Libythea lepita amamiana Shirôzu 1957

Kawahara, Akito Y., 2013, <strong> Systematic revision and review of the extant and fossil snout butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Libytheinae) </ strong>, Zootaxa 3631 (1), pp. 1-74 : 34-35

Libythea lepita amamiana Shirôzu 1957

( Figs. 121–124 )

Libythea celtis amamiana Shirôzu 1956: 427–430 , pl. 86, Figs. 6-10 .

Libythea celtis yayeyamana Fujioka 1975: 172 , 282, pl. 82, Figs. 10 –15, 24, pl. 115, Figs. 48, 49 [new synonymy].

Lybythea [sic] celtis yayeyamana Fujioka 1975: 294.

Libythea (Libythea) celtis amamiana: Hidaka et al. 1984: 212 .

Libythea (Libythea) celtis yaeyamana [sic] Hidaka et al. 1984: 212 [unjustified emendation].

Libythea celtis yaeyamana: Shields 1985b: 15 .

Libythea myrrha yaeyamana Okano 1987: 4 [misidentification].

Diagnosis. Libythea lepita amamiana can be distinguished from the other subspecies of L. lepita in that the forewing dorsum of male has an orange mark between M 3 and CuA 2 extending into cell 1A + 2A (the orange mark between M 3 and CuA 2 do not extend into cell 1A + 2A for the other subspecies).

Type Specimens Examined. Since it was not possible to obtain type material of this taxon, photographs of types were examined from Shirôzu (1956: Fig. 6 ) and Fujioka (1975: pl. 82, Figs. 12 –15): Libythea celtis amamiana Shirôzu 1956 , HOLOTYPE: ♂, Japan: Amamioshima: Akatsuchiyama near Shin-mura: 21-VII-1955, T. Shirôzu ( KUEC). Libythea celtis yayeyamana Fujioka 1975 , PARATYPES: 3♂, 1♀, Japan: Okinawa: Iriomote Island 17-III-1973 ( TFC).

Other Specimens Examined. (20♂, 12♀): JAPAN: 1♀ ( KKC) ; 1♂, 2-V-1937 ( CAS) . Kagoshima: Amamioshima : 3♂, 21-23-VII-1995, S. Yamanaka ( TFC) ; Amamioshima , Daiwa-mura : 1♀, 25-27-VII-1996, S. Yamanaka ( TFC) . Amamioshima , Kitadaito-mura : 1♀, 25-III-1993, S. Yamanaka ( TFC) . Minamitane-cho , Nagatani : 1♂, 16-VI-1992 ( TFC) . Wadomari-cho , Taniyama : 1♀, 5-IX-1981 ( TFC) . Okinawa: Ishigaki Island : 1♂, 1-IV-1987, M. Takahashi ( MTC) . Ishigaki Island, Omoto forest trail : 1♂, 6-V-1995 ( TFC) . Okinawa Island, Nago , near Nago Castle : 1♂, 3-IX-1995 ( MTC) . Shimajiri-gun , Kitadaito-mura : 1♂, 27-III-1993, S. Yamanaka ( TFC) . Tokyo: Ogasawara Island , Chichi-jima : 1♂, 19-III-1958, I. Takenaka ( TFC) . The following material was studied from photographs of specimens published in Shirôzu (1956): Kagoshima: Amamioshima: Koniya : 1♀, 27-III- 1954, T. Mohri. Sumiyo-mura, Tôjô: 1♂, 20-IV-1955, K. Kubo; 1♀, 21-III-1955, K. Kubo. Yuwan: 1♂, 8-V-1953, T. Shiraki. It remains unclear where these specimens are stored, but they are most likely stored in the Kyushu University Entomological Collection ( KUEC) . The following material was studied from photographs of specimens published in Fujioka (1975): Kagoshima: Amamioshima: Tatsugocho : 1♂, 1968 ( TFC) ; Kado : 1♂, (bred in captivity) 18-V-1962 ( TFC) ; 1♀, 20-V-1962 ( TFC) ; 2♂, 2♀, V-1962 ( TFC) . Okinawa: Okinawa Island : 1♀, 21-V- 1971 ( TFC) ; 1♂, 21-V-1972 ( TFC) ; Iriomote Island : 1♂, 16-III-1973 ( TFC) ; 1♀, 7-IV-1973 ( TFC) ; 1♀, 7-VI-1973 ( TFC) ; Sonai : 2♂, 16-IX-1972 ( TFC) .

Distribution. Restricted to Amamioshima and the islands of Okinawa in southern Japan.

Remarks. Numerous authors previously restricted the subspecies amamiana to Amamioshima and the northern Okinawan Islands and separated it from yayeyamana Fujioka from the Ryukyu Islands (e.g., Fujioka 1975; Kawazoé & Wakabayashi 1976; Inomata 1990). Fujioka (1975: 283) claimed that yayeyamana was best characterized by the color of the ‘tawny bands and patches on the upperside,’ but he also stated that yaeyamana was ‘[a] very variable subspecies.’ Based on the high degree of color variation in specimens examined from the Ryukyu islands and the lack of informative characters that can be used to distinguish it from amamiana, it is here synonymized with the latter.

Figures

FIGURES 117−132. Right dorsal and ventral wing surfaces of Libythea. The second image of each specimen shows the ventral surface of the wings. 117, 118. Libythea laius lepitoides Moore: ♂, India, Nilgiris, Conoor (BMNH); 119, 120. Libythea lepita formosana Fruhstorfer: Holotype ♂, Taiwan (BMNH); 121, 122. Libythea lepita amamiana Shirôzu: ♂, Japan, Okinawa, Nago (MTC); 123, 124. Libythea lepita amamiana Shirôzu: ♀, Japan, Okinawa, Shimajiri, Kitadaito−mura (TFC); 125, 126. Libythea lepita lepita Moore: ♂, Japan, Yamanashi, Hinoharu (AYK); 127, 128. Libythea lepita lepita Moore: ♀, Japan (BMNH); 129, 130. Libythea myrrha myrrha Godart: ♂, Indonesia, Java (BMNH); 131, 132. Libythea myrrha myrrha Godart: ♀, Indonesia, West Java (BMNH).

FIGURES 2−13. Lateral view of the male eighth abdominal tergum of Libythea and Libytheana with scales and hairs removed. 2. Libythea celtis; 3. Libythea collenettei; 4. Libythea geoffroyi; 5. Libythea labdaca; 6. Libythea laius; 7. Libythea lepita; 8. Libythea myrrha; 9. Libythea narina; 10. Libytheana carinenta; 11. Libytheana fulvescens; 12. Libytheana motya; 13. Libytheana terena.

FIGURES 39−50. Lateral illustrations of the aedeagus of Libythea and Libytheana. 39. Libythea celtis; 40. Libythea collenettei; 41. Libythea geoffroyi; 42. Libythea labdaca; 43. Libythea laius; 44. Libythea lepita; 45. Libythea myrrha; 46. Libythea narina; 47. Libytheana carinenta carinenta; 48. Libytheana fulvescens; 49. Libytheana motya; 50. Libytheana terena.