Euphaedra cyparissa nominalina Pyrcz & Knoop, 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 : 14-15

publication ID	https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.298.4894
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/933D1C07-9E2B-5FBA-B3E0-3BA7D92498DE
treatment provided by	ZooKeys by Pensoft
scientific name	Euphaedra cyparissa nominalina Pyrcz & Knoop
status	ssp. n.

Treatment

Euphaedra cyparissa nominalina Pyrcz & Knoop ssp. n. Figs 2E, 2F View Figure 2 , 4E, 4F View Figure 4 , 9F View Figure 9 , 10F View Figure 10

Euphaedra cyparissa [Cramer], Vande Weghe, 2010: 115, fig. 15 (male, dorsum), 304-305.

Type-locality.

Mongoumba, Central African Republic

Material examined.

Holotype ♂: Central African Republic, Mongoumba, VII.1969, ABRI; Paratypes (5 ♂ and 4 ♀): 1 ♂: Central African Republic, Bangui, VIII.2000, S. Collins, prep. genit. 14/09.05.2012, J. Lorenc; 1 ♂: Central African Republic, near Bangui, 12.II.1969, J. Kielland leg.; 2 ♂: Central African Republic, Bomoloto, R. Loanye, VII.1985, S. Collins leg.; 1 ♀: Central African Republic, Mongoumba, 19.VII.1969, S. Collins leg.; 1 ♀: same data prep. genit. 15/09.05.2012, J. Lorenc; 1 ♀: Central African Republic, no locality, ABRI; 1 ♀: Off Shore Nigeria, Platform Borgen Dolphin, 4°18'98"35N, 8°22'00"32E, VIII. 2005, ex coll. P. Kowalski, MZUJ; 1 ♂: Cameroon, SE, Moloundou, 500 m, 25.VII.1989, E. Joly leg., PhO.

Diagnosis.

Upperside colour black and olive drab, same as in the nominate Euphaedra cyparissa , compared to golden green in Euphaedra cyparissa aurata and Euphaedra cyparissa aurantina , or pine green in Euphaedra cyparissa tai ; differing from the widely separated geographically nominate Euphaedra cyparissa only in the slightly wider FWD subapical patch towards costal margin.

Description.

Male ( Figs 2E, 2F View Figure 2 ): Head, thorax and abdomen: identical to other subspecies. FWD: (length 32-36 mm, mean: 34.9 mm, n=6) with an elongated apical part, and gently convex outer margin; most of wing surface black; costa from base to apex dusted with dark blue; a rich green area from wing base to three-fourths of anal margin, entering discal cell along lower part from base to root of vein Cu1, enclosing a black mid cell spot; a large, roughly rectangular bottle green subapical patch with a bluish sheen, extending widely along costa, with sharply defined zigzagging basal limit, without any notable incision along vein M3, and a diffused outer limit; fringes grey. HWD oval with a gently scalloped outer margin; rich green, gradually turning bluish green from vein M3 towards tornus and anal margin gradually narrowing from roughly 4-5 mm at apex to 2 mm at tornus; fringes grey. FWV mostly bottle green, slightly lighter than on the FWD subapical patch, a series of black spots, at wing base, mid cell, cell end, the latter two elongated, extending across cells M3-Cu1 and Cu1-Cu2; a row of seven, roughly oval submarginal patches, two tornal patches in Cu1-Cu2 and Cu2-1/2A twice as big as the remainder. HWV golden green, 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. 9F View Figure 9 ): Not differing noticeably from the nominotypical.

Female ( Figs 4E, 4F View Figure 4 ): Sexual dimorphism slight, recognized from the male by the larger size (FW length 50 mm, n=1). Female genitalia ( Fig. 10F View Figure 10 ): Bursa copulatrix large, rounded; no signa; ductus bursae (0.22 mm) narrow, approximately the same width over the whole length, two-thirds the length of bursa; colliculum slat like with gently folded edges, strongly sclerotized, half 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 (0.12 mm) as wide in lateral view, compressed in ventral view; apophyse posteriores slightly longer than 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 epithet of this taxon is an allusion to its resemblance to the nominotypical subspecies.

Range.

On present knowledge, the range of this subspecies is limited to the CAR and eastern Cameroon, though its distribution pattern indicates it also occurs in adjacent areas of the DRC. The individual collected on an offshore platform in the Gulf of Guinea is an extraordinary finding. It is also a proof that Euphaedra cyparissa is prone to long distance dispersal. Other butterfly species collected on the same platform were typical dispersalists, including Danaus , Acraea and Melanitis . It is nonetheless surprising to find in that area an individual which clearly matches the phenotype of Euphaedra cyparissa nominalina ,whereas the distribution pattern would rather suggest the presence of the subspecies Euphaedra cyparissa aurata along the Atlantic coast of Cameroon.