Cigaritis conjuncta, Kunte & Sengupta & Pawar & Nawge, 2024

Kunte, Krushnamegh, Sengupta, Ashok, Pawar, Ujwala & Nawge, Viraj, 2024, A new species of silverline butterfly, Cigaritis Donzel, 1847 (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae), from the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot, India, Zootaxa 5399 (1), pp. 85-95 : 86-91

Cigaritis conjuncta sp. nov. Kunte & Sengupta

Holotype ( Fig. 1 , 3 ): Voucher code IBC-BO833 . ♁. Honey Valley, Kodagu District, Karnataka, India (lat-long: 12.21512 N, 75.65743 E). Approx. 1,300 m asl. Collected on 2021/03/27, by Krushnamegh Kunte. Preserved dry, pinned, deposited in the Biodiversity Lab Research Collections at NCBS.

Description: Forewing length: 16 mm. Length of antenna: 8 mm. Head white and pale yellowish-brown on the ventral side, and black with an inconspicuous red collar on the dorsal side. Antennae black, finely white-ringed on the shaft, and with a yellowish-orange tip. Proboscis dark yellow. Thorax pale yellowish-brown on the ventral side, and black on the dorsal side, covered in pale scales that shine black or blue on the dorsal side. Abdomen pale yellowish-brown with dark bands on the ventral side, much darker with black bands on the dorsal side. Legs white and ochreous in patches.

Dorsal side: Forewings costal margin, nearly upper half of the cell, and outer half of the wing black. Remaining wing dark shining blue, from dorsum to more than half-way through interspace 2, nearly to the origin of v3. Hindwings shining deep blue from v2 to v6 and up to the upper edge of the cell. Interspaces 1a and more than half of 1b nearly white, the outer part of 1b and 1c dark brown.Area above the cell, which is usually covered by forewing in life, dark brown. Terminal border and cilia black. Tornus pale orange-red with two black spots, the lower spot being more than twice the size of the upper one. These spots are placed on the protruding and out-turned wing lobe which, along with white-tipped black tails at the ends of v1 and v2, form the tornal false head that presumably deflects predatory attacks from the real head of many theclines.

Ventral side: pale yellow with darker yellow or ochreous broad bands that have narrow silver lines at the centre and narrow black edges. Forewings have the following markings: (a) a basal, length-wise yellow band from the thoracic attachment of forewing till approx. basal 1/3 rd of the cell, (b) a transverse band across the cell, from costal margin to the vein along the lower edge of the cell, placed in the centre of the cell between the wing attachment and end of the discal cell, (c) a similar band at the end of the discal cell, (d) a band immediately outside of the cell, conjoined with the cell-end band, (e) a band half-way between the conjoined bands at the end of the discal cell, starting from the lower ends of these bands and extending down to middle of interspace 1b, (f) a post-discal band from the costal margin to interspace 3, (g) a small, isolated spot on v3, just below the post-discal band, (h) submarginal and marginal ochreous area without silver lines but with narrow black borders, and with four submarginal small black spots and one longer black line embedded on the ocherous area. Interspaces 1a and 1b largely pale dirty white. Hindwings have the following markings: (a) an orange, black-bordered spot in interspace 8, at the wing-base, (b) four large spots conjoined together to form a broad subbasal band, (c) an elongated spot in interspace 1b, (d) a central band from costal margin to interspace 1c, (e) a post-discal band from costal margin to the centre of interspace 3, (f) an outer post-discal/submarginal band from wing apex to v2, (g) a long silver line from dorsal margin in interspace 1b, bent upward to meet the lower margin of the second post-discal band, (h) a large, black tornal spot below v1, and a small, black spot between v1 and v2. All the ocherous bands are broad, with uneven outlines. The subbasal and central bands are placed very close to each other, leaving only a narrow strip of the pale yellow background colour in between.

Paratypes, and intraspecific variation: 4 ♁ (voucher codes IBC-BO700 , IBC-BO702 , IBC-BO749 , and IBC-BO834 ; Fig. 1–2 ) and 4 ♀ (voucher codes IBC-BO730 , IBC-BO752 , IBC-BO825 , and IBC-BO840 ; Fig. 1–2 ). Collection locality same as the holotype. Specimens IBC-BO700 , BO702, BO730, BO834 and BO840 preserved dry, pinned, and BO749, BO752 and BO825 preserved wet in 100% molecular-grade ethanol for DNA sequencing. Specimens BO700, BO702 collected on 2021/03/24; BO730, BO749, BO752 collected on 2021/03/25; BO825, BO834, BO840 collected on 2021/03/27. All specimens collected by Krushnamegh Kunte. Since the designation of allotype is not regulated but it is allowed by ICZN rules, IBC-BO730 may be considered an allotype of the species .

