Heteropsis borgo Lees, sp. nov.
Creators: name: C, Lees David
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Nymphalidae
Heteropsis
Heteropsis borgo

description: Heteropsis borgo Lees, sp. nov.
LSID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:45DC90D0-4167-4047-89DC-A9C45D523E49
Prior references: sp. 73 (Lees 1997; Torres et al., 2001: 462).
Type material., Deposition BMNH: Holotype: ♂ (Fig. 27 A), Anjanaharibe Sud, summit Anjavidibe, 14.7396°S, 49.4605°E +/- 0.25 m, 1543 +/- 15 m, waypoint 136. Fruit trap 1. 23 /11/2014: 10:36. Ahamadi Allaoui. DL 14A-0350, IA522 [isotope voucher], NHMUK 010289167 [QTR barcode].
Paratypes: Deposition BMNH: ♂, data as HT but 23/11/2014: 12:21. D.C. Lees. DL 14A-0361, BMAD 221- 15 [DNA barcode], IA519 [isotope voucher], NHMUK 010289168 [QTR barcode]; ♂, Anjanaharibe Sud, summit Anjavidibe, 14.7396°S, 49.4605°E +/- 0.25 m, 1543 +/- 15 m. 23/11/2014: 13:00, Ahamadi Allaoui: DL 14A-0363, IA521 [isotope voucher], BMAD 235-15 [DNA barcode], NHMUK 010289169 [QTR barcode]; ♂, NE, Anjanaharibe Sud, ANJAHA-6 [GPS], 14.7482o S, 49.4659o E +/- 0.48 km, 1320 +/- 60 m, 6/2/1996, C. Kremen: CK724, rainforest on slope, trap 14, IA358 [isotope voucher], NHMUK 010289170 [QTR barcode]; ♂, NE, Anjanaharibe Sud, 1530 m, elfin forest just before summit, ANJAHA-7 [GPS], 14.7426o S, 49.4608o E +/- 0.37 km, 1450 m +/- 7 m, 4/2/1996: 11:49, H. Raharitsimba: TR 553A, IA359 [isotope voucher], NHMUK 010289171 [QTR barcode]; ♂ [left wings and head], Madagascar NE, Anjanaharibe Sud, ANJAHA-7 [GPS], 14.7406o S, 49.4505o E +/- 0.96 km, 1455 +/- 145 m, 12/2/1996: 08:59, C. Kremen: CK729; DL 9659 [DNA voucher], IA360 [isotope voucher], NHMUK 010289172 [QTR barcode];
Deposition MNHN: ♂, data as HT but 21/11/2014: 12:02, Ahamadi Allaoui: DL14A-0308, IA520 [isotope voucher]; ♂, data as HT but 23/11/2014. Ahamadi Allaoui. DL14A-0192, 116 [leg in ethanol], IA626 [isotope voucher].
Deposition summary: BMNH (HT ♂, 5 PT ♂♂); MNHN (2 PT ♂♂).
Type locality. Anjanaharibe Sud, summit Anjavidibe, 14.7396°S, 49.4605°E +/- 0.25 m, 1543 +/- 15 m.
Diagnosis. Ht. angulifascia is particularly similar, but there are no other closely comparable species. HWV Mb, however, much less indented that in Ht. angulifascia, scribing a lobe outward between M2 and M3, running for only a short rather than a long distance just below M2.
Description. Wings: upperside uniform dark brown. FWD space-CuA1 ocellus fairly large, occupying more than the span of this space taking into account the concentric deep orange ring. FWD space-M1 ocellus small and subelliptic with small white pupil and wider black iris, with only a faint trace of Orng. HWD space-CuA1 ocellus moderately large, considerably smaller than that in FWD and elliptic, with deep orange ring spanning more than half of the space between veins. No other ocelli expressed nor is there an orange Mf on HWD. Underside dark greyish brown. Darker grey-brown irroration not very noticeable even in the basal area where more pronounced, due to sombre colouration. FWV space-CuA1 ocellus very slightly larger than on FWD, its black iris spanning the veins CuA1 and CuA2, with fairly wide, more or less concentric, deep orange ring. FWV space-M1 ocellus very small and only slightly elliptic with white pupil and black iris, but very narrow pale orange ring. Small white point in M2 just under this ocellus. HWV space-Rs ocellus as distinct white spot without obvious black ring. FWV space-M1-M2 ocelli as minute white spots and ocellus in space-CuA2 not expressed. HWV space-CuA1 ocellus roughly circular, small, similar in size to HWD, not nearly spanning space, with faint concentric pale orange ring. HWV Mb irregular, reddish brown and most outflexed (convex) around the base of space-M2-M3, bent distad to the base of space-M2, concave distad of space-M1 and space-CuA1, and slightly concave near intersection with vein CuA2. Weakly expressed lighter brown highlight (flare) distad of Mb. PMb also reddish brown and quite distinct, somewhat irregular, more or less parallel to Mb, gently convex. Four transverse darker bands in FWV cell (Cbs) forming two quite diffuse slightly lighter grey areas and diverging costad between the last two Cbs. Slightly marked, wavy, darker brown Sml more obvious in the HW, with darker finer line closely following the margin, which is only slightly crenate in HW. Basal area not much darker than distad portions of wing, while band between the PMb and Mb slightly more shaded, especially distad. Variation. ♂♂ very similar to each other, without marked variation in eyespot size between the two collection periods (third week of November, late dry season, and second week of February, wet season). The HWV Mb varies in the angularity with which it is kinked out around space- M2–M3, but this ‘kinking’ is not as extreme as in Ht. angulifascia. ♀ unknown, but likely to be similar to the ♂, as for the closely related Ht. angulifascia.
