Taxonomic Notes on the Genus Satyrium Scudder, 1876 (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae) of Afghanistan with Description of Two New Taxa

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Taxonomic notes on the genus Satyrium Scudder, 1876 (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae) of Afghanistan with description of two new taxa

Article in Zootaxa · August 2015 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3985.3.6 · Source: PubMed

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The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. Zootaxa 3985 (3): 421–431 ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition) www.mapress.com/zootaxa/ Article ZOOTAXA Copyright © 2015 Magnolia Press ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition) http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3985.3.6 http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:998C12D2-B66A-489C-926F-128C0F731A7A Taxonomic notes on the genus Satyrium Scudder, 1876 (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae) of Afghanistan with description of two new taxa

ANATOLY V. KRUPITSKY1,4, IGOR G. PLJUSHTCH2 & OLEG V. PAK3 1A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky prospect, 33, Moscow, 119071, Russia 2Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology, B. Khmelnicky Str., 15, Kiev, 01601, Ukraine 3R. Luxemburg St., 21-5, Donetsk, 83050, Ukraine 4Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

А new species and a new subspecies of Satyrium Scudder, 1876 (subfamily Theclinae, tribe Eumaeini) from the subgenera Superflua Strand, 1910 and Armenia Dubatolov & Korshunov, 1984 respectively are described from Bamyan Province, Central Afghanistan—S. (S.) skrylniki sp. n. and S. (A.) hyrcanica bamiana ssp. n. The new species of Superflua belongs to the Iranian complex of species. It inhabits the territory of Afghanistan, being isolated from two other species of the subgenus known from the territory in question. The new subspecies of Armenia is also found in isolation both from the nominate subspecies and two Middle and Central Asian subspecies. Both findings clarify some aspects of zoogeography of the Central Afghanistan mountains.

Key words: Theclinae, Eumaeini, hairstreaks, systematics, zoogeography, Palaearctic, Iranian Plateau, Hindu Kush, morphology, genitalia

Introduction

Afghanistan is one of the most poorly investigated areas of the Palaearctic realm, despite its primary importance as the zoogeographical division between the fauna of Southwest Asia and the faunae of Middle and Central Asia, and thus needs thorough exploration. While some groups of butterflies inhabiting the country are relatively well- studied (e.g. the traditionally “popular” genera Parnassius, Colias, Karanasa and others, which first of all attracted notice of the few entomologists who worked in the region), the Lycaenidae fauna of Afghanistan is rather incomplete. A few investigations on members of the family Lycaenidae inhabiting Afghanistan were conducted by Heydemann (1954), Wyatt (1961), Forster (1937; 1972; 1973), Sakai (1978) and others, resulting in a number of remarkable species, such as Lycaena aeolus Wyatt, 1961, L. kiyokoae Sakai, 1978, L. eberti (Forster, 1972), Micropsyche ariana Mattoni, Vacciniina omotoi Forster, 1972, Agrodiaetus afghanistanus Forster, 1972, A. afghanicus Forster, 1973. The latest significant work on the Afghan butterflies was the well-known book by Sakai (1981) where the family Lycaenidae was treated very superficially. Since the end of the XX century there weren’t any essential butterfly studies in Afghanistan. At the end of 2000’s, a team of Ukrainian entomologists—Igor G. Pljushtch, Oleg V. Pak, Elena S. Ivanova and Yuriy E. Skrylnik—started entomological investigations in Eastern and Central Afghanistan. Their collecting trips were very fruitful and brought a range of new species along with known species new to the region. Undescribed species of Satyridae and Lycaenidae collected during their expeditions were published in recent papers (Churkin et al. 2011; Krupitsky et al. 2012). Materials collected by their expeditions also helped to clarify the status of a controversial taxon in the genus Polyommatus (Vodolazhsky et al. 2011). In the present paper, which is the first in the series of forthcoming papers on the fauna and systematics of the Afghan Lycaenidae, we describe two new taxa of hairstreaks (subfamily Theclinae, tribe Eumaeini), which were collected in Central Afghanistan during the last five years. These discoveries are important from the zoogeographical point of view, as clarifying some aspects of zoogeography of mountains of Central Afghanistan and revealing the link of its fauna to those of the mountain ranges of Central and Southwest Asia.

