Zygaena (Zygaena) rhadamanthus azurea Burgeff, 1914

Efetov, Konstantin A., Hofmann, Axel, Tarmann, Gerhard M. & Tremewan, Walter Gerald, 2014, Taxonomic comments on the treatment of the Zygaenidae (Lepidoptera) in volume 3 of Moths of Europe, Zygaenids, Pyralids 1 and Brachodids (2012), Nota Lepidopterologica 37 (2), pp. 123-133 : 127

publication ID

https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/nl.37.7940

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:384F4C62-0E0E-4B66-B720-3177920ABA23

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/B405F6C8-77DC-3D9A-F71F-C3736E3638CC

treatment provided by

Nota Lepidopterologica by Pensoft

scientific name

Zygaena (Zygaena) rhadamanthus azurea Burgeff, 1914
status

stat. rev.

Taxon classification Animalia Lepidoptera Zygaenidae

Zygaena (Zygaena) rhadamanthus azurea Burgeff, 1914 stat. rev.

Zygaena rhadamanthus azurea Burgeff, 1914, Mitteilungen der Münchener Entomologischen Gesellschaft 5: 60, pl. 2, fig. 158, pl. 6, figs 75, 76 ( Zygaena ). Type-locality. France: Alpes-Maritimes (excluding coastal regions).

Distribution and taxonomic notes.

Zygaena rhadamanthus azurea is distributed in the départements of Var and Alpes-Maritimes (excluding coastal regions). Although Leraut (2012: 98) synonymised this taxon with the melanistic Zygaena rhadamanthus stygia Burgeff, 1914, the distribution of the latter ranges from east of the River Var (Alpes-Maritimes) in France to Imperia in Italy. Much has been written about littoral melanism (e.g. Burgeff 1951, 1956, 1965; Dujardin 1965: 586-587) and that exhibited by subsp. stygia is a good example for comparison with the ‘normal’ phenotype of subsp. azurea - to consider both taxa as one subspecies clearly disregards the concept of littoral melanism and the zoogeography of Zygaena rhadamanthus in south-eastern France. Consequently, Zygaena rhadamanthus azurea is here reinstated as a valid subspecies (stat. rev.).

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Lepidoptera

Family

Zygaenidae

Genus

Zygaena