Body size of the paratypes varied considerably, with females being larger on average. Forewing length, as a proxy for body size, ranged as follows:

♁: IBC-BO700 : 17 mm , IBC-BO702 : 19 mm , IBC-BO749 : 16 mm, and IBC-BO834 : 14 mm (mean±SD: 16.4± 1.82 mm, including the holotype) .

♀: IBC-BO730 : 21 mm, IBC-BO752 : 19 mm, IBC-BO825 : 20 mm, and IBC-BO840 : 18 mm (mean±SD: 19.5± 1.29 mm) .

Paratypes and other specimens photographed in the field ( Fig. 4 ) show a largely constant phenotype of this species, similar to the male holotype, with only relatively minor variations. Dorsal side: Male paratypes have a more or less constant colour pattern. IBC-BO834 varies in being slightly paler blue. Specimens may appear much paler blue when a combination of sunlight and camera flash light is used ( Fig. 4g ). Female is dark brown, with plumbeous scales overlaid in interspaces 1a–1b UPF and interspaces 1c–3 and cell UPH. The tornal orange-red is deeper and more extensive compared with that in males. Female forewings are broader, and termen more convex, compared with that in males. Ends of veins appear to be white because scales were lost from them during pinning under field conditions.

Ventral side: The pale yellow wing background colour was more or less constant. The relative widths of the broad bands and their relative placements were also similar. The colour of the bands varied from dark yellow (IBC-BO700 and IBC-BO834) to dark ochreous (IBC-BO702, IBC-BO730 and IBC-BO840). The band immediately outside of the UNF cell was not complete, ending half-way of the band at the end of discal cell, in IBC-BO702. Apart from these minor individual variations, there was no sexual dimorphism in wing colouration and markings on the ventral side.

Genitalia: Male ( Fig. 2a–h ): Tegumen robust. Uncus short, stout, in lateral view distally sloping sharply and ending as a narrow point, inwardly excavated, and in dorsal view with a prominent cleft. Gnathos narrow, nearly straight. Vinculum straight, stout. In lateral view, valve narrow, sharply curved, with a narrow, pointed, prominently downturned cuiller, and a very large dorsal process. Phallus (aedeagus) stout, basally raised, and with a flattened, pointed end. Female ( Fig. 2i–n ): Of ordinary Cigaritis type, without prominent signa.

Diagnosis ( Fig. 3 ): Cigaritis conjuncta sp. nov. is readily distinguished from other congeners in India and Sri Lanka based on the following combination of diagnostic characters in the male: (a) dorsal forewing outer half, costal margin and nearly upper half of the cell black, without orange-red markings, the remaining wing shining deep blue, (b) dorsal hindwing shining deep blue from v2 to v6 and up to the upper edge of the discal cell; above the cell and v6 dark brown; in interspace 1 white and brown; tornus pale orange-red with two black spots, (c) ventral side pale yellow or ochreous with broad, silver-centred, black-edged dark yellow or red bands, (d) UNF bands at end of the discal cell conjoined or nearly so, and (e) ventral hindwing subbasal and discal bands composed of spots that are not separated but conjoined to form broad bands that have irregular outlines, leaving only a narrow background colour in between. Female is similar on the ventral side, but entirely dark brown above, with more extensive, considerably darker orange-red tornal patches. Cigaritis conjuncta sp. nov. has a unique characteristic of ventral bands being very broad and conjoined in two places, which readily distinguishes it from all other Sri Lankan and Indian Cigaritis : (a) UNF bands at end of the discal cell being very closely applied, and therefore forming a very broad, conjoined marking, (b) UNH subbasal band being composed of very closely fused, large spots.

