Neptis manasa hainana, LANG, SONGYUN, XUE, DAYONG & HAN, HONGXIANG, 2009

LANG, SONGYUN, XUE, DAYONG & HAN, HONGXIANG, 2009, Threatened butterflies: a new subspecies of Neptis manasa Moore, 1858 from Hainan Island (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae), Zootaxa 2062 (1), pp. 65-68 : 65-67

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.2062.1.6
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03953340-D85B-FFCF-FF4F-E6F4FC3FFE77
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Neptis manasa hainana
status

Treatment

Neptis manasa hainana View in CoL subspecies nov.

( Figs. 10–13 View FIGURES 1–13 )

Description. Male. Forewing length (base to apex): 35 mm. Wing pattern: Dorsal forewing with markings fresh yellow; upper postdiscal spots in spaces M 1 and R 5 wide, with outer edges concave inwards, spot in space M 1 partly extending into space M 2; lower postdiscal spots in spaces M 3 and Cu 1 developed, also with outer edges concave inwards, spots in spaces Cu 1 and Cu 2 nearly touching each other. Dorsal hindwing with colour of markings as in forewing; discal band broad, obviously expanding towards costal margin, its anterior edge broad, nearly twice width of posterior edge. Ventral forewing with ground colour yellowish brown; subcostal spots distinct, sky-blue; ‘hockey stick’-shaped marking pale yellow; upper postdiscal band yellowish, vague, spot in space R 5 oval, creamy. Ventral hindwing with ground colour as in forewing; subbasal streak composed of greyish white trivial spots; discal band creamy, evenly wide; discal fascia greyblue; postdiscal band creamy with its central area slightly stained by ground colour scales; submarginal fascia absent. Male genitalia ( Fig. 14 View FIGURES 14–18 ): Costa and sacculus clearly differentiated; costa with the apical one third protruding; a small canine-like process present on the base of the protrusion; terminal process finger-like, extending and tapering, short and straight.

Female. Forewing length: 36 mm. Wing pattern: Dorsal forewing similar to male, but markings narrower; upper postdiscal spot in space R 5 with its outer edge not conspicuously concave inwards, spot in space M 1 only one half width of spot in space R 5 and not extending into space M 2 downwards; the interval between lower postdiscal spots in spaces Cu 1 and Cu 2 large. Dorsal hindwing with discal band only slightly expanding towards costal margin. Ventral side almost the same as in male, but somewhat darker.

Diagnosis. The new subspecies can be distinguished from other subspecies by the following characters: 1) wing markings on dorsal surface are fresh yellow, whereas they are creamy in subspecies manasa ( Figs. 1–3 View FIGURES 1–13 ), golden yellow in subspecies narcissina ( Figs. 4–6 View FIGURES 1–13 ), orange yellow in subspecies antigone ( Figs. 7–9 View FIGURES 1–13 ) and white in subspecies shinkaii; 2) wing markings on the dorsal surface in males, especially on the hindwing, are very wide and occupy the greater part of the wing surface, while in other subspecies the dorsal wing markings are much narrower; 3) on the dorsal forewing in males, the interval between the lower postdiscal spots in spaces Cu 1 and Cu 2 is much narrower, whereas it is wider in other subspecies; 4) the discal band of the dorsal hindwing in males is expanding towards the costal margin, whereas in the subspecies manasa and shinkaii the band is of equal width throughout; 5) the ground colour of the ventral surface is yellowish brown, but is orange yellow in subspecies narcissina and reddish brown in subspecies antigone.

Although this should be confirmed with larger samples and direct comparison of genitalia, the valva of the male genitalia appear quite different among subspecies in available materials. A small dorsal process and a short and straight terminal process are present in subspecies hainana . The former process is absent in all other subspecies. The latter process in other subspecies is various but different from that of subspecies hainana : it is long and with its apical half bending inwards and backwards in subspecies manasa ( Fig. 15 View FIGURES 14–18 ) and subspecies antigone ( Fig. 16 View FIGURES 14–18 ); it is beak-like, short and bending downwards in subspecies narcissina ( Fig. 17 View FIGURES 14–18 ) and subspecies shinkaii ( Fig. 18 View FIGURES 14–18 ). The apical one third portion of costa is protruding upwards in subspecies hainana , whereas the costal dorsal edge is straight in subspecies manasa .

Types. Holotype ♂, CHINA: Hainan: Mt. Jianfengling, 1.III.1982, coll. Gu Mao-bin ( IZCAS); Paratype, ♀, Hainan: Mt. Jianfengling , 13. V .1983, coll. Gu Mao-bin (antennae and abdomen missing) ( IZCAS) .

Etymology. The subspecific name hainana is named after Hainan Island.

Distribution. China (Hainan Island).

Notes. Excepting the type locality, the Mt. Jianfengling area, no further sites have been recorded in Hainan for this new subspecies. Several entomological expeditions to Hainan Island were organized during the last two years, but no new material of this new subspecies was found. The natural ecosystems of Hainan Island have been rapidly destroyed and virgin rainforests have been replaced by simpler secondary economic forests such as rubber tree plantations in the last two decades. Therefore, the new subspecies is likely to be threatened.