower, Darwin surmised in his 1862 book ''
Fertilisation of Orchids ''Fertilisation of Orchids'' is a book by English naturalist Charles Darwin published on 15 May 1862 under the full explanatory title ''On the Various Contrivances by Which British and Foreign Orchids Are Fertilised by Insects, and On the Good ...
'' that there must be a pollinator moth with a
proboscis A proboscis () is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. In invertebrates, the term usually refers to tubular mouthparts used for feeding and sucking. In vertebrates, a proboscis is an elong ...
long enough to reach the nectar at the end of the spur. In its attempt to get the nectar at the end of the spur the moth would get pollen rubbed off on its head. The next orchid it visited would then be pollinated in the same manner. In 1867
Alfred Russel Wallace Alfred Russel Wallace (8 January 1823 – 7 November 1913) was a British naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist, biologist and illustrator. He is best known for independently conceiving the theory of evolution through natural se ...
published an article in which he supported Darwin's hypothesis, remarking that the African
sphinx moth The Sphingidae are a family of moths (Lepidoptera) called sphinx moths, also colloquially known as hawk moths, with many of their caterpillars known as “hornworms”; it includes about 1,450 species. It is best represented in the tropics, but ...
''Xanthopan morganii'' (then known as ''Macrosila morganii'') had a proboscis almost long enough to reach the bottom of the spur. In a footnote to this article Wallace wrote "That such a moth exists in Madagascar may be safely predicted; and naturalists who visit that island should search for it with as much confidence as astronomers searched for the planet Neptune,--and they will be equally successful!" Subsequently, the sphingid experts
Walter Rothschild Lionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild, (8 February 1868 – 27 August 1937) was a British banker, politician, zoologist and soldier, who was a member of the Rothschild family. As a Zionist leader, he was present ...
and Karl Jordan received one male and one female specimen of ''Xanthopan morganii'' (commonly called Morgan's sphinx moth) with an especially long proboscis, collected on Madagascar by
Charles Oberthür Charles Oberthür (14 September 1845 – 1 June 1924) was a French amateur entomologist specializing in lepidoptera. Biography Charles Oberthür was born in Rennes, the son of the printer François-Charles Oberthür and Marie Hamelin, and brot ...
and
Paul Mabille Paul Mabille (1835 – 6 April 1923) was a French naturalist mainly interested in Lepidoptera and botany. Mabille was born in 1835 in Tours, France. He was a member and President (1876–1877) of the Société entomologique de France and a memb ...
. Since Wallace predicted that the mystery pollinator would turn out to be a sphinx moth, rather than simply a large moth as Darwin had suggested, the Madagascan form was named subspecies ''praedicta'' by Walter Rothschild & Karl Jordan, in honour of Wallace's (not Darwin's) prediction. Darwin's earlier, but less specific, prediction was not even mentioned by them. The Madagascan subspecies is known as Wallace's sphinx moth and it differs from the African form by having a pink, rather than white, breast and abdomen and a black apical line on the forewing, which is broader than in mainland specimens. Molecular clock models using either rate- or fossil-based calibrations imply that the Madagascan subspecies ''X. morganii praedicta'' and the African subspecies ''X. morganii'' ''morganii'' diverged 7.4 ± 2.8 Mya, which overlaps the divergence of ''A. sesquipedale'' from its sister, ''A. sororium'', namely 7.5 ± 5.2 Mya. Since both these orchids have extremely long spurs, long spurs likely existed before that and were exploited by long-tongued moths similar to ''
Xanthopan morganii praedicta ''Xanthopan'' is a monotypic genus of sphinx moth, with ''Xanthopan morganii'' (often misspelled as "''morgani''"), commonly called Morgan's sphinx moth, as its sole species. It is a very large sphinx moth from Southern Africa (Zimbabwe, Zambia, ...
''. The long geological separation of the subspecies ''morganii'' and ''praedicta'' matches their morphological differences in the colour of breast and abdomen. Morgan's sphinx moth approaches the flower to ascertain by scent whether or not it is the correct orchid species. Then the moth backs up over a foot and unrolls its proboscis, then flies forward, inserting it into the orchid's spur. The larvae feed on ''
Annona senegalensis ''Annona senegalensis'', commonly known as African custard-apple, wild custard apple, wild soursop, (Mandinka language), and (Wolof language) is a species of flowering plant in the custard apple family, Annonaceae. The specific epithet, ''seneg ...
'', ''
Hexalobus crispiflorus ''Hexalobus crispiflorus'' is a species of plant in the family Annonaceae. It is native to Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, DR Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierr ...
'', ''
Uvaria ''Uvaria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Annonaceae. The generic name ''uvaria'' is derived from the Latin ''uva'' meaning grape, likely because the edible fruit of some species in the genus resemble grapes. Circumscription Specie ...
'', '' Ibaria'' and ''
Xylopia ''Xylopia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Annonaceae. They are mostly trees and some shrubs. There are about 160 species distributed in Asia, Africa, and the Americas.Moreira, I. C., Lago, J. H. G., Young, M. C. M., & Roque, N. F. ...
'' species.


References

* {{Taxonbar , from1=Q2506682 , from2=Q133902 Sphingini Moths described in 1856 Moths of Africa Moths of the Comoros Moths of Madagascar Orchid pollinators Monotypic moth genera