Aulocera melanoleuca Sakai, Aoki & Yamaguchi, 2001

Lang, Song-Yun & Huang, Si-Yao, 2023, Notes on Aulocera pygmaea (Holik, 1949) and its related taxa (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Satyrinae), Zootaxa 5357 (4), pp. 555-572 : 565

Aulocera melanoleuca Sakai, Aoki & Yamaguchi, 2001 stat. nov.

( Figs. 12 , 15 , 30 i, 31 h)

Aulocera pumilus melanoleuca Sakai, Aoki & Yamaguchi, 2001: 55 , Figs. 46–49, 77d. TL: Kakarbo Razi (4,000m), Kachin, Myanmar; Shizuya, Watanabe, Saito & Soe, 2005: 40, 44, fig.

Paroeneis palaearcticus atuntsensis (partim): H. Huang, 2001: 97, figs. 89, 92, pl. VIII: 60.

Aulocera atunsensis [sic] melanoleuca : Lang, 2019: 147.

Aulocera pygmaea melanoleuca : Lang, 2021: 23; Lang, 2022: 121.

Aulocera pygmaea atuntsensis (partim): Lang, 2021: 23; Lang, 2022: 121, pl. XI, figs. 20, 21.

Material examined. 1 ♂, China: Tibet, Zayu, E. of Demu-la Pass , 12.VIII.2017, leg. H. Huang, ex. H. Huang ( LSY); 1 ♀ , ditto, Demu-la Pass , 12.VIII.2000, leg. H. Huang, ex. H. Huang ( LSY) .

Diagnosis. Aulocera melanoleuca stat. nov. can be separated from its closest relative, A. atuntsensis , by the combination of the following characters: 1) in the male, on the forewing upperside, the white postdiscal spots are always shorter; 2) on the hindwing upperside, the white discal spot in space 5 is more protruding towards the termen; 3) the androconia ( Fig. 31h ) are obviously shorter; 4) the valva ( Fig. 30i ) has its distal half broader; 5) in the female, the discal spots on the upperside of both wings are narrower and loosely arranged.

Remarks. Although the population of melanoleuca from the type locality has not been examined, Sakai et al. (2001) illustrated its androconia which are obviously shorter than those of the type series of atuntsensis , while the androconia of melanoleuca illustrated by Sakai et al. (2001) are identical in the overall length to those from Demu-la Pass (in Zayu, Tibet). Even though Huang (2001) and Lang (2021, 2022) all treated the population from Demu-la Pass as the taxon atuntsensis , the Tibetan population can be easily separated from the true A. atuntsensis by the characters given in the diagnosis above. Moreover, Demu-la Pass is close to Kakarbo Razi, N. Kachin, the type locality of melanoleuca , and the distance is only about 110 km. Therefore, it is reasonable to treat the populations from N. Kachin, N. Myanmer and Demu-la, S.E. Tibet as conspecific. Since this taxon is also quite different in regards of the androconia ( Fig. 31h ) from A. pygmaea ( Fig. 31f ), it is upgraded to specific level, viz. A. melanoleuca stat. nov. Moreover, it is worth mentioning that androconium of A. pumilus ( Figs. 21, 22 , 30j ) is not found from its wings.

Distribution. China (S.E. Tibet), Myanmar (N. Kachin).

Figures

FIGURES 13a–20a. Aulocera spp., ♀, upperside. 13a. A. atuntsensis, allotype, North Yunnan, A-tun-tse, illustrated by Gross (1959: pl. I: 16), Lep153519, ZFMK; 14a. ditto, paratypus, ditto, Lep153520, ZFMK; 15a. A. melanoleuca stat. nov., Tibet, Zayu, LSY; 16a. A. auloceroides, holotype, Tibet, Pai, QDEC; 17a. A. pygmaea vadimi, paratype, Sichuan, Pingwu, LSY; 18a. A. pygmaea pygmaea, paralectotype, Gansu, Peilingshan, MTDG; 19a. A. sybillina microsybillina, paratype, Gansu, Tanchang, LSY; 20a. A. longanfua, paratype, Sichuan, Pingwu, LSY.

FIGURES 13b–20b. Aulocera spp., ♀, underside. 13b. A. atuntsensis, allotype, North Yunnan, A-tun-tse, illustrated by Gross (1959: pl. I: 16), Lep153519, ZFMK; 14b. ditto, paratypus, ditto, Lep153520, ZFMK; 15b. A. melanoleuca stat. nov., Tibet, Zayu, LSY; 16b. A. auloceroides, holotype, Tibet, Pai, QDEC; 17b. A. pygmaea vadimi, paratype, Sichuan, Pingwu, LSY; 18b. A. pygmaea pygmaea, paralectotype, Gansu, Peilingshan, MTDG; 19b. A. sybillina microsybillina, paratype, Gansu, Tanchang, LSY; 20b. A. longanfua, paratype, Sichuan, Pingwu, LSY.

