Cymothoe druryi

Velzen, Robin Van, Larsen, Torben B. & Bakker, Freek T., 2009, A new hidden species of the Cymothoe caenis - complex (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) from western Africa, Zootaxa 2197, pp. 53-63 : 57-59

Cymothoe druryi van Velzen & Larsen sp. nov.

Figures 3 –7

Description. Male (Figures 4–5). Forewing 32 mm long. The male is creamy white above with a hint of blueish-green. A faint straight discal line divides all wings in a slightly lighter basal half and a slightly darker distal half. There is a postdiscal line of irregular black spots, usually complete on the forewing, but incomplete on the hindwing. A dark, submarginal zig-zag band is separated from the equally dark margin. The abdominal fold is dark brown, and the basal part of both wings is dusted with grey which does not extend far into the wing surface. The underside is greenish-white with no tinge of yellow. A dark, fine, precise, straight discal line which is postdiscally lined with dark dustings crosses all wings. The submarginal chevrons appear as small, dark spots, connected by a light-grey submarginal band which is separated from the equally light-grey margin. The extent of the black markings varies broadly, but the pattern does not: variation is partly seasonally defined.

Female (Figures 6–7). Forewing 37 mm long. The upper side has the basal part of both wings dark-brown. This is followed by a white discal band that is precisely delineated, except at the end of the forewing cell where there are three irregular white spots. The band is so wide that the black postdiscal chevrons are largely inside the band. There is slight variation in the width of the white discal band, which is rarely (in <5% of the specimens) tinged with cream. The marginal chevrons are blackish-brown and bordered by a dark-brown margin. The underside shows the same pattern except for a fine, precise discal line bordering the dark basal part of the wings, and the submarginal chevrons which appear as small, dark spots, connected by a thin submarginal line.

Male genitalia ( Figure 3 ). The uncus is 4 times as long as wide and of the same length as the ventral edge of the massive gnathos. The frontal part of the tegumen has a brief hump followed by a slight dome. The valves have a curved wedge-shape, with a long indentation at the dorsal edge anterior of the vinculum; the tips have teeth that continue briefly along the ventral edge of the valves. Below the dorsal edge of the valves is a well-defined, toothed harpe. The penis is of the same length as the valves and has a slight s-shape.

Material examined. Holotype: 3 SIERRA LEONE, Gola Forest, April 2006 (T.B. Larsen leg., Zoological Museum Amsterdam coll.).

DNA barcoded paratypes: GUINEA: Diecké Forest, 3 December 2006 (E. Vingerhoedt leg., G. Vande Weghe coll.); SIERRA LEONE: Gola Forest, 3 April 2006 (T.B. Larsen leg., ZMA coll.); GHANA: Bobiri Forest, Ƥ March/ April 2007 (T.B. Larsen leg., ZMA coll.); Bobiri Forest, 3 13–18 May 2007 (S. Szabolcs leg., ZMA coll.); 3 2 December 2007 (J.H. Boersma leg., ZMA coll.); Kyabobo, Ƥ June 2005 (R. Vorgas leg., ABRI coll.); NIGERIA: Agbara, Ƥ October 1992 (D.P. Knoop leg. et coll.). All DNA barcoded types are referenced on the BOLD website.

Paratypes based on male genitalia: GUINEA: Diecké Forest, 33 14–26 March 2003, 53 September 2003, 43 7–16 May 2004 (Ph. Léonard & E. Vingerhoedt leg., Ph. Oremans coll.); IVORY COAST: Sassandra, 3 October 1997 (Ph. Moretto leg., Ph Oremans coll.); NIGERIA: Isheri Forest, 3 10 March 1990 (D.P. Knoop leg., Muzeum Zoologiczne Uniwersytetu Jagiellonskiego coll.); Palm Grove Estate, Lagos, 3 22 October 1985 (A. Knoop leg., D.P Knoop coll.)

Etymology. The species is dedicated to Dru Drury who described Cymothoe caenis in his Illustrations of Natural History volume 2 ( Drury, 1773 ), making it the first Cymothoe species known to science. Despite his major contribution to the taxonomy of West African butterflies, none carries his name. It had been the intention of Heinrich Neustetter, who described many forms of Cymothoe a century ago, to honour Drury with a species of Cymothoe , but it remained a manuscript name ( Overlaet, 1952).

NB The type of C. caenis appears to have been lost: we shall designate a neotype, preferably from near the type locality in eastern Nigeria when more material is available.

Distribution. Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo and western Nigeria (see Figure 1 ).

FIGURE 4–7. Photographs of Cymothoe druryi sp. nov. from Gola Forest in Sierra Leone. 3 Holotype: 4. dorsal view; 5. ventral view. Ƥ paratype: 6. dorsal view; 7 ventral view.

Diagnosis. The male is effectively identical to that of C. caenis Drury. No convincing differentiating macromorphological features were found despite the significant DNA differences reported above. The female is monomorphic but similar to one of the female forms of C. caenis that occur in the equatorial area.

The male genitalia of C. druryi differ significantly from those of C. caenis Drury in the following features: a) The uncus is distinctly longer, and b) the strongly chitinised gnathos is even more massive; the chitinised uncus has the same length as the ventral edge of the gnathos (that ratio is only 0.70 in C. caenis ). c) The frontal part of the tegumen is much less strongly domed than in C. caenis . d) The dorsal edge of the valve, anterior of the vinculum, is indented in C. druryi and rounded in C. caenis . e) The tip of the valve has larger teeth and these are continued briefly along the ventral edge of the valve, whereas C. caenis has small teeth which are not continued. f) The most significant difference is the presence of a well-defined, toothed harpe below the dorsal edge of the valve which is absent in C. caenis . (see Figure 3 ).

Figures

FIGURE 3. Male genitalia of Cymothoe drury sp. nov. from Sierra Leone [Rydon 102] (NHM, London 30414; the fultura is damaged) and Cymothoe caenis Drury from Nigeria [Rydon 81] (NHM, London 30446).

FIGURES 1 – 2. DNA barcoding results. 1. Map of Africa showing the collection sites for the specimens examined in this study. Sites where C. caenis s. s. and C. druryi sp. nov. were collected are represented by triangles and pentagons respectively. 2. Neighbor joining haplotype tree based on K 2 P distances between DNA barcodes. Each specimen is identified by its sample ID code (see Table 1). CAM = Cameroon, CAR = Central African Republic, DRC = Democratic Republic of the Congo, GAB = Gabon, GH = Ghana, GUI = Guinea, NIG = Nigeria, SL = Sierra Leone, RWA = Rwanda.