Accepted by C. Prieto: 18 Jun. 2015; published: 13 Jul. 2015 421 Material and methods

The dissection of the genitalia was performed using standard methods for Lepidoptera. We warmed the abdomen in hot 10% KOH solution for 30 minutes then it was dissected under the stereomicrosope and transferred to a glass with a drop of glycerin. The images of specimens were taken with a digital camera Canon EOS 5D mark II equipped with Sigma 150 mm f2,8 lens, using originally developed light system and a flash Canon Speedlight 430 EX with diffuser; the images of genitalia were taken using the same camera attached to the stereomicroscope Olympus SZ–ET. The images of imagoes and genitalia were edited with Adobe Photoshop CS6. The nomenclature of the genitalia and wing pattern is adopted after Weidenhoffer et al. (2004). The nervuration nomenclature follows Comstock-Needham system adopted for butterflies (Miller 1969). Diagnostic characters applied to the current study, namely shape of valva, shape of lamella postvaginalis, aedeagus structure, shape of postdiscal line of hindwing underside, arrangment of pattern details, are widley used in the genus Satyrium (Stshetkin 1984; Eckweiler & ten Hagen 2003; Weidenhoffer et al. 2004; Churkin & Pletnev 2010).

The following collection acronyms are used throughout the text:

ZMMU collection of Zoological Museum of Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia ZISP collection of Zoological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, St.-Petersburg, Russia SIZK collection of the Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology, National Academy of Science of Ukraine, Kiev, Ukraine AK private collection of Anatoly Krupitsky, Moscow, Russia OP private collection of Oleg Pak, Donetsk, Ukraine YuS private collection of Yuriy Skrylnik, Kharkov, Ukraine SCh private collection of Sergei Churkin, Reutov, Russia KK private collection of Kirill Kolesnichenko, Moscow, Russia

The following specimens of Satyrium were compared with a new species of the subgenus Superflua: Satyrium (Superflua) sassanides: 5 ♂, 3 ♀, Iran, Fars Province, ab. 130 km NE Shiraz, vic. of Bovand, ab. 3000 m, 31.V.– 01.VI.2008, A.L. Devyatkin leg., ex. coll. AK; 1 ♂ Iran, Fars Province, ab. 60 km NW Shiraz, 10 km NW Ardakan, 2500 m, 03.VI.2008, A.L. Devyatkin leg., ex. coll. AK 1 ♂, 1 ♀, Iran, Kohgiluieh-va-Boyer Ahmad Province, Yasuj area, 15 km NE Sisakht, 3000 m, 04.VI.2008, A.L. Devyatkin leg., ex coll. AK. S. (S.) persepolis: 1 ♂, Iran, Fars Province, vic. of Sarvistan, 07.V.2007, K.A. Kolesnichenko leg., ex coll. KK; 1 ♂, 1 ♀, Iran, Fars Province, 20 km W Estahban, 09–10.V.2007, K.A. Kolesnichenko leg., ex coll. KK; 1 ♂, 1 ♀, Kerman Province, Jebal-Barez Mts., 22.V.2011, A.L. Devyatkin leg., ex coll. AK; all of them were dissected. The following specimens of Satyrium were compared with a new subspecies of the subgenus Armenia: Satyrium (Armenia) hyrcanica hyrcanica: 1 ♂, [Iran], Schahrud, 20.V.[18]87, Herz leg., ex coll. ZISP; 1 ♀, [Iran], Schahrud, 20.V.18[84], Chr.[istoph] leg., ex coll. ZISP; S. (A.) h. seravshanica: 2 ♂, 1 ♀, Tajikistan, Iskanderkul Lake, 2600 m, 01.VII.1976, V. Prasolov leg., ex coll. ZISP; S. (A.) h. badachshanica: 1 ♂, Tajikistan, Kara-Muk Pass., 2900 m, 18.VII.1953, Bundel leg., ex coll. ZISP; 1 ♀, Tajikistan, Pamir, Chorog, hortus botan.[icus], 17.6.1973, 2300 m, M. Zaprjagaev, ex coll. ZISP; all of them were dissected. In the case of the new species of Superflua 25 males and 18 females were dissected, and in the case of the new subspecies of Armenia—5 males and 4 females.

Taxonomic overview

Satyrium Scudder, 1876 is the Holarctic genus of hairstreaks from the tribe Eumaeini, which is characterized by usually uniformly brown or grey wings upperside and grey or brown underside with more or less developed postdiscal white pattern along with developed submarginal spots in spaces Cu1 and Cu2. The hindwings often bear tails on the second cubital vein (Weidenhoffer et al. 2004). The genus includes subgenus Satyrium, which inhabits both Palaearctic and Nearctic realms along with subgenera Armenia Dubatolov & Korshunov, 1984 and Superflua Strand, 1910, which are known only from the Palaearctic. Formerly the latter subgenera were treated as genera by several authors (e.g., Zhdanko 2000), but study of their morphology and distribution revealed their unity with Satyrium (Weidenhoffer et al. 2004), which is followed accordingly in this paper.