FIGURE 30. Valva of Aulocera spp. in lateral view. a1. A. pygmaea, lectotype, Gansu, Peilingshan, Lep153451, ZFMK; a2. ditto, paralectotype, ditto, Lep153452, ZFMK; b1. A. p. vadimi, holotype, Sichuan, Pingwu, SATY0765, CQMNH; b2. ditto, paratype, ditto, SATY0742, ANDR0131, LSY; b3. ditto, SATY0766, LSY; b4. ditto, SATY0769, LSY; c1. A. atuntsensis, holotype, North Yunnan, A-tun-tse, illustrated by Gross (1959: fig. 5), Gross 54, ZFMK; c2. ditto, paratype, ditto, Lep153518, ZFMK; d1. A. longanfua, holotype, Sichuan, Pingwu, SATY0743,ANDR0130, CQMNH; d2. ditto, paratype, ditto, SATY0762, LSY; d3. ditto, SATY0767, LSY; e. A. sybillina microsybillina, holotype, Gansu, Tanchang, SATY0871, ANDR0209, CQMNH; f. A. s. dieshanensis, holotype, Gansu, Zhugqu, SATY0874,ANDR0227, CQMNH; g1. A. s. sybillina, Gansu, Xiahe, SATY0764, ANDR0128, LSY; g2. ditto, Tibet, Zoige, SATY0749, ANDR0126, LSY; h. A. s. bianor, Qinghai, Ping’an, SATY0763, ANDR0129, LSY; i. A. melanoleuca stat. nov., Tibet, Zayu, ANDR0282, LSY; j. A. pumilus, Thibet occ., Lanak La, Lep153404, ZFMK.

FIGURE 31. Male androconia of Aulocera spp. a1. A. sybillina sybillina, Tibet, Zoige, SATY0749,ANDR0126, LSY; a2. ditto, Gansu, Xiahe, SATY0764,ANDR0128, LSY;b. A.s. dieshanensis, holotype,Gansu, Zhugqu, SATY0874,ANDR0227, CQMNH; c. A. s. microsybillina, holotype, Gansu, Tanchang, SATY0871, ANDR0209, CQMNH; d. A. longanfua, holotype, Sichuan, Pingwu, SATY0743, ANDR0130, CQMNH; e. A. pygmaea vadimi, paratype, Sichuan, Pingwu, SATY0742, ANDR0131, LSY; f1. A. pygmaea, lectotype, Gansu, Peilingshan, Lep153451, ZFMK; f2. ditto, paralectotype, ditto, Lep153452, ZFMK; g1. A. atuntsensis, holotype, North Yunnan, A-tun-tse, Lep153457, ZFMK; g2. ditto, paratype, ditto, Lep153518, ZFMK; g3. ditto, North Yunnan, Li-kiang, Lep153458, ZFMK; h1. A. melanoleuca stat. nov., Myanmar, Kachin, after Sakai et al. (2001: fig. 77d); h2. ditto, Tibet, Zayu, ANDR0282, LSY.

FIGURES 9–12. Aulocera spp., ♂, (a) upperside, (b) underside. 9. A. atuntsensis, holotypus, North Yunnan,A-tun-tse, illustrated by Gross (1959: pl. I: 15), Lep153457, ZFMK; 10. ditto, paratypus, ditto, Lep153518, ZFMK; 11. ditto, North Yunnan, Li-kiang, Lep153458, ZFMK; 12. A. melanoleuca stat. nov., Tibet, Zayu, ANDR0282, LSY.

FIGURES 21–27. Aulocera spp., (left) upperside, (right) underside. 21. A. pumilus, ♂, Kaschmir, Marsimik Pass, illustrated by Gross (1959: pl. I: 5), Lep153401, ZFMK; 22. ditto, ♀, Kaschmir, Shigar River, illustrated by Gross (1959: pl. I: 6), Lep153405, ZFMK; 23. A. iole, ♂, Sichuan, Kangding, ANDR0138, SATY0041, LSY; 24. ditto, ♀, Sichuan, Kangding, SATY0778, LSY; 25. A. sybillina spp. incert., ♂, Gansu, Peilingshan, Lep153511, ZFMK; 26. A. sybillina sybillina, ♂, Ta-tsien-lou (Sichuan, Kangding), Lep153407, ZFMK; 27. A. sybillina bianor, ♂, Kuku nor Thibet sept. or (Qinghai), illustrated by Gross (1959: pl. II: 4), Lep153408, ZFMK.