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

description: Heteropsis hazovola Lees & Raharitsimba, sp. nov.
LSID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:758D1560-AB02-44F5-B0B8-5AAA92715C2F
Prior references: sp. 53 (Lees 1997: 65).
Type material., Deposition BMNH: Holotype: ♂ (Fig. 4 A), Madagascar NE, Ambery R., Masoala E., 15.3743o S, 50.417o E +/- 0.15 km, 100 m, W2L3-100 M 12HI [fruit trap], 20/12/1993, H. Raharitsimba: DL 93- 0 0 0 2, KAP19 [=KA-P19; DNA voucher]|IA300 [isotope analysis voucher], BMAD 229-15 [DNA barcode], NHMUK 010289116 [QTR barcode].
Paratypes: ♂, same data as HT but Hi12 [fruit trap], H. Raharitsimba and D.C. Lees: DL 93-0003, IA614 [isotope analysis], NHMUK 010289117 [QTR barcode]; ♀ (Fig. 4 B), Madagascar NE, Antsamanarana R., Masoala E., [50–520 m], 15.3o S, 50.23o E +/- 0.15 km, 250 m, 11/12/1993, H. Raharitsimba, D.C. Lees: DL 93-0001, IA301 [isotope analysis voucher], BMAD 228-15 [DNA barcode voucher], KA2054 [=KA-P2054; DNA extract number]; NHMUK 010289118 [QTR barcode]; ♂, NE, Antsamananarana W2L 2, 520 m. 9 hi [fruit trap], 15.2867o S, 50.2184o E +/- 0.15 km, 520 +/- 50 m, 9/12/1993, 16:24, D.C. Lees: DL 93-0018; DL 9719 [DNA voucher], BMNH (E) #697866 [DNA voucher; cytochrome b], IA302 [isotope voucher], BMAD 230-15 [DNA barcode voucher], KA2053 [=KA-P2053; DNA extract number]; ♂ (Fig. 5 B), data as above but: 17:02, D.C. Lees: DL 93- 0017; 26 DL [genitalia]; DCLW-0086 [wing prep.]; NHMUK 010289179 [QTR barcode].
Deposition summary: BMNH (HT ♂, 3 PT ♂♂, PT ♀).
Type locality. Madagascar NE, Masoala E., Ambery R., 15.3743o S, 50.417o E +/- 0.15 km, 100 m.
Diagnosis. this species has rather short and less pointed HW tails compared with Ht. alaokola and Ht. mabillei, but not quite as short as Ht. ankoma. ♂♂ of Ht. hazovola have a dense black latero-ventral androconial patch on the abdominal sternum, whereas Ht. alaokola and Ht. ankoma (particularly similar superficially) lack obvious black ventral abdominal scales in the ♂. Ventral wing pattern is very similar to other species in the group including Ht. alaokola, Ht. hazovola, and to a lesser extent, Ht. mabillei and Ht. ankoma; a violet-lilac cast is, however, particularly prominent in the type series of Ht. hazovola. On the dorsum, in fresh specimens, Ht. alaokola has the darkest wing colouration of these species, whereas in Ht. hazovola, the dorsal wing background colour tends to be reddish brown. Ht. mabillei has an even lighter mid-brown dorsal colour than Ht. hazovola, but generally has space-M3 ocellus HWD strongly expressed in the ♂. Ht. hazovola shares with Ht. ankoma a particularly wide dark costal area on the FWD. ♀♀ are hard to tell apart among the three longer tailed species referred to. The tails are slightly more pointed than typical in Ht. ankoma.
Description. Wings. Dorsal surface smoky brown along costad third of FW to fairly uniform dull reddish brown on the rest of the wings (among described species. only Ht. ankoma has a darker FWD margin). HWD this uniform dull reddish brown colour with a dark brown double Sml, the outermost darkest and more distinct. HW strongly tailed at vein extremities, prominently so at the end of vein M3; tails not quite as pointed as in Ht.