422 · Zootaxa 3985 (3) © 2015 Magnolia Press KRUPITSKY ET AL. During the studies of Central Afghanistan populations of hairstreaks, a new taxon belonging to the subgenus Superflua, and another one in the subgenus Armenia were found.

Subgenus Superflua Strand, 1910

All collected Superflua specimens belong to the widely distributed Satyrium (Superflua) sassanides (Kollar, 1849)—species group which includes tailed butterflies with well-developed white postdiscal line on hindwing underside: complex of species from Iranian Highland—S. (S.) sassanides and S. (S.) persepolis Eckweiler & ten Hagen, 2003, recently described S. (S.) turkmanica Churkin & Pletnev, 2010 from Turkmenian Kopet Dagh mountains, Middle and Central Asian S. (S.) mirabilis (Erschoff, 1874), S. (S.) zabirovi Churkin & Pletnev, 2010 and S. (S.) muksuria Churkin & Pletnev, 2010, and Himalayan S. (S.) deria (Moore, 1865) (Weidenhoffer et al. 2004; Churkin & Pletnev 2010). Specimens from the two Superflua populations collected in the foothills near Kabul (Qargha and Paghman) at mid altitude (1900 m) at the end of May–June 2010–2012 have traits of rather typical S. (S.) mirabilis. This species is widely distributed in Middle and Central Asia and was formerly treated as a subspecies of S. (S.) sassanides, but studies conducted by Weidenhoffer et al. (2004) proved its specific status. Studies by Eckweiler & ten Hagen (2003) and Weidenhoffer et al. (2004) outlined distribution of S. (S.) sassanides by mountains of South-West Iran (Fars Province). S. (S.) mirabilis was already reported for Afghanistan by Sakai (1981) (under the name sassanides) but in fact only two specimens pictured in the book belong to S. (S.) mirabilis (col. plate 46, figs. 3, 6), while two others (specimens from Bala Quran, NE Hindu Kush Mts., Badakhshan Prov.) clearly belong to S. (S.) deria, which is characterized by the absence of androconial patch on the male forewing and in the colour pattern on the hindwing underside. Weidenhoffer et al. (2004) also mentioned the latter species for Bala Quran. One specimen pictured in the book on butterflies of Afghanistan (Sakai 1981) (col. plate 46, fig. 3) was mentioned by Charmeaux (2004) as a “paratype” of S. (S.) khowari Charmeaux, 2004, which he described from Chitral (North Pakistan). Weidenhoffer et al. (2004) synonymized the latter species with S. (S.) mirabilis on a base of external and genital similarity of a paratype of S. (S.) khowari with specimens of S. (S.) mirabilis, but Churkin & Pletnev (2010) suppose that S. (S.) khowari is not synonymous with S. (S.) mirabilis. Analysis of the genitalia of the specimens collected near Kabul showed their similarity with typical S. (S.) mirabilis from Middle Asia. Thus there are two described species of the subgenus Superflua known from the territory of Afghanistan so far—S. (S.) mirabilis and S. (S.) deria. Specimens collected in Band-e Amir (Bamyan Province) at higher altitudes (about 3000 m) in July–August 2009–2013, along with a single female from Koh-i-Baba Mts., have unique combination of external characters and genitalia, which allow to describe this population as a new species belonging to Iranian complex of Satyrium (Superflua).

Satyrium (Superflua) skrylniki Krupitsky, Pljushtch & Pak, sp. n. (Plate 1, figs. 1–4; plate 2, figs. 1, 4; plate 3, fig. 2)