Wingspan/fwl: range 34.3–36.7 mm./ 17.6–19.3 mm; mean = 35.5 +/- 0.7 SD/18.9 +/- 0.5 SD mm (n=7♂♂), including HT 36.7/ 19.3 mm. ♀ unknown.
Androconia: Sdp small, oval and black. Darkish brown hair-brush emanating mainly from above 1A+2A near the base and from space-1A as far as mid-vein. Blackish androconial scales appear to be present ventro-laterally around abdominal A4, but are indistinct in the material available.
Palps: outfacing surface covered in ochreous grey scales, with thin dark blackish brown medial stripe and dark blackish brown scales composing borders, sandwiching ochreous grey scales away from compound eyes.
♂ genitalia: 284DL, PT (Fig. 27 D): from LV, uncus slightly upbent before middle and recurved down to a sharply hooked point, without a distinct ‘head’ before tip (slightly inflated before tip from DV); tegumen shorter than uncus and constriction at fusion line with vinculum not as pronounced as in some other species. Gnathos flattened distinctly into an ear-like shape (as for, e.g., Ht. angulifascia) and serrate at end/ventrally with a distinct thin projection at dorsal edge, most obviously inrecurved and pointed from DV. Valves fairly stout and uprecurved arms leading to bilobed tip (crest) covered in spinoid setae and with inwardly projecting ‘beak’ at proximad lobe; ostium quite long. Saccus not particularly long and aedeagus shallowly up-reflexed, about 1/5 longer than valve. Juxta prominent proximad, with downcurved lip.
Etymology. A very dark and still rather mysterious species of mountain passes, in this case the one on the way to the summit of Anjanaharibe Sud, as in the Borgó pass made famous in F.W. Murnau’s film classic ‘Nosferatu’ and its compelling remake by Werner Herzog.
Discussion. No historical material has been found in museums. This species was first found in the field as morphospecies 73 in C. Kremen and H. Raharitsimba’s survey of Anjanaharibe Sud which included the summit of ‘Anjavidibe’ in February, 1996 (not in November, 1995 as stated in Lees, 1997: 65). The species was refound (around the type locality, only) in November, 2014 by myself and A. Allaoui. The HT ♂ in BMNH of Pseudonympha angulifascia Butler, 1879 (‘Antananarivo’, Kingdon, BMNH(E) 674769) was examined (Fig. 27 C) as well as the ♂ and ♀ STs of its synonym Mycalesis butleri Mabille, 1880 in BMNH (LT ♂, here designated, Fig. 27 B, bearing data: “ Lectotype / Type /Madgscr/Ex Grose-Smith 1910/ Henotesia butleri Mab. ♂ H.T. selected by G.T. Nov. 1930 |BMNH(E) 674771”); these two specimens clearly belong to Ht. angulifascia.
Additional information. DNA divergences: COI-5P barcode cluster no. BOLD:AAK5842 (exemplars BMAD221-15 DL14A-0361, BMAD235-15 DL14A-0363) is shared with, although 1.67% divergent to, Ht. angulifascia (exemplar BMAD049-09, CCDB-02225-E01 from Ranomafana) with seven potentially fixed nucleotide differences. In their dataset for the COII marker (Torres et al., 2001), there was an about 2.15% divergence (8bp different in 415) for a single sample of Ht. borgo (as “ Hen. sp. 73”, 9659S compared with Ht. angulifascia samples ANG8M, ANG7M, ANGCK and ANG11).
Phylogeny/sister species: Torres et al., (2001: 466) found 94% support for a sister relation with Ht. angulifascia in their cladistic analysis of COII sequences, as fully supported by Aduse-Poku et al., (2016, in press). Closely related to Ht. angulifascia, for which this species probably constitutes a northern replacement and allospecies.
Ecology and distribution.
Habitat: riparian primary rainforest, and rainforest on ridges and slopes.
Behaviour: attracted to fruit bait. Flies fairly close to the ground and ♂♂ frequent small sunspots near the known summit in the understory of elfin montane forest.
Hostplant: unknown, possibly a small leaved grass that was found downslope of the type locality.
Early stages: unknown.
Distribution: endemic to rainforest at Anjanaharibe Sud, as far as is known (Fig. 30 C, dark green dot).
Conservation: in November 2014 ♂♂ of this species were only seen at the actual summit of Anjavidibe, whereas in the 1996 survey, C. Kremen found them over 220 m. downslope, and it is not known if the species occurs on the adjacent real summit of Anjanaharibe Sud. It is likely then the species could be vulnerable to changes due to global warming. The main local threat to this area is the quarrying of quartzite seams.
Elevational range: 1320–1543 m. (n=8).
Referred specimens. ♂ (Fig. 27 D, male genitalia, rest of voucher lost), Madagascar NE, Anjanaharibe Sud, 1520 m, ANJAHA-8 [GPS point] 14.74265o S, 49.46065o E +/- 0.39 km, 1520 +/- 100 m, 2/2/1996, C. Kremen: CK712; 284 DL [♂ genitalia], 470 [= DL 0470; DNA extract number], BMNH (E) #697884, KA580 [=KA-P580; DNA extract number].
description: Published as part of C, Lees David, 2016, Heteropsis (Nymphalidae: Satyrinae: Satyrini: Mycalesina): 19 new species from Madagascar and interim revision, pp. 1-97 in Zootaxa 4118 (1) on pages 86-88, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4118.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/264597