Lethe elwesi houjiangae Lang & Bozano

Lang, Song-Yun & Bozano, Gian Cristoforo, 2015, Lethe elwesi (Moore) stat. rev., a distinct species, with description of a new subspecies from NW Yunnan, China (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Satyrinae), Zootaxa 4058 (1), pp. 127-134 : 128-132

Lethe elwesi houjiangae Lang & Bozano ssp. nov.

( Figs. 1–6 , 37 )

Type material. Holotype ♂, CHINA: Yunnan, Gongshan, East slope of Mts. Gao-li-gong, 3200 m, 25.VII.2015, leg. S-y. Lang (LSY); Paratypes: 10 ♂♂, CHINA: Yunnan, Gongshan, Dulong-jiang valley, West slope of Mts. Gao-li-gong, 2800 m, 19.VII.2015, leg. S-y. Lang (LSY); 39 ♂♂, CHINA: Yunnan, Gongshan, East slope of Mts. Gao-li-gong, 2500–3200 m, 20–26.VII.2015, leg. S-y. Lang (LSY); 1 ♂, ditto ( CMNH); 1 ♂, ditto (HH); 1 ♂, CHINA: N. Yunnan, Weixi, Tacheng, Samage Forest, 27°38'45"N 99°22'00"E, 2900 m, 14-7-2015, leg. F. Fantoni (FF).

Description. Male. Forewing length: 24–26 mm. Dorsal: ground color brown with markings the same as in the nominotypical elwesi . Ventral: ground color yellowish brown; unlike creamy white and silvery markings in the nominotypical elwesi , most of pale markings yellowish. Male genitalia ( Figs. 17–19 , 23–25 , 29–31): Similar to the nominotypical elwesi . Female. Unknown.

Diagnosis. The new subspecies can be distinguished from the nominate subspecies by the combination of the following characters: a) Ventral side, ground color is yellowish brown, whereas it is darker reddish brown in the nominotypical subspecies; b) Ventral forewing, postdiscal markings and the pale bar between the two dark stripes in the cell are yellowish, whereas they are creamy white in the nominate subspecies; c) Ventral hindwing, pale discal band is yellow and broader, whereas it is silvery and relatively narrower in the nominate subspecies; d) Ventral hindwing, basal half silvery stripes and lines are slender and weaker, whereas they are more strongly developed in the nominate subspecies; f) Male genitalia: the basal half of the valva is wider than the nominate subspecies.

Etymology. The subspecific name houjiangae is named after Ms. Hou Jiang from CMNH. Distribution. China (NW Yunnan)

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 8. Butterflies. 1, Lethe elwesi houjiangae ssp. nov., male, holotype, SATY 0369 (Gongshan, Yunnan), dorsal; 2, ditto, ventral; 3, L. elwesi houjiangae ssp. nov., male, paratype, SATY 0356 (Gongshan, Yunnan), dorsal; 4, ditto, ventral; 5, L. elwesi houjiangae ssp. nov., male, paratype (Gongshan, Yunnan), dorsal; 6, ditto, ventral; 7, L. elwesi stat. rev., male, SATY 0368 (Medog, Tibet), dorsal; 8, ditto, ventral. Scale bar = 10 mm.

FIGURES 35 – 38. 35. Habitat of Lethe elwesi houjiangae ssp. nov. and L. jalaurida nuolaensis, altitude 3200 m, East slope of Mts. Gao-li-gong, Gongshan, NW Yunnan; 36. Habitat of L. elwesi stat. rev., altitude 2800 m, 62 K, Medog, SE Tibet; 37. L. elwesi houjiangae ssp. nov. in nature, altitude 3200 m, Gongshan, NW Yunnan; 38. L. elwesi stat. rev. in nature, altitude 2800 m, 62 K, Medog, SE Tibet.

FIGURES 17 – 22. Male genitalia. a. Male genitalia in lateral view with left valva and aedeagus removed; b. Aedeagus in lateral view. 17, Lethe elwesi houjiangae ssp. nov., holotype, SATY 0369 (Gongshan, Yunnan); 18, L. elwesi houjiangae ssp. nov., paratype, SATY 0356 (Gongshan, Yunnan); 19, L. elwesi houjiangae ssp. nov., paratype, SATY 0363 (Gongshan, Yunnan); 20, L. elwesi stat. rev., SATY 0368 (Medog, Tibet); 21, L. jalaurida nuolaensis, SATY 0361 (Gongshan, Yunnan); 22, L. jalaurida plistia, SATY 0367 (Puge, Sichuan).

FIGURES 23 – 28. Tip of the male valva in dorsal view. 23, Lethe elwesi houjiangae ssp. nov., holotype, SATY 0369 (Gongshan, Yunnan); 24, L. elwesi houjiangae ssp. nov., paratype, SATY 0356 (Gongshan, Yunnan); 25, L. elwesi houjiangae ssp. nov., paratype, SATY 0363 (Gongshan, Yunnan); 26, L. elwesi stat. rev., SATY 0368 (Medog, Tibet); 27, L. jalaurida nuolaensis, SATY 0361 (Gongshan, Yunnan); 28, L. jalaurida plistia, SATY 0367 (Puge, Sichuan).