Material: Holotype (ZMMU): ♂, Afghanistan, Bamyan Province, Band-e Amir, 34°48’ N, 67°11’ E, 3000–3200 m, 11.VII.2013, O.V. Pak leg.; paratypes (93 ♂, 64 ♀, AK, SIZK, OP, YuS, SCh): 1 ♀, same locality, 3100 m, 03.VII.2009, O.V. Pak leg. (OP); 2 ♂, same data, O.V. Pak leg. (SCh); 1 ♂, 2 ♀, same locality, 3200 m, 08.VII.2009, O.V. Pak leg. (OP); 1 ♂, 2 ♀, same locality, 3500 m, 02.VIII.2011, O.V. Pak leg. (OP); 5 ♂, same data, Yu.E. Skrylnik leg. (YuS); 1 ♀, same locality, 3500 m, 03.VIII.2011, Yu.E. Skrylnik leg. (YuS); 3 ♂, 5 ♀, same locality, 3000–3200 m, 11.VII.2013, O.V. Pak leg. (OP); 4 ♂, 3 ♀, same data, O.V. Pak leg. (AK); 1 ♂, 3 ♀, same locality, 2900 m, 11.VII.2013, I.G. Pljushtch leg. (AK); 3 ♂, 1 ♀, same locality, 3060 m, 11.VII.2013, Yu.E. Skrylnik leg. (YuS); 1 ♀, same locality, 3100 m, 12.VII.2013, O.V. Pak leg. (OP); 11 ♂, 9 ♀, same locality, 3190 m, 12.VII.2013, Yu.E. Skrylnik leg. (YuS); 1 ♂, same locality, 3300 m, 14.VII.2013, O.V. Pak leg. (OP); 22 ♂, 11 ♀, same locality, 3250 m, 14.VII.2013, Yu.E. Skrylnik leg. (YuS); 1 ♀, same locality, 3100 m, 15.VII.2013, I.G. Pljushtch leg. (SIZK); 1 ♂, 4 ♀, same locality, 3100 m, 16.VII.2013, I.G. Pljushtch leg. (SIZK); 3 ♂, same data, I.G. Pljushtch leg. (AK); 16 ♂, 6 ♀, same locality, 3100 m, 16.VII.2013, O.V. Pak leg. (OP); 10 ♂, 8 ♀, same

NEW SATYRIUM FROM AFGHANISTAN Zootaxa 3985 (3) © 2015 Magnolia Press · 423 locality, 2915 m, 16.VII.2013, Yu.E. Skrylnik leg. (YuS); 2 ♂, 3 ♀, same locality, 3100 m, 19.VII.2013, I.G. Pljushtch leg. (SIZK); 1 ♀, same locality, 2900 m, 20.VII.2013, I.G. Pljushtch leg. (SIZK); 1 ♂, Bamyan Province, 67 km W Bamyan, Band-e Amir env., Kotak vill. vic., 34°48’09’’ N, 67°05’26’’ E, 2900 m, 17.VII.2013, I.G. Pljushtch leg. (SIZK); 1 ♂, same data, O.V. Pak leg. (OP); 3 ♂, 1 ♀, same data, Yu.E. Skrylnik leg. (YuS); 2 ♂, Bamyan Province, 70 km W Bamyan, Band-e Amir env., Gumob vill. canyon, 34°51’42’’ N, 67°04’39’’ E, 3100 m, 23.VII.2013, I.G. Pljushtch leg. (SIZK); 1 ♀, Bamyan Province, 10 km S Bamyan, Kohi-Baba Mts., Khushkak canyon, 2800 m, 31.VII.2011, O.V. Pak leg. (AK).

PLATE 1. Superflua spp., imagoes. Scale bar equals 10 mm. 1. S. (S.) skrylniki sp. n., holotype, ♂, upperside, Afghanistan, Bamyan Province, Band-e Amir, 34°48’ N, 67°11’ E, 3000– 3200 m, 11.VII.2013, O.V. Pak leg., ex coll. ZMMU; 2. Id., underside; 3. S. (S.) skrylniki sp. n., paratype, ♀, upperside, Afghanistan, Bamyan Province, Band-e Amir, 34°48’ N, 67°11’ E, 2900 m, 11.VII.2013, I.G. Pljushtch leg., ex coll. AK; 4. Id., underside; 5. S. (S.) sassanides, ♂, upperside, Iran, Fars Province, ab. 130 km NE Shiraz, vic. of Bovand, ab. 3000 m, 31.V.2008, A.L. Devyatkin leg., ex. coll. AK; 6. Id., underside; 7. S. (S.) sassanides, ♀, upperside, same data, ex coll. AK; 8. Id., underside; 9. S. (S.) persepolis, ♂, upperside, Iran, Fars Province, 20 km W Estahban, 09–10.V.2007, K.A. Kolesnichenko leg., ex coll. KK; 10. Id., underside; 11. S. (S.) persepolis, ♀, upperside, same data, ex coll. KK; 12. Id., underside.

