''Acanthosphinx'' is a

monotypic 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 ...

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of ...

genus in the family

Sphingidae 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, ...

erected by

Per Olof Christopher Aurivillius Per Olof Christopher Aurivillius (15 January 1843 – 20 July 1928) was a Swedish entomologist. Life Christopher Aurivillius was born at Forsa, Sweden. He was the director of the Natural History Museum in Stockholm and he specialised in Cole ...

in 1891. Its only species, ''Acanthosphinx guessfeldti'', the widow sphinx, was first described by

Hermann Dewitz Hermann Dewitz (5 November 1848, Obelischken, Insterburg – 15 May 1890 Berlin) was a German entomologist who specialized in Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moth ...

in 1879. It is known from forests from

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

to the Congo Basin, Congo,

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are ...

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 northe ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

and

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The south ...

. The length of each forewing is 57–70 mm. The larvae feed on ''

Bridelia micrantha ''Bridelia micrantha'', the mitzeeri or the coastal golden-leaf, is a tree in the family Phyllanthaceae and is native to tropical and southern Africa as well as to the island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean. Description A medium to tall tree (u ...

''.

References

Smerinthini Monotypic moth genera Moths described in 1879 Moths of Africa Lepidoptera of Cameroon Lepidoptera of Uganda Lepidoptera of Malawi Lepidoptera of Tanzania Lepidoptera of Angola Insects of the Central African Republic Lepidoptera of West Africa Lepidoptera of Zambia Taxa named by Per Olof Christopher Aurivillius {{Smerinthini-stub