Coladenia agni huanghaoi H.Z. Li & Z. Liu, 2024

Li, Hua-Zhao, Liu, Zhe & Li, Jia-Ling, 2024, Reexamination of the taxonomic status of Coladenia agni (de Nicéville, [1884]) from Hainan, China reveals a new subspecies (Lepidoptera, Hesperiidae), Zootaxa 5541 (3), pp. 357-366 : 359-362

Coladenia agni huanghaoi H.Z. Li & Z. Liu ssp. nov. ( Chinese name: DZŧsṳxã南亚ª)

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:7935BB17-4FFD-4F9D-8372-FEF09A5592BB

( Figs. 1 , 2 , 5 for adults, 3 for the genitalia, 7 for the phylogeny)

Coladenia agni ssp.: Huang (2021): 574 for taxonomic notes + 587, fig. 2 for ♂ + 594, 597–599, 602, figs. 34, 46–48, 51 for ♂ genitalia.

Holotype: ♂, Jianfengling , Hainan, China, 31.X.2023, Z. Liu leg. (CH1; will be deposited at CMNH) . Paratypes: 3 ♂♂, locality same as the HT, 16–21.XI.2023, Z. Liu leg. ( CH 2– CH 4; CZL) ; 2 ♀♀, Mt. Wuzhi , Hainan, China, 18.IX.2021 and 28.VI.2023, Z. Liu leg. (CH5– CH 6; CZL) .

Description. Male. Length of forewing 19.23–20.55 mm (20.55 mm in HT, n=4). Wings ground color dark brown. Forewing upperside: white hyaline spots situated in postdiscal area of spaces 1b to 3, subapical areas of space 6 to 8, subcostal area of space 11, and end of cell, spots in space 2 and cell larger. Hindwing upperside: covered with dense ochreous hairs at base, a series of postdiscal black spots present in spaces 1b to 7 and end of cell. Wings underside: generally similar to upperside but forewing submarginal areas lighter. Fringes: dark brown but paler in forewing spaces 1b and 7, and hindwing spaces 6 to 7. Male Genitalia. Vinculum: slender, fourfold as long as saccus. Saccus: from the part connected to vinculum, continuously narrowed forward, ending with a sharp point. Tegumen: dorsally triangle, caudal part protruding. Gnathos: bilateral parts elongated ventrally, integrating a gourd-shaped terminal covered with dense and small spines. Uncus: abruptly tapered then elongated into a blunt end, of even width, with a small dorsal process. Valva: more or less rectangular; ampulla elliptic, forming a slightly sharp end; harpe tapered and bends upward with lower edge less protruding and with a long and blunt distal apex. Juxta: bilateral parts expansive and gradually narrowed posteriorly. Phallus: long and curved upwards, a pair of carinae present in middle of dorsal part. Female. Length of forewing 21.54–21.65 mm (n=2). Larger, generally similar to male, but forewing central spots larger. Female Genitalia. Lamella: Lamella antevaginalis cordiform, posterior margin sharply concave, basal part elongated and deviated to the right; Lamella postvaginalis rectangle with bilateral parts robust, anteriorly forming lateral shoulders; Antrum joined and integrated with basal lamella. Ductus bursae and corpus bursae: long, gradually expanding forward without signa. Lodix: more or less square, cephalic part protruding, posterior margin slightly concave. Papilla analis: smooth without serrate ridge.

Diagnosis. This new subspecies can be distinguished from C. agni sundae [Malayan] by ( Fig. 4 ):

(1) Much thinner distal part of the harpe.

Whereas, it can be separated from C. agni sundae [Indo-Chinese] and C. agni agni by the following characters ( Figs. 1 , 4 ):

(2) Harpe is narrower with its outer edge less protruding and the tip longer and blunter.

(3) Phallus is strongly curved and slenderer, with carinae somewhat longer.

(4) Male forewing markings are similar to ssp. sundae in having spots of the cell and spaces 2–3 thinner and more separated than ssp. agni .

Variation. The sizes of wing markings are slightly variable without taxonomic significance in differing ssp. sundae . Based on an individual with relatively small markings, Huang (2021) considered the marking sizes of this new subspecies a diagnosis, which is denied here ( Fig. 1 ).

Distribution. Endemic to Hainan Is., China.

Etymology. The subspecific name is dedicated to Mr. Hao Huang, who first recognized the specificity of the Hainan population and frequently offered the first author taxonomical help.

Phenology. Multivoltine with at least two generations. The first brood is from April to June, and the second brood is from September to October.

Remarks. (1) The records of this species from Hainan in previous works, including Joicey & Talbot (1932), Evans (1949), de Jong & Treadaway (1992), Gu (2002), and Chiba (2008), are difficult to verify since only checklists are available, and the photos of C. agni in Gu & Chen (1997) are misidentifications of C. laxmi ( Chiba 2008) . Furthermore, C. agnioides in Chou (1994), Gu & Chen (1997), and Wang et al. (2020), are not easily identified without examination of the genitalia, due to its sympatric distribution with and superficial resemblance to other Coladenia members. (2) The female individual from Nonggang, a reserve between Daxin and Longzhou, given in Huang (2021) probably belongs to ssp. sundae [Indo-Chinese] rather than the nominotypical one. Meanwhile, it is noteworthy that the female genitalia of the new subspecies are not entirely consistent with those from the mainland, especially from Yunnan, China ( Huang 2021) ( Fig. 3 ). Further studies are needed to confirm whether these differences are individual or subspecific variations.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Habitus of Coladenia agni and C. agnioides from China and adjacent areas.

FIGURE 2. Magnified scales of some specialized structures.A: underside of the palpi, P1+2 = the first two segments of palpi, P3 = the third segment of palpi, P i = inside of P1+2, Po = outside of P1+2. B: inside of the hind tibiae and end of the abdomen. Scale for Fig. 2B.

FIGURE 3. Genitalia of Coladenia agni huanghaoi ssp. nov. A: Male genitalia. B: Female genitalia. la = lateral view, lo = oblique lateral view, ds = dorsal view, vs = ventral view, po = posterior view.

FIGURE 4. Genital diagnosis of Coladenia agni huanghaoi ssp. nov. and other subspecies.

FIGURE 5. Coladenia agni huanghaoi ssp. nov. in nature and its type locality.