Description. Male (plate 1, figs. 1–2). Head: antenna black, white-ringed at bases of segments, club dark with brown tip. Eye surrounded by a white stripe, brown with very short rare hairs. Frons grey with black hairs on the sides, top of head with black and white scales. Palpi: 2nd segment white with black spot on base; 3rd segment black outside, white inside, with white scales on top. Thorax: upperside brownish-grey with grey hairs, underside grey with white hairs. Legs white with black scales and white hairs. Abdomen: upperside brown, underside white. Forewing: upperside dark-brown, base of forewing lighter than rest of wing. Androconial patch on forewing well- developed, black, rather small, wedge-shaped. Outer margin black. Fringe dirty-white, with brownish hairs. Underside grey, outer margin dark-brown, underlain by a whitish strip. Spaces Cu1 and M2 bear well-developed black spots with bluish-grey scales basally, spaces A2 and M1 with very small reduced black spots. White postdiscal line well-developed in all spaces except A3, staircase. Hindwing: upperside dark-brown, outer margin black. Underside grey with somewhat lighter veins and bluish scales in basal area. Outer margin dark-brown underlain by a white strip. Tail black with white tip. Fringe dirty-white, with brownish hairs, anal lobe small, marked with brush of black hairs. White postdiscal line rather broad, J-shaped (smoothly inwardly curved), underlain by blackish-brown strip. Pattern of submarginal spots poorly developed, black spots with traces of white scales small, reduced in all spaces except space Cu2 with large, triangle internal black spot underlain by V-shaped

424 · Zootaxa 3985 (3) © 2015 Magnolia Press KRUPITSKY ET AL. white stroke, orange intermedial stroke and small external rounded spot. Space A1 with diffused patch of bluish- grey and dark scales, internally underlain by two white strokes; space A2 with small orange anal spot, small black stroke on inner margin underlain by white line connected with postdiscal line. Ground colour of upperside varies from nearly black to dark-brown, ground colour of underside—from light- to dark-grey, postdiscal line has different thickness among individuals. Hindwing submarginal spots vary between a whole set to almost completely reduced. Forewing length 12 mm in the holotype and 11–15 mm in paratypes. Male genitalia (plate 2, fig. 1). Falces oblique, pointed on tip; valvae short, fail to reach tegumen, with rhomboid basal part and shorter narrow distal bluntly-ended part bearing short thorn; vinculum inwardly with very small lateral projections; saccus rather short and broad (as broad as half of vinculum), with rounded tip. Aedeagus short, about 1,3x genitalia length, rather broad, with deflected apex of sclerotized keel. Significant variations are absent. Female (plate 1, figs. 3–4). Similar to male. Forewing length 10–16 mm. Female genitalia (plate 2, fig. 4). Lamella postvaginalis rounded, antrum funnel-shaped, laterally gradually convergent, turns into short ductus bursae; bursa membranous, with two very large bidentate signa. Papillae anales long, narrow, gradually convergent to top, apophyses posteriores short (about 1,3x of papillae anales length) and broad. Significant variations are absent. Distribution. Known only from the type locality (plate 3, fig. 1) and from Koh-i-Baba Mts. Biology. Butterflies locally inhabit scrub near riversides, ravines, banks of irrigation channels, rarely individual shrubs along roads and trails at 2850–3500 m. Strongly seasonal, the imagoes fly from the beginning of July till August. Host plant is probably Prunus sp. (Rosaceae) (plate 3, figs. 2–3) Etymology. The new subspecies is named after Yuriy Skrylnik, one of the collectors of the type series. Diagnosis. Combination of external and genital characters, namely pale veins, solid smooth postdiscal white line on hindwing underside, structure of valva with stout rounded basal portion and broad rounded saccus in the male genitalia determine the position of the new species within the Iranian complex of species and distinguish it from S. (S.) mirabilis and S. (S.) deria. Externally the most allied species is S. (S.) sassanides, but it has different structure of the male and female genitalia. On the contrary, S. (S.) persepolis has somewhat similar genitalia but has very distinctive external differences. Externally S. (S.) skrylniki differs from both species by slightly inwardly concaved, rounded postdiscal line on hindwing underside (J-shaped against nearly L-shaped thin line in S. (S.) sassanides, and just slightly bent line in S. (S.) persepolis) and strongly reduced black dots in submarginal area on hindwing underside. The structure of the male genitalia of S. (S.) skrylniki strongly differs from that of S. (S.) sassanides by much more slender valvae (which are also rather short and bluntly ended though) with rhomboid basal part, and not so stout aedeagus with bent sclerotized keel; S. (S.) persepolis has apically pointed thin valvae, which are longer than in S. (S.) skrylniki, and slender long aedeagus with straight keel. The female genitalia somewhat resemble those of S. (S.) persepolis but have long and rather narrow rounded lamella postvaginalis; genitalia of S. (S.) sassanides differs by having very broad rhomboid lamella postvaginalis and broad antrum connected with corpus bursae by very short stout ductus bursae. Populations of the new species are strictly isolated both from S. (S.) sassanides and S. (S.) persepolis, as the first one is found only in Zagros mountains in South-Western Iran (Fars Province), while the second species is distributed over a vast in Iran in provinces Esfahan, Fars, Kerman, Sistan-va-Baluchistan (Eckweiler & ten Hagen 2003; Weidenhoffer et al. 2004). S. (S.) skrylniki wasn’t found in Hindu Kush Mts., and apparently it occurs at the eastern edge of the distribution area of the complex as an Iranian element in the fauna of Central Afghanistan. It is noteworthy that Clench & Shoumatoff (1956) mentioned a female specimen of «Strymon sassanides» from Mt. Shah Fouladi (Koh-i-Baba range) collected on the 10th of August at 3000 m. They noted that it agrees perfectly with Persian specimens except for the smaller size, and differs from the Western-Himalayan subspecies [sic] deria. Taking these notes into consideration we believe that this specimen belongs to S. (S.) skrylniki. Another specimen with such traits (male), mentioned by Clench & Shoumatoff (1956) under the name sassanides, was found in vicinity of Herat (Western Afghanistan). Its status is under question, but we reckon it is not inconceivable that it also belongs to S. (S.) skrylniki. S. (S.) skrylniki resembles S. (S.) sassanides not only in appearance but also by their ecology: both species prefer subalpine zone of mountains at altitudes near 3000 m and fly mostly in July (Eckweiler & ten Hagen 2003), whereas S. (S.) persepolis prefers lower altitudes and flies earlier (Eckweiler & ten Hagen 2003; Churkin & Pletnev 2010).

