Lethe giancbi Lang & Das, 2020

Das, Gaurab Nandi, Lang, Song-Yun, Singh, Navneet & Chandra, Kailash, 2020, Taxonomic notes on the jalaurida-subgroup of the genus Lethe (Lepidoptera Nymphalidae, Satyrinae), Zootaxa 4789 (1), pp. 281-290 : 284

4. Lethe giancbi Lang & Das sp. nov.

( Figs. 4, 5 )

Lethe jalaurida elwesi: Lang (nec Moore), 2015. Neue Ent. Nach. 70: 301, fig: 7.

Lethe elwesi elwesi: Lang & Bozano (nec Moore), 2015. Zootaxa 4058 (1): 128, figs. 7, 8, 38; Lang (nec Moore), 2017. Nymphalidae of China II: 55, pl. IV: 16.

Type material. Holotype ♂, CHINA: Tibet, Medog , 62K, 2800 m, 13.VIII.2012, leg. Song-yun Lang ( CMNH) ; Paratypes: 6 ♂♂, CHINA: Tibet, Medog , 62K to 52K, 2800–3400 m, 19.VII.2012, leg. Song-yun Lang ( LSY) ; 3 ♂♂, CHINA: Tibet, Medog , 62K, 2800 m, 13.VIII.2012, leg. Song-yun Lang ( LSY) .

Etymology. The specific name giancbi is named after Mr. Gian Cristoforo Bozano, an Italian lepidopterist famous as the editor and the author of the monographic series “Guide to the Butterflies of the Palearctic Region”.

Description. Male. Forewing length: 24–27 mm. Wing pattern the same as the basic pattern of the jalaurida - subgroup; hindwing termen sharply protruding at the end of vein 4. Dorsal: ground colour brown; forewing subapical spots and postdiscal series fulvous; forewing male brand absent. Ventral: ground colour deep brown; forewing pale markings and stripes creamy white; hindwing pale markings and stripes silvery white; hindwing silvery white discal band from the costa to vein 4 not broken. Male genitalia ( Figs. 15 , 20d , 21d ): uncus elongated and bent downwards; valva apical half somewhat elongated; aedeagus with a slender dorsal ridge near its cephalic end. Female. Unknown.

Diagnosis. The new species can be distinguished from the other species in this subgroup by the combination of the following characters: 1) Male brand on dorsal forewing is absent, whereas in L. atkinsonia and L. elwesi it is visible; 2) ventral side pale markings and stripes are whitish, whereas in L. atkinsonia and L. houjiangae stat. nov. they are yellow; 3) uncus is bent downwards, whereas in L. atkinsonia and L. nosei it is nearly straight; 4) gnathos is much longer than that of L. gelduba stat. nov.; 5) valva is somewhat longer than that of L. houjiangae stat. nov.; 6) valva apex is sharply pointed inwards, whereas in L. atkinsonia , L. jalaurida and L. elwesi it is not pointed; 7) aedeagus has a slender dorsal ridge near its cephalic end as in L. houjiangae stat. nov., whereas in others species this structure is absent.

Distribution. China (SE Tibet).

Figures

FIGURE 20. Tip of the male valva in dorsal view. a, Lethe atkinsonia (Hewitson), 4026 (Sikhim, India); b, L. jalaurida (de Nicéville), 785 (Simla, India); c, L.elwesi (Moore), 4035(Sikhim, India); d, L. giancbi Lang & Das sp. nov., holotype, SATY0368 (Medog, Tibet); e, L. houjiangae Lang & Bozano stat. nov., paratype, SATY0363 (Gongshan, Yunnan); f, L. gelduba gelduba Fruhstorfer stat. nov., SATY0367 (Puge, Sichuan); g, L. gelduba nuolaensis Huang stat. nov., SATY0361 (Gongshan, Yunnan); h, L. nosei (Koiwaya), SATY0360 (Gongshan, Yunnan). Scale bar = 0.1 mm.

FIGURE 21. Male genitalia (tegumen, uncus and gnathos) in dorsal view. a, Lethe atkinsonia (Hewitson), 4026 (Sikhim, India); b, L. jalaurida (de Nicéville), 785 (Simla, India); c, L. elwesi (Moore), 4035 (Sikhim, India); d, L. giancbi Lang & Das sp. nov., holotype, SATY0368 (Medog, Tibet); e, L. houjiangae Lang & Bozano stat. nov., paratype, SATY0363 (Gongshan, Yunnan); f, L. gelduba gelduba Fruhstorfer stat. nov., SATY0367 (Puge, Sichuan); g, L. nosei (Koiwaya), SATY0360 (Gongshan, Yunnan). Scale bar = 0.1 mm.

FIGURES 4–11. Butterflies. 4, Lethe giancbi Lang & Das sp. nov., male, holotype, SATY0368 (Medog, Tibet), dorsal; 5, ditto, ventral; 6, L. houjiangae Lang & Bozano stat. nov., male, holotype, SATY0369 (Gongshan, Yunnan), dorsal; 7, ditto, ventral; 8, L. gelduba gelduba Fruhstorfer stat. nov., male, SATY0367 (Puge, Sichuan), dorsal (left) and ventral (right); 9, L. gelduba nuolaensis Huang stat. nov., male, SATY0361 (Gongshan, Yunnan), dorsal (left) and ventral (right); 10, L. nosei (Koiwaya), male (Gongshan, Yunnan), dorsal; 11, ditto, ventral. Scale bar = 10 mm.

FIGURES 12–19. Male genitalia in lateral view with left valva removed. 12, Lethe atkinsonia (Hewitson), 4026 (Sikhim, India); 13, L. jalaurida (de Nicéville), 785 (Simla, India); 14, L. elwesi (Moore), 4035 (Sikhim, India); 15, L. giancbi Lang & Das sp. nov., holotype, SATY0368 (Medog, Tibet); 16, L. houjiangae Lang & Bozano stat. nov., paratype, SATY0363 (Gongshan, Yunnan); 17, L. gelduba gelduba Fruhstorfer stat. nov., SATY0367 (Puge, Sichuan); 18, L. gelduba nuolaensis Huang stat. nov., SATY0361 (Gongshan, Yunnan); 19, L. nosei (Koiwaya), SATY0360 (Gongshan, Yunnan).