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| Zographetus dzonguensis Karmakar, Lepcha, Basu & Lepcha, 2021 |
Abstract
A new species, Zographetus dzonguensis sp. nov., is described based on three male specimens from Upper Dzongu, North Sikkim District, Sikkim, India. The new species is closely similar to Z. pangi from Guangdong and Z. hainanensis from Hainan, China, from which it is distinguished based on the following combination of external characters: (a) forewing with the white spot at the base of space M3 being sharply pointed at the inner edge and conspicuously more elongated, and (b) on underside of hindwing, all chocolate-brown spots being smaller, in Z. dzonguensis sp. nov. compared with both Z. pangi and Z. hainanensis. In Z. dzonguensis sp. nov., the male genitalia may be distinguished as follows: (c) tegumen and uncus are almost equal in length, (d) the dorsal outline of tegumen is relatively flat, and (e) saccus is distinctly bent upward as angle between vinculum and saccus is more acute than in Z. pangi and Z. hainanensis.
Key words: Himalaya biodiversity hotspot, species discovery, species description, butterfly taxonomy
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| Type specimens of Zographetus dzonguensis sp. nov. A millimetre scale is at the bottom. |
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| Zographetus dzonguensis sp. nov. in life. All individuals were photographed at Namprikdang playground, Dzongu, North Sikkim District, Sikkim, India in August-September 2020 and 2021. Photographs by Sonam Wangchuk Lepcha. |
Zographetus dzonguensis sp. nov. Kunte, Karmakar & Lepcha
Etymology: The new species is named after the type locality of Dzongu in Sikkim. This is a stronghold of the Lepcha—the people of Sikkim—to whom the description of this species is dedicated.
Proposed English Name: We propose the English name ‘Chocolate-bordered Flitter’ for this species based on the chocolate-coloured termens of both the wings on the ventral side.
Distribution: The species is known so far only from the type locality of Dzongu in North Sikkim District. We expect it to be more widely distributed in other parts of Sikkim and adjoining Nepal, northern West Bengal, Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh and south-eastern Tibet, at similar elevations.
Tarun Karmakar, Sonam Wangchuk Lepcha, Dipendra Nath Basu and Sonam Wangchuk Lepcha. 2021. A New Species of Zographetus Watson, 1893 (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) from Sikkim, eastern Himalaya, India. Zootaxa. 5072(4); 373-379. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5072.4.4
