Psychonotis melane astra, Schröder, 2019

Schröder, Stefan, 2019, Notes on the genus Psychonotis (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) from Western New Guinea (Papua and Papua Barat), with description of a new subspecies of P. melane (Joicey & Talbot, 1916), Sugapa Digital 11 (2), pp. 79-86 : 83-84

Psychonotis melane astra subsp. nov.

(Figs 29-32, 34)

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:66D54B2C-87A7-482F-9552-8C5810627CB

Holotype: ♂ KSP 22930, Papua, Star Mountains, Pegunungan Bintang, Mabilabol , ii.2005, leg. Daawiah & Hanna.

Paratypes: (2 ♂♂, 1 ♀) 1 ♂ KSP 11928 [dissected], Pegunungan Bintang, Mabilabol, ii. 2005, leg. Daawiah & Hanna ; 1 ♀ KSP 11929, Pegunungan Bintang, Mabilabol, ii. 2005, leg. Daawia & Hanna ; 1 ♂ KSP 11927, Pegunungan Bintang, Mabilabol, iii.1982 .

Description: Forewing length 11-12mm. Upperside uniformly dark blackish brown, with the underside white bands faintly shining through. Fringes dark black brown. Underside blackish with broad white median bands on both wings. Some isolated metallic green scales along the costa of forewing and at the hindwing margin. One specimen shows a single line of green scales faintly following the shape of marginal lunules. Externally females do not differ from the males.

Male genitalia: As in the nominate subspecies. Valvae slightly more rectangular in outline and more coarsely serrated (Fig. 34).

Notes: Specimens of ssp. astra differ significantly from the nominate subspecies. The metallic underside markings are strongly reduced and the blue green scaling is almost completely missing. The white hindwing median band is not triangular in shape, but follows more or less the wing shape, so that it appears much broader than in nominate melane . It is not as strongly narrowing towards the inner margin and remains much broader immediately at the margin.

Distribution: Only known from the type locality in the Star Mountains.