Yoma sabina vasuki Doherty, 1886

Mishra, Purnendu, Shah, Suresh Kr. & Ahmad, Jalil, 2023, First report of a butterfly species Yoma sabina vasuki Doherty, 1886 (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) from Himalaya, mainland India, Records of the Zoological Survey of India 123 (3), pp. 229-231 : 229-231

Yoma sabina vasuki Doherty, 1886

1886. Yoma vasuki Doherty, J. asiat. Soc. Bengal (Part II), 55 (3): 259.

1984. Yoma sabina vasuki : D’Abrera, Butt. Ori. Reg.: 283.

Description: Wings dark vinous brown with obscure dark submarginal lines, a broad pale ochreous band runs through the discal area which is incurved near the costa of fore wing, two prominent white discal spots and three ochreous apical spots present on the upper side of fore wing, the middle one of apical spots being prominent and outer ones being obscure, discal band on the upper side of the hind wing is immaculate and narrows down near abdominal margin with an obscure ocellus visible as black spot outside the band, the band on the upper side is visible as paler fascia from the underside. Male Genitalia: valvae broad, bifurcated and apically tapered to form v-shaped, uncus slender and curved downward, tegumen broader, phallus apically pointed ( Figure 1 a, b, c ).

Diagnosis: Hitherto seven subspecies of the species Y. sabina (Cramer, 1780) have been reported ( Savela, 1999 -2023). Of which Y. s. vasuki is closely similar to its nominate subspecies Y. s. sabina (Fruhstorfer, 1912) . But the latter differs from the former by having a broader and maculate band on the upper side of the hindwing, male genitalia with a somewhat u-shaped apex of valvae, less broad tegumen and more protruded gnathos ( Lambkin & Kendall, 2016; Parsons, 1998).

Remarks: Gasse (2013) remarked on the status of Y. s. vasuki Doherty, 1886 as “Not Rare”. It is interesting to note here that the specimen under study was collected from Sikkim well before the establishment of subspecies Y. s. vauki by Doherty in the year 1886 ( Figure 1 d ). However, the distribution of this species/subspecies in Sikkim has remained unnoticed to date ( Haribal, 1992; Gupta, 2003). Also, the examined specimen lacked any sub-locality data other than labelled as ‘Sikkim’ (pre-independent). Besides, the subspecies as studied herein is up till now recorded from Indo-China but not from the Indian mainland. Therefore, the distribution of Y. s. vasuki Doherty, 1886 could now be remarked as from Sikkim, in addition to the Andaman Islands in India ( Figure 1 e ).

Material examined: 01 ex. (1 ♂), Sikkim, 1868, Coll. Dr. T.C. Jerdon (NZCZSI RN- 33333 H/9); 11 exs. (5 ♂♂♂♂♂, 6 ♀♀♀♀♀♀), 26.vii.1915, Coll. De Niceville (NZCZSI RN-

Figures

Figure 1. (a, b) Adult Male (Dorsal & Ventral View) (c) Male Genitalia (showing a lateral view of Uncus, Valvae and Phallus) (d) Labels (Collector name and Locality) (e) Indicative distribution map of Y.s. vasuki reproduced from Google imagery (1-10 indicates distributional areas in Southeast Asia and India, 10 marked with arrow indicates new distributional record from Sikkim).