NEW SATYRIUM FROM AFGHANISTAN Zootaxa 3985 (3) © 2015 Magnolia Press · 425 PLATE 2. Satyrium (Superflua) spp., genitalia. Scale bar equals 1 mm. 1. S. (S.) skrylniki sp. n., paratype, ♂, Afghanistan, Bamyan Province, Band-e Amir, 34°48’ N, 67°11’ E, 2900 m, 11.VII.2013, I.G. Pljushtch leg., ex coll. AK 2. S. (S.) persepolis, ♂, Kerman Province, Jebal-Barez Mts., 22.V.2011, A.L. Devyatkin leg., ex coll. AK 3. S. (S.). sassanides, ♂, Iran, Fars Province, ab. 130 km NE Shiraz, vic. of Bovand, ab. 3000 m, 31.V.2008, A.L. Devyatkin leg., ex. coll. AK 4. S. (S.) skrylniki sp. n., paratype, ♀, Afghanistan, Bamyan Province, Band-e Amir, 34°48’ N, 67°11’ E, 2900 m, 11.VII.2013, I.G. Pljushtch leg., ex coll. AK 5. S. (S.) persepolis, ♀, Kerman Province, Jebal-Barez Mts., 22.V.2011, A.L. Devyatkin leg., ex coll. AK 6. S. (S.) sassanides, ♀, Iran, Fars Province, ab. 130 km NE Shiraz, vic. of Bovand, ab. 3000 m, 31.V.2008, A.L. Devyatkin leg., ex. coll. AK

426 · Zootaxa 3985 (3) © 2015 Magnolia Press KRUPITSKY ET AL. PLATE 3. S. (S.) skrylniki sp. n. 1. Type locality, Afghanistan, Bamyan Province, Band-e Amir, 34°48’ N, 67°11’ E, 3000– 3200 m; 2. S. (S.) skrylniki sp. n., ♂ on the leaf of a probable host plant–Prunus sp. 3. Probable host plant of S. (S.) skrylniki sp. n.–Prunus sp. (Rosaceae), general view.

