Speyeria carolae ( dos Passos and Grey, 1942 )

Dunford, James C., 2009, Taxonomic overview of the greater fritillary genus Speyeria Scudder and the atlantis - hesperis species complexes, with species accounts, type images, and relevant literature (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), Insecta Mundi 2009 (90), pp. 1-74 : 21

Speyeria carolae ( dos Passos and Grey, 1942)

( Figure 15 )

Argynnis coronis carolae dos Passos and Grey, 1942: 2 .

Speyeria coronis carolae (dos Passos and Grey) [ dos Passos and Grey 1947].

Speyeria zerene carolae (dos Passos and Grey) [ dos Passos 1961].

Speyeria carolae (dos Passos and Grey) [ Emmel and Austin 1998].

Common names. Carol’s fritillary.

Type deposited. Holotype (male) at American Museum of Natural History ( Figure 15 ).

Type locality. Charleston Park, Clark County, Nevada.

Type label data. “Charleston Park, Clark Co., Nev., 8-9, VII, 1928, 8,000 ft.; ARGYNNIS C. CAROLAE, C. F. dos Passos and L. P. Grey; J. D. Gunder Collection Ac. 34998; Holotype ”.

Identification, taxonomy, and variation. Average wingspan is approximately 56 mm. Speyeria carolae is generally darker and bears slightly different wing shape and coloration than those of S. coronis and S. zerene . The dorsal color of both sexes is bright reddish-orange; the ventral forewing is heavily flushed with reddish-orange anteriorly to or beyond vein M3, and this is usually more extensive than on S. zerene and S. coronis . The ventral hindwing disc varies from reddish-brown to brown and the spots are moderately large. The spots range from silvered to mostly unsilvered. Speyeria carolae has been hypothesized to be an intermediate between S. coronis and S. zerene ( Scott 1986b) and may represent an extant, remnant form of the ancestral lineage between both of these species. Formerly recognized as a subspecies within the coronis complex ( dos Passos and Grey 1942, 1947), and later the zerene complex by dos Passos (1961) and Austin (1981), S. carolae was considered a distinct species by Emmel and Austin (1998) and Austin (1998) based on differences in wing patterns and chromosome numbers (but see North American Butterfly Association 2001; Scott 2008a, p.54). The nearest Speyeria population to those of S. carolae is in southwestern Utah, approximately 225 km to the northeast. The geographic isolation and the low probability of present-day gene flow and probable, precinctive larval host plant Viola charlestonensis support full species status ( Emmel and Austin 1998).

Range. Isolated in southern Nevada’s Spring Mountains (Clark County). Type material was taken in the Charleston Range between elevations of approximately 6,000 -11,000 ft. It is regarded as the most restricted Speyeria species in geographical range ( Howe 1975; Emmel and Austin 1998).

Life history. Adults occur in dry forests, hillsides, meadows, and riparian habitats above 6,000 ft. in the Spring Range ( Austin 1981; Fleishman et al. 2005).

Figures

Figure 11-15. Type images for Speyeria spp.; dorsal, ventral, and label images. 11) Speyeria nokomis lectotype, described as Argynnis Nokomis, male, AMNH. This specimen is not recognized as the name bearing type. 12) Speyeria edwardsii lectotype, described as Argynnis edwardsii, male, FMNH. 13) Speyeria coronis neotype, described as Argynnis Coronis, male, CMNH. 14) Speyeria zerene lectotype, described as Argynnis Zerene, male, NMNH. 15) Speyeria carolae holotype, described as Argynnis coronis carolae, male, CMNH. Images 11-13 and 15 by James C. Dunford; 14 by Robert Robbins.