Libythea collenettei Riley 1928

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 : 14

Libythea collenettei Riley 1928

( Figs. 3 , 15, 27, 40, 55, 73–76)

Libythea collenettei Riley 1928: 456–458 , pl. 21, Fig. 13 .

Diagnosis. Libythea collenettei is thought to be basal within the genus Libythea (Kawahara 2009) . It can be distinguished from all other species in the genus by having smooth forewing and hindwing margins with a darkbrown band along the outer margin. Unlike other species in the genus, the ventral surface of the hindwing has a narrow postmedian white band, and the caudal margin of valva is curved.

Type Specimens Examined. HOLOTYPE, ♀: MARQUESAS ISLANDS: Oome, Nuku Hiva, flying over stream near sea level: 18-I-[19]25, St. George Expedition , C. L. Collenette ( BMNH) . PARATYPES, 2♀: Oome, Nuku Hiva, flying over stream near sea level: 18-I-[19]25, St. George Expedition , C. L. Collenette ( BMNH) .

Other Specimens Examined. (1♂, 1♀): MARQUESAS ISLANDS: Nuku Hiva , Toovi Plateau near base of Takau Ridge, 2500 ft [762 m]: 1♀, 24-VIII-2001, R. Englund and S. Jordan ( BPBM); Ua Pou, Poohekaei Summit, southwest of Hohoi, 2100 ft [640 m], flying around Miscanthus R.: 1♂, 20-VIII-2001, R. Englund ( BPBM) .

Distribution. Recorded from Nuku Hiva and Ua Pou of the Marquesas Islands.

Biology. According to Shields (1987a) the larval host plant is most likely Celtis pacifica Planch. ( Celtidaceae ). The adult is possibly attracted to flowers ( Kawahara 2003a).

Remarks. Libythea collenettei was presumed extinct because it was only known from the three female types that were collected in 1925. However, a male and female were found in the Marquesas in 2001, and the male subsequently described ( Kawahara 2003a). An initial cladistic analysis placed L. collenettei at the base of Libythea ( Kawahara 2003a) , and a recent analysis that incorporated additional characters also placed L. collenettei at the base of Libythea (Kawahara 2009) . This species lacks two characters that are shared by all remaining Libythea species : a single, wide band across hindwing cells M 1 – M 3, and an apical spine on the valva. Because this taxon is found on very remote islands, it is plausible that it has lost some characters that other members of the genus retain. Thus, it could be that L. collenettei is a very derived species in the genus, only being pulled to the base of Libythea because it shares morphological characters with outgroups which are interpreted in the cladistic analyses as plesiomorphic when it might just be a case of homoplasy. Previously, Libythea collenettei was thought to be closely related to L. cinyras and L. geoffroyi and its distribution is in accordance with this hypothesis ( Waterhouse 1937, Shields 1987).

Figures

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.