Cigaritis conjuncta sp. nov. differs from the sympatric C. vulcanus , C. schistacea , C. elima and C. ictis , in lacking orange markings on the dorsal forewing. Male C. conjuncta sp. nov. differ from C. lohita in having the outer half of dorsal forewing black (black border less than 1/3 rd the width of the wing in C. lohita ), and in both sexes having very broad but considerably paler bands on ventral side, with UNH subbasal band not extending along v2 (ventral bands in C. lohita are much darker, deeper red/brown and narrower, with the subbasal band prominently extending along v2 to join the central band at its lower end). Cigaritis conjuncta sp. nov. differs from the sympatric C. vulcanus , C. schistacea and C. lohita in having the UNH tornal area with a much reduced, much less conspicuous red patch (tornal red extensive and brighter in C. vulcanus , C. schistacea and C. lohita ). Cigaritis conjuncta sp. nov. differs from C. abnormis in having very broad and many more bands on the ventral side (ventral side of C. abnormis only has very narrow, dark brown central bands on both wings, and a narrow cell line UNF, with very few other markings), and in female lacking blue on the dorsal surface (female C. abnormis is largely pale blue on the dorsal side). Cigaritis conjuncta sp. nov. differs from the allopatric C. syama in having UPH tornus much more narrowly orange-red, which is also considerably paler, and ventral bands being much broader and paler. Cigaritis conjuncta sp. nov. differs from the allopatric C. rukma , C. rukmini , C. evansii , C. elwesi , and C. nipalicus in having ventral bands much broader, and the UNH subbasal spots being prominently conjoined (ventral bands in C. rukma , C. rukmini , C. evansii , C. elwesi , and C. nipalicus are much narrower, and subbasal spots not prominently fused). Cigaritis conjuncta sp. nov. differs from the allopatric C. acamas and C. lilacinus in having a shining dark blue UPF without orange markings in male ( C. acamas has extensive orange UPF, and C. lilacinus is very pale lilac purple-blue), and in having a very broad subbasal band UNH, which is composed to closely conjoined spots (subbasal spots prominently separated in C. acamas and C. lilacinus ). Cigaritis conjuncta sp. nov. differs from the Sri Lankan-endemic: (a) C. greeni in having the outer half of UPF black in male (the black border is less than 1/3 rd the forewing length in male C. greeni ) and lacking any blue on UPF in female (female C. greeni is largely pale blue above), and in having very broad, conjoined bands on ventral side (ventral bands are very narrow, broken and wellseparated from each other in C. greeni ), and (b) C. nubilus in having black colouration on the outer half of UPF sharply defined in male (narrower and with a more diffused edge in male C. nubilus ), in being plain dark brown with plumbeous scales in interspace 1b UPF and 1c–3 UPH in female (UPF post-discal area conspicuously paler brown, without conspicuous plumbeous scales on FW and HW, in female C. nubilus ), and in both sexes having the UNH subbasal spots completely fused into a broad band (three subbasal spots being prominently separated in C. nubilus ).

Finally, no other Sri Lankan or Indian Cigaritis has UNF bands at the end of discal cell being so broad and prominently conjoined as in C. conjuncta sp. nov.

These diagnostic characteristics may be compared in pictorial guides of S. Asian, S. Chinese and Indo-Chinese butterflies, which reveal no closely resembling species in the Indo-Malayan Region ( Bhakare & Ogale 2018; d’Abrera 1986; Ek-Amnuay 2012; Evans 1932; Inayoshi 2023; Io 2000; Kinyon 2003; Pinratana 1981; van der Poorten & van der Poorten 2016; Woodhouse 1949).

Genitalia of most Indian Cigaritis have not been dissected and properly illustrated yet, so it is not possible at present to compare them. Diagnostic characters of the genitalia, and phylogenetic relationships among species, may be studied in the future.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Type specimens of Cigaritis conjuncta sp. nov. A millimetre scale is at the bottom.

FIGURE 2. Male and female genitalia of paratypes of Cigaritis conjuncta sp. nov. Male genitalia: a and e: lateral view of genital capsule or armature (showing outside of right valve), b and f: valve (inside of left valve), c and g: phallus (aedeagus), d and h: dorsal view of genital capsule. Female genitalia: i and l: lateral view, j and m: dorsal view, k and n: ventral view.

FIGURE 3. Diagnostic characters of Cigaritis conjuncta sp. nov., marked on digitally enhanced images of the holotype from which damage to the wings has been removed to illustrate the distinctive phenotype of the species. Males of other Cigaritis species that are found in the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka are illustrated below for reference. Images are not to scale.

FIGURE 4. Cigaritis conjuncta sp. nov. in life. a: Female. Near Iruppu Falls, Brahmagiri WLS, Kodagu District, Karnataka, India. 2008/04/06. Photo by Krushnamegh Kunte. b–h: Honey Valley, Kodagu District, Karnataka, India. b, c, f: Males. 2021/03/13. Photos by Rohit Girotra. d, h: Males. 2021/03/27. Photos by Viraj Nawge. e: Female. 2021/03/14. Photo by Ashok Sengupta. g: Male (blue appearing pale because of the camera flash). 2021/03/27. Photo by Krushnamegh Kunte.