Subgenus Armenia Dubatolov & Korshunov, 1984

The subgenus Armenia is constituted of two Palaearctic species. S. (A.) ledereri (Boisduval, 1848) inhabits a rather vast area from Central Turkey to Transcaucasia and, disjunctively, Lebanon and Samos Island. S. (A.) hyrcanica (Riley, 1939) is widely distributed in scattered populations between Eastern Turkey and Transcaucasia (subspecies cyri Nekrutenko, 1978), North Iran (nominate subspecies), Zeravshansky Ridge in Tajikistan (subspecies seravshanica Stshetkin, 1984) and Western Pamir Mts. in Tajikistan (subspecies badachshanica Stshetkin, 1984) (Weidenhoffer et al. 2004). One species—S. (A.) hyrcanica (Riley, 1939)—has already been reported for Afghanistan by Sakai (1978;

NEW SATYRIUM FROM AFGHANISTAN Zootaxa 3985 (3) © 2015 Magnolia Press · 427 1981) (under the name «Fixsenia ledereri») and Koçak & Kemal (2012) without indicating its subspecific status in all cases. Specimens pictured in Sakai (1981) were collected in the south-eastern Paktia Province and they clearly possess traits of the subspecies badachshanica. Finding a population of the species in Bamyan Province, Band-e Amir in 2012–2013 led us investigate its taxonomic status compared to other populations. Both consistent differences in colouration and isolated geographical position were taken into consideration in the conclusion that it represents an undescribed subspecies, which we describe herein.

Satyrium (Armenia) hyrcanica bamiana Krupitsky, Pljushtch & Pak, ssp. n. (Plate 4, figs. 1–4)

Material. Holotype (ZMMU): ♂, Afghanistan, Bamyan Province, Band-e Amir, 34°48’ N, 67°11’ E, 2900 m, 11.VII.2013, Yu.E. Skrylnik leg.; paratypes (7 ♂, 6 ♀, AK, OP, YuS): 1 ♀, locality as in the holotype, 02.VII.2009, Yu.E. Skrylnik leg. (AK); 1 ♀, Bamyan Province, 67 km W Bamyan, Band-e Amir env., vic. of Kotak vill., 34°48’09’’ N, 67°05’26’’ E, 17.VII.2013, Yu.E. Skrylnik leg. (AK); 1 ♂, same data, O.V. Pak leg. (OP); 1 ♂, same data, I.G. Pljushtch leg. (AK); 3 ♂, 1 ♀, Bamyan Province, 15 km WNW Bamyan, vic. of Sabzak vill., 34°52’44’’ N, 67°39’10’’ E, 2800 m, 09.VII.2013, O.V. Pak leg. (OP); 1 ♂, 1 ♀, same data, Yu.E. Skrylnik leg. (YuS); 1 ♂, 2 ♀, same data, Yu.E. Skrylnik leg. (AK). Description. Male (plate 4, figs. 1–2). Head: antennae black, white-ringed at bases of segments, club dark with brown tip. Eyes brown with small pale hairs, surrounded by white strip. Frons black with black hairs on the sides, top of head with black and white scales. Palpi: 2nd segment white with black spot on tip; 3rd segment black. Thorax: upperside brownish-grey with grey hairs, underside grey with white hairs. Legs white with black scales and white hairs. Abdomen: upperside brown, underside white. Forewing: upperside dark-brown, basal area of forewing lighter than rest of the wing, outer margin black. Fringe white. Underside light-grey, outer margin black. Postdiscal black spots rounded, weakly edged with white, smaller than the quadrangular submarginal spots, sometimes reduced. Hindwing: upperside dark-brown. Submarginal orange spots fused into broad band, interrupted by dark veins. Outer edge of band underlain by dark lunules, the lunules edges with paler grey ones near margin. Outer margin black. Tail long (2–3 mm). Fringe white, with black hairs on anal lobe. Underside with bluish-grey scales basally. Set of black spots complete but rather small, orange band very broad, with black lunules in spaces both on its outer and inner edges, black lunules edged with white often connected with white surrounding of postdiscal black dots. Ground colour varies from grey to brown. Forewing length 13 mm in the holotype, 12–15 mm in paratypes. Genitalia have no significant differences from other subspecies. Female (plate 4, figs. 3–4). Similar to male but larger in most cases (forewing length 14–16 mm), genitalia have no significant differences from other subspecies like in the case of males. Distribution. Known only from the type locality. Biology. Based on the limited observations, it is a very rare butterfly, which occurs at the bottom of canyons and valleys, and prefers rich vegetation with scrub. Imagoes fly in July. Etymology. The name is toponymic. All material was collected in Bamyan Province, one of the Central Afghanistan provinces. Diagnosis. S. (A.) hyrcanica bamiana differs from the nominate subspecies and Middle-Asian subspecies seravshanica and badachshanica by well-developed orange elements of hindwing colouration both in the males and in the females—contrast large spots on the upperside and a very broad and nearly fused line on the underside. All the three mentioned subspecies have less developed orange pattern on the hindwing upperside. Orange submarginal spots of the hindwing underside are small in the nominate subspecies and subspecies seravshanica, and medium-sized in the subspecies badachshanica, not fused in all cases. The new subspecies could be treated as a link between local populations of the species from South-West Asia (which are represented by the nominate subspecies and the subspecies cyri) and Middle Asia (subspecies seravshanica and badachshanica) and probably is a remnant of an ancient connected distribution area, which is strictly disjuncted nowadays.