alaokola, more similar to the configuration in Ht. ankoma where they are relatively short. FW space-CuA1 ocellus weakly expressed. FWD space-M1 ocellus not expressed and even HWD space-M3 ocellus not expressed. The underside background has a strong dark lilac-grey cast. FWV space-CuA1 ocellus expressed as on upperside its black iris nearly spanning veins CuA1-CuA2, but is more strongly marked, as also for the FWV space-M1 ocellus whose black iris also spans the separation of veins M1-M2 and is similarly surrounded by a dull orange Omg, more or less concentric, or slightly wider tergad in the case of that of space-CuA1. On HWV, space-Rs, M3 and CuA1 ocelli are expressed to the greatest and roughly equal extent, and are subelliptic, followed by much smaller ones in space-M1-M2 and CuA2 and 1A; space-Rs-CuA1 ocelli fall in a separate more proximad arc to those of space- CuA2-1A, as typical for Ht. paradoxa + rest of the Ht. antahala group. Highly irrorated pattern of dark brown strigulae and yellow flecks on a lilac-washed light brown background, but the lilac wash is only strongly evident in the HT and one of the PT ♂♂, and to a lesser extent in the PT ♀, which has a generally lighter greyer-brown colouration on either surface. A striking pattern of ventral irrorations (dark strigulae) which are most finely divided proximad of the jagged dark brown Mb, but continue distad of it in both wings except around the ocelli. The very thick Mb is sharply inflexed around the CuA1 ocelli in both wings, quite jagged, strongly concave in space-M3- CuA1, and again in space-1A, fairly straight to mid costa from just below vein M3. FWV Mb forms an angle distad near vein M2, and there is another dark FWV band slightly proximad but along the irroration, the PMb is not distinct in either wing. There is a prominent yellow patch (highlight) at the base of space-M2 just distad of the Mb. Such underside patterns are not particularly special for Ht. hazovola: in particular, Ht. alaokola and Ht. ankoma are very similar and confusable ventrally, but the type material of Ht. hazovola seems more deeply washed with violet colour. Variation. No ocellus expression on ♂ HWD, neither in the HT nor PT ♂♂, except for M3 slightly in one ♂ PT, while the ♀ PT has ocelli expressed in CuA1, and to a much lesser extent in CuA2. However all the known specimens were taken over a few days in mid December into the start of the wet season, so seasonal variation cannot be quantified. ♀ larger, FWD space-CuA1 ocellus much more strongly expressed in ♀ and HWD space-M3 ocellus expressed along with that of space-CuA1 and most weakly that in space-M 2 in the ♀ PT. ♀ PT HWV ocellus expression similar to the ♂ HT but larger, except that that of space-Rs is lacking. The HWV Mb is more smoothly irregular in the ♀ specimen.
Wingspan/fwl: range 42.7–43.6/ 22.6–24.9 mm (n=3 ♂♂); mean= 43.3 +/- 0.52 SD (n=4 ♂♂)/23.1 +/- 0.45 SD mm (n=4 ♂♂) including HT♂, 42.7/ 24.9 mm. 44.8/ 25.4 mm (n=1 ♀).
Androconia: dark brown/blackish Sdbp (supra-discocellular brush and patch). There is no patch on the FWV, nor indeed in any of the Ht. antahala group (the black spot in Fig. 4 A, right, FWV, is a broken wing fragment). Blackish brush emanating near base of space-CuA1, as usual for Ht. paradoxa (very weakly expressed) + Ht. antahala group, over reflexed veins 1A+2A + 3A, and potentially contacting a broad and conspicuous black androconial scale area covering abdominal tergites approximately A3-A6 (not evident though in Ht. paradoxa, despite a weakly developed hindwing brush arising in the cubital region), that is present in Ht. hazovola (Fig. 4 C, PT ♂) but not evident in Ht. ankoma (Fig. 4 D, LT ♂ of M. ankoma) and indeed in Ht. hazovola it is more extensive and obvious than in others of the group that exhibit ventral blackish androconial scales, namely Ht. mabillei, Ht. antahala and Ht. masoura.
Palps: penultimate segment from LV, with wide dark grey stripe in middle, elegant cream stripes towards the eyeward edge and on ventral side, and dark brown fringes on borders. There is thus only one cream stripe from LV (the second if evident is very thin), rather than the usual two in Ht. mabillei and Ht. alaokola.
♂ genitalia: 26DL (PT, Fig. 5 B, LV, DV): tegumen shallowly domed from LV (wide concave proximad notch from DV), with strong brow, tegumen much longer than sickle-shaped uncus with strong ventrad ‘dewlap’-like cusp and angularly raised ‘head’ (characteristic of Ht. antahala group), leading to hook with fairly straight edge (uncus is narrow to hook from DV). Gnathos from small base, sinuate and tapering from LV, uprecurved at pointed tip, very narrow and slightly sinuate with a fairly square frame from DV. There is a fairly narrow waist along division with strongly arched vinculum that also broadens towards the saccus, and ‘shoulder’ at valve base also enlarged and convexly round in other direction, fused with narrow base of valve which is long and fairly evenly thin. Much longer valve than in Ht. ankoma in particular (Lees 1997: 105), protruding well beyond uncus tip at tip, slightly inbent towards midline with a short infacing spine, and a few serrae mesad towards tip (unlike Ht. alaokola; 146DL, Fianarantsoa, illustrated in Fig. 5 C, which has a large number of teeth along the inside edge of the valves). Saccus strongly uprecurved, inflated towards tip. Aedeagus almost the same length as valves, slightly uprecurved towards blunt distal end, and broadening towards a cup-like ostium. Juxta narrow, not prominent proximad.
