Chonala huertasae Lang & Bozano

Lang, Song-Yun & Bozano, Gian Cristoforo, 2016, Description of a new species of Chonala (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Satyrinae) from NW Yunnan, China, Zootaxa 4105 (6), pp. 591-596 : 593-595

Chonala huertasae Lang & Bozano sp. nov. ( Figs. 1, 2 , 9 , 13 , 14) Type material. Holotype ♂, CHINA: Yunnan, Gongshan, Dulong-jiang valley, West slope of Mts. Gao-li-gong, 2800 m, 19.VII.2015, leg. Song-yun Lang (CMNH); Paratypes: 1 ♂, the same data as the holotype (GCB); 1 ♂, ditto (HH); 1 ♂, CHINA: Yunnan, Gongshan, Dulong-jiang, Naiwang, 2500 m, 16.VII.2015, leg. Xiao-dong Yang (LSY); 2 ♂♂, CHINA: Yunnan, Gongshan, Dulong-jiang valley, Xianghong, 2280 m, 11.VII.2015, leg. Wen-xuan Bi (ZJQ).

Description. Male. Forewing length: 29–29.5 mm. Dorsal: Forewing: ground color brown with apical quarter black, two tiny orange subapical dots in spaces 6 and 7; a very broad, oblique, evenly curved, orange band crossing from the middle of costa to tornus; cilia black, checkered with white. Hindwing: uniformly brown with pure white cilia. Ventral: Forewing: ground color greyish brown; two whitish subapical spots in spaces 6 and 7, followed by a black eyespot in space 5; discal band as on dorsal side but much paler and wider; discal area inside the discal band reddish brown; Hindwing: color and wing pattern similar to typical form of Chonala ; densely covered with greyish white scales, crossed by reddish brown subbasal and discal lines; postdiscal series of eyespots well-developed, eyespot in space 6 larger.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 9 ): tegumen smooth and flat; uncus long and slender, weakly bent downwards; gnathos straight with its tip pointed; saccus simple tubiform; valva with its basal half broad and proximal half narrow and tip bent inwards nearly as right angle and spinous; aedeagus weakly bent upwards, and with its surface smooth.

Female. Unknown.

Diagnosis. The new species can be easily distinguished from its congener species by the combination of the following characters: a) On the dorsal forewing, the discal band is very broad (e.g. in space 2: 8.2–9.0 mm in width, in space 4: 6.5–8.0 mm in width) and continuous, whereas it is much less broad in all the other Chonala species except for C. masoni ( Figs. 7, 8 ). b) On the dorsal forewing, the discal band is orange, whereas it is white in C. masoni . c) On the dorsal forewing, the discal band is evenly curved whereas it is irregular and sinuous in C. yunnana ( Figs. 5, 6 ) and C. praeusta burmana ( Figs. 3, 4 , 10 , 11). d) On the dorsal hindwing, the postdiscal eyespots are absent, whereas they are present in C. irene , C. laurae and C. miyatai .

Etymology. The specific name huertasae is named after Mrs. Blanca Huertas from the Natural History Museum, UK.

Distribution. China (NW Yunnan).

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 8. Butterflies of Chonala. 1, C. huertasae sp. nov., male, holotype (Gongshan, Yunnan), upperside; 2, ditto, underside; 3, C. praeusta burmana, male (Gongshan, Yunnan), upperside; 4, ditto, underside; 5, C. yunnana, male (Shangri-la, Yunnan), upperside; 6, ditto, underside; 7, C. masoni, male (Bhumtang, Bhutan), upperside; 8, ditto, underside.

FIGURES 9 – 10. Male genitalia. a. Male genitalia in lateral view with left valva and aedeagus removed; b. Aedeagus in lateral view; c. Tip of the male valva in dorsal view. 9, Chonala huertasae sp. nov., holotype (Gongshan, Yunnan); 10, C. praeusta burmana (Gongshan, Yunnan).

FIGURES 13 – 16. 13. Chonala huertasae sp. nov., male, paratype, in net, Gongshan, NW Yunnan, upperside; 14. ditto, underside in lateral view; 15. Habitat of C. huertasae sp. nov., altitude 2800 m, Dulong Valley, Mts. Gao-li-gong, Gongshan, NW Yunnan; 16. ditto.