Lethe gregoryi gesangdawai Huang, 2001

Lang, Song-Yun, 2015, Lethe gregoryi Watkins (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Satyrinae), a distinct species, Zootaxa 4048 (4), pp. 575-582 : 576-581

Lethe gregoryi gesangdawai Huang, 2001 stat. nov.

( Figs. 7, 8 , 11–14 , 30, 31A)

Lethe gesangdawai HUANG, 2001 . Neue Entomologische Nachrichten 51: 95, f. 86, pl. 7, f. 55. Type locality: 10km E of Nuola, Nujiang Valley, SE Tibet.

Lethe moelleri moelleri: Lang, [2014] . Neue Entomologische Nachrichten 70: 301, figs: 9, 10.

FIGURES 29–31. 29. Habitat of Lethe gregoryi gesangdawai stat. nov. and L. moelleri bruno , altitude 2800 m, East slope of Mts. Gao-li-gong, Gongshan, NW Yunnan; 30. L. gregoryi gesangdawai stat. nov. in nature, altitude 3200 m, Gongshan, NW Yunnan; 31. Specimens of L. gregoryi gesangdawai stat. nov. (A) and L. moelleri bruno (B) collected together on 20th Jul 2015 from Mts. Gao-li-gong, Gongshan, NW Yunnan.

Materials examined. Photo, ♂, Holoype of Lethe gesangdawai , 10 km east of Nuola, Nujiang Valley, SE Tibet, 1.9.2000, leg. Hao Huang (HH).

Specimens: 8 ♂♂, China: Yunnan, Gongshan, West slope of Mts. Gao-li-gong, Dulong-jiang, 2800 m, 19.VII.2015, leg. S-y. Lang (LSY); 42 ♂♂, China: Yunnan, Gongshan, East slope of Mts. Gao-li-gong, 2800–3200 m, 20–26.VII.2015, leg. S-y. Lang (LSY); 4 ♂♂ 1 ♀, China: Tibet, Medog, 62K, 2800 m, 13.VIII.2012, leg. S-y. Lang (LSY); 1 ♂, ditto (HH).

Notes. Lethe gesangdawai was described based upon a single male specimen from Nujiang Valley, SE Tibet. In this research additional specimens of gesangdawai were obtained from Nujiang valley, Dulongjiang (upper Nmai Hka) valley, NW Yunnan and Yarlung Zangno (upper Brahmaputra) valley, Medog, SE Tibet. Judging from the both external and internal characters, Lethe gesangdawai should be considered as a subspecies of L. gregoryi from SE Tibet and NW Yunnan (Nujiang valley and Dulong valley).

Diagnosis. Lethe gregoryi gesangdawai can be distinguished from the nominate subspecies by the combination of the following characters: 1. It is usually larger in size (forewing length: 26–27 mm in gesangdawai ; 23–25 mm in the nominate subspecies); 2. Ventral hindwing has well-developed purple or whitish markings, whereas they are more or less weaker in the nominate subspecies; 3. Ventral hindwing, subbasal purple line is weakly waved or nearly straight, whereas it is waved in the nominate subspecies.

Distribution. China (NW Yunnan, SE Tibet).

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 8. Butterflies. 1, Lethe gregoryi stat. nov., male, Type of L. helle gregoryi (Yangtse Kiang Valley, Yunnan), dorsal; 2, ditto, ventral; 3, ditto, labels © Natural History Museum; 4, L. gregoryi stat. nov., male, holotype of L. moelleri bitaensis (Zhongdian, Yunnan), dorsal; 5, ditto, ventral; 6, ditto, labels; 7, L. gregoryi gesangdawai stat. nov., male, holotype of L. gesangdawai (Nujiang Valley, Tibet), dorsal; 8, ditto, ventral.

FIGURES 9 – 16. Butterflies, dorsal side of each specimen on the left and ventral side on the right. 9, Lethe gregoryi stat. nov., male (Deqen, Yunnan); 10, L. gregoryi stat. nov., male, SATY 0376 (Shangri-la, Yunnan); 11, L. gregoryi gesangdawai stat. nov., male (Medog, Tibet); 12, L. gregoryi gesangdawai stat. nov., female (Medog, Tibet); 13, L. gregoryi gesangdawai stat. nov., male, SATY 0371 (Gongshan, Yunnan); 14, L. gregoryi gesangdawai stat. nov., male, SATY 0372 (Gongshan, Yunnan); 15, L. moelleri bruno, male, SATY 0370 (Gongshan, Yunnan); 16, L. helle, male, SATY 0380 (Ebian, Sichuan).