Etymology. From ‘ hazovola’ (Money Wood in Malagasy, vernacular name for Dalbergia L. spp., ‘palissandre’ or ‘bois de rose’) is an ironic reference to the rosewood plundering and resulting degradation of the primary forest of Masoala National Park, in particular, to which this new species is apparent endemic, that has been brazingly allowed to take place since the coup in 2009, and still apparently continues following the installation of a democratically elected government in a clandestine manner.
Discussion. This species was first collected in the field by DCL and Heritiana Raharitsimba on 9/12/1993 at R. Antsamanarana, in the survey of the area that would become Masoala National Park (Lees, 1997: 65). All relevant types in the Ht. antahala group were examined and are clearly distinct (HT of Strabena mabillei Butler and four ♂ and two ♀ STs of Mycalesis ankoma Mabille, 1878 in BMNH, plus an additional ST in MNHN ex Chris Ward from the Galichon collection, DCL-DB-2982). A LT has already been designated for Gallienia alaokola (see above), and as there is more possibility for confusion in this group, it is necessary to select another LT. The ♂ LT of Mycalesis ankoma is here designated as that illustrated here, Fig. 4 D–E (there are several very similar STs but it is possible this is also the ♂ illustrated in Pl. 6 Figs 11, 12 of Mabille [1885]), bearing the labels “ ankoma ♂ [apparently in Mabille’s handwriting; no other ♂ bears this label]| Madagascar |Ex Musaeo P. Mabille 1923|Ex Oberthür Coll. Brit. Bus. 1927-3”|BMHH(E) 672615. The apex to apex dimension of this specimen is 48 mm, exactly as mentioned for wingspan in Mabille’s ([1885]) redescription, so it is likely he had this specimen at hand during the original description. A ♀ PLT of M. ankoma from the Grose-Smith collection (BMNH(E) 672618) is illustrated in Fig. 4 F. Ht. hazovola now constitutes the first described butterfly species apparently endemic to the Masoala National Park (Kremen et al., 2001).
Additional information. DNA divergences: COI-5P cluster number BOLD:ACW4994 (exemplars BMAD228-15 to BMAD230-15 from Masoala), 5.02% divergent to a still undescribed species (BMAD147-15, DL95-0005, Vohitraseva) which is in turn about 2–2.4% divergent to other members, whether conspecific or not, of cluster BOLD:ACW4938. Ht. hazovola appears more closely related to Ht. mabillei in fact than to Ht. alaokola (see above regarding the shallow divergence of exemplars in Aduse-Poku et al., 2010) but only 140 bp are currently available (BMAD131-15, DL14M0-0003, Anjozorobe, for which there is a G rather than A or T in the 517th nucleotide position) and this stretch is 3.1% divergent from the barcode of the HT ♂ of Ht. hazovola (BMAD229-15, DL93-0002).
Phylogeny/sister species: the sister taxon of Ht. hazovola (as “sp. 53”) was unresolved in Lees (1997), but at least one character suggested a relationship with Ht. ankoma and Ht. alaokola (“sp. 56”; Lees 1997: 168). Sister taxon supported as Ht. ankoma (Aduse-Poku et al., 2016, in press).
Ecology and distribution.
Habitat: lowland tropical rainforest.
Behaviour: comes into canopy fruit traps.
Hostplant: unknown, presumed to be a bamboo.
Early stages: unknown.
Distribution: endemic as far as is known to the eastern lowlands of the Masoala Peninsula (Fig. 30 A, light blue dots).
Elevational range: 15– 531 m. (n=11 incl. referred specimen and observations).
Conservation: the lowland rainforest of eastern Masoala where this species survives is under severe threat from illegal logging.
Referred specimen: ♀, NE, Andranomainty, E. Masoala, 15.7825o S, 50.2979o E +/- 0.15 km, 9/12/1993, H. Raharitsimba: E112 (egg voucher); 247DL (dissection).
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 17-21, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4118.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/264597