428 · Zootaxa 3985 (3) © 2015 Magnolia Press KRUPITSKY ET AL. PLATE 4. Satyrium (Armenia) hyrcanica sspp. Scale bar equals 10 mm. 1. S. (A.) h. bamiana ssp. n., holotype, ♂, upperside, Afghanistan, Bamyan Province, Band-e Amir, 34°48’ N, 67°11’ E, 2900 m, 11.VII.2013, Yu.E. Skrylnik leg., ex coll. ZMMU; 2. Id., underside; 3. S. (A.) h. bamiana ssp. n., paratype, ♀, upperside, same locality, 02.VII.2009, Yu.E. Skrylnik leg., ex coll. AK; 4. Id., underside; 5. S. (A.) h. hyrcanica, ♂, upperside, [Iran], Schahrud, 20.V.[18]87, Herz leg., ex coll. ZISP; 6. Id., underside; 7. S. (A.) h. hyrcanica, ♀, upperside, [Iran], Schahrud, 20.V.18[84], Chr.[istoph] leg., ex coll. ZISP; 8. Id., underside; 9. S. (A.) h. seravshanica, ♂, upperside, Tajikistan, Iskanderkul Lake, 2600 m, 01.VII.1976, V. Prasolov leg., ex coll. ZISP; 10. Id., underside; 11. S. (A.) h. badachshanica, ♀, upperside, Tajikistan, Pamir, Chorog, hortus botan.[icus], 17.6.1973, 2300 m, M. Zaprjagaev, ex coll. ZISP; 12. Id., underside; 13. Habitat of S. (A.) h. bamiana ssp. n., Afghanistan, Bamyan Province, 67 km W Bamyan, Band-e Amir env., vic. of Kotak vill., 34°48’09’’ N, 67°05’26’’ E.

Mountain regions of Central Afghanistan have been noted as of biogeographical importance (Mani 1968). Some authors even treat them as the distinct zoogeographical region (province), which hosts Irano-Turanian as well as Western-Himalayan species—e.g., Central-Afghan (Hindu-Kush) province sensu Kryzhanovsky (2002). Studies of butterflies (including our findings) confirm this transitional zoogeographical status, which applies especially to Band-e Amir and Koh-i-Baba Mts. According to morphology, the new species of Satyrium (Superflua) is obviously an element of the Iranian fauna. It is known only from two populations, which are located on neighbouring mountain ranges at altitudes near 3000 m, but the species probably inhabits also other parts of the Iranian Highland at appropriate altitudes in Central and Western Afghanistan (which is completely unstudied so far). S. (A.) hyrcanica is more ecologically flexible species and its area of distribution in Afghanistan is obviously wider, but the subspecies is rather local and scarce.

Acknowledgements

We sincerely thank Yuriy E. Skrylnik (Kharkov, Ukraine) for participation in the expeditions to Afghanistan and material loaned for the study, Sergei V. Churkin (Reutov, Russia) and Dr. Kirill A. Kolesnichenko (Department of Entomology, Faculty of Biology, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia) for additional material and fruitful discussions, Dr. Wolfram Mey (Berlin, Germany), Dr. Andrey V. Sviridov (Moscow, Russia), Dr. Alexandr L. Lvovsky and Dr. Sergey Yu. Sinev (Saint-Petersburg, Russia) for their kind assistance during the work of the first author in Museum für Naturkunde, Zentralinstitut der Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin, Zoological Museum of Moscow State University and Zoological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, respectively, Dr. Tatiana V. Galinskaya (Department of Entomology, Faculty of Biology, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia) for help with obtaining of some papers and discussion, Dr. Zsolt Bálint (Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, Hungary), Szabolcs Sáfián (Institute of Silviculture and Forest Protection, University of West Hungary, Sopron, Hungary) and the third anonymous reviewer for proof reading and commenting on a previous version of the manuscript.

References

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