Euphaedra cyparissa nimbina Pyrcz & Warren-Gash, 2013

Pyrcz, Tomasz W., Warren-Gash, Haydon, Lorenc-Brudecka, Jadwiga, Dieuwko Knoop,, Oremans, Philippe & Safian, Szabolcs, 2013, Taxonomy and distribution pattern of the African rain forest butterfly genus Euphaedra Huebner sensu stricto with the description of three new subspecies of Euphaedra cyparissa (Cramer) and one of E. sarcoptera (Butler) (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Limenitidinae, Adoliadini), ZooKeys 298, pp. 1-37 : 6-7

Euphaedra cyparissa nimbina Pyrcz & Warren-Gash ssp. n. Figs 1C, 1D , 3C, 3D , 9C , 10C

Type-locality.

Mount Nimba, Guinea

Material examined.

Holotype ♂: Guinea, Mont Nimba, III.1996, ABRI; Paratypes: (21 ♂ and 9 ♀): 1 ♂: Guinea, Mt. Nimba; 1 ♂: same data; 1 ♀: same data, prep. genit. 09/09.05.2012, J. Lorenc; 1 ♂: Ivory Coast, Mont Nimba, 01.1998, S. Collins leg., ABRI; 2 ♂: Guinée, Nimba, I.1998; 2 ♂ and 1 ♀: Guinée, Nimba, VI.1998; 1 ♀: Guinée, Nimba, X.1998; 1 ♂ and 1 ♀: Guinée, Labé, Fouta Djalon, X.1998; 1 ♂: Guinea, Sérédou, VI.1999; 5 ♂ and 1 ♀: Guinea, Mont Nimba, VI.2000, HWG; 1 ♂: Guinée, Mont Nimba, 02.V.1998, ex HWG; 1 ♂: same data but VI.2000; 1 ♀: same data; MZUJ; 7 ♂: Guinée, Mt. Nimba, VII.2004, E. Vingerhoedt leg.; 3 ♀: same data, PhO.

Diagnosis:

Upperside black and golden green, similar to Euphaedra sarcoptera ferrea ssp. n., little difference in shade between basal area and subapical patch, except for its slightly more prominent yellow shade.

Description.

Male ( Figs 1C, 1D ): Head, thorax and abdomen: identical to other subspecies. FWD: (length: 34-42 mm, mean: 38.5 mm, n=16) with an elongated apical part and gently convex outer margin; most of wing surface black; a golden green area from wing base to two-thirds of anal margin, covering lower one-third of discal cell, enclosing a mid discal cell black spot; a large, roughly rectangular golden yellow subapical patch with a greenish overcast along inner and outer margin, extending widely from subcosta to vein Cu1, with sharply defined zigzagging basal limit and somewhat diffused outer limit; fringes grey. HWD oval with a gently scalloped outer margin; uniform golden green, a black marginal area with a dark blue flush, roughly 4-5 mm wide with smooth and sharply defined basal edge (compared to more diffuse and zigzagging in the nominate); fringes grey. FWV mostly golden green, a series of black spots, at wing base, mid cell, cell end, the latter two elongated, a half-moon one in mid cell Cu1-Cu2; two black elongated patches and four spots, two enclosing basally and distally a rich yellow patch, and two large, roughly oval tornal patches in Cu1-Cu2 and Cu2-1/2A. HWV golden green with, with an elongated basal pinkish patch extending from costal margin to Rs to one-fourth costa, edged with black; two black discal spots, and a row of eight large, roughly oval black submarginal patches; marginal area darker bottle green and black. Male genitalia ( Fig. 9C ): Does not differ noticeably from the nominotypical, except for a small, sharp apical tip on the valvae.

Female ( Figs 3C, 3D ): Sexual dimorphism slight, recognized from the male by the larger size (43-50 mm, mean: 46 mm, n=5). Female genitalia ( Fig. 10C ): Bursa copulatrix large, oval; no signa; ductus bursae (0.19 mm) narrow, approximately the same width over the whole length, two-thirds the length of bursa; colliculum wide, slat like with folded edges, strongly sclerotized, one-third the length of ductus bursae; ductus seminalis joins the colliculum at the entrance of ductus bursae; lamella postvaginalis small, slat-like; papillae anales three times as long (0.14 mm) as wide in lateral view, compressed in ventral view; apophyse posteriores as long as the width of papillae anales; von Siebold organ prominent (but smaller than in some species of the Euphaedra ceres group ( Pyrcz et al. 2011).

Etymology.

The subspecific epithet of this taxon derives from its type locality, the massif of Mount Nimba (1750 m) on the Ivory Coast - Guinea border.

Range.

The range is apparently disjunct with most specimens coming from the lower slopes of Mont Nimba and the surrounding area, and two collected in the Fouta Djalon range in northern Guinea, the latter record needs confirmation.

Figures

Figure 1. Adults, males: A Euphaedra cyparissa cyparissa Mount Swa, Liberia (dorsum) B Euphaedra cyparissa cyparissa Mount Swa, Liberia (venter) C Euphaedra cyparissa nimbina Mont Nimba, Guinea, holotype (dorsum) D Euphaedra cyparissa nimbina Mont Nimba, Guinea, holotype (venter) E Euphaedra cyparissa tai Tai, Ivory Coast (dorsum) F Euphaedra cyparissa tai Tai, Ivory Coast (venter).

Figure 3. Adults, females: A Euphaedra cyparissa cyparissa Guma, Sierra Leone (dorsum) B Euphaedra cyparissa cyparissa Guma, Sierra Leone (venter) C Euphaedra cyparissa nimbina Mont Nimba, Guinea, paratype (dorsum) D Euphaedra cyparissa nimbina Mont Nimba, Guinea, paratype (venter) E Euphaedra cyparissa aurantina Atewa Forest, paratype (dorsum) F Euphaedra cyparissa aurantina Atewa Forest, paratype (venter).

Figure 9. Male genitalia (in lateral view, aedeagus extracted): A Euphaedra cyparissa cyparissa Guma, Sierra Leone B Euphaedra cyparissa tai Tai, Ivory Coast C Euphaedra cyparissa nimbina Mont Nimba, Guinea D Euphaedra cyparissa aurantina Abengourou, Ivory Coast E Euphaedra cyparissa aurata Ebogo, Cameroon F Euphaedra cyparissa nominalina Bangui, Central African Republic.

Figure 10. Female genitalia (in lateral view): A Euphaedra cyparissa aurantina Mpasso, Ghana E cyparissa aurantina Abengourou, Ivory Coast; 1 ♂: S. Nigeria, Ewohimi, 29. XI. 55, J. Boorman; 1 ♂: no label; 2 ♂: Cameroon, Ebogo, Mbalmayo, X. 2001; 1 ♂: Cameroon C Euphaedra cyparissa nimbina Mont Nimba, Guinea D Euphaedra cyparissa tai Tai, Ivory Coast E Euphaedra cyparissa aurata Obudu, Nigeria F Euphaedra cyparissa nominalina Mongorimba, R. C. A.