Lethe houjiangae Lang & Bozano, 2015

Das, Gaurab Nandi, Lang, Song-Yun, Singh, Navneet & Chandra, Kailash, 2020, Taxonomic notes on the jalaurida-subgroup of the genus Lethe (Lepidoptera Nymphalidae, Satyrinae), Zootaxa 4789 (1), pp. 281-290 : 284-285

5. Lethe houjiangae Lang & Bozano, 2015 stat. nov.

( Figs. 6, 7 )

Lethe elwesi houjiangae Lang & Bozano, 2015 . Zootaxa 4058 (1): 128, figs. 1–6, 37, type locality: Gongshan, Yunnan; Lang, 2017. Nymphalidae China II: 55, pl. IV: 17.

Materials examined. CHINA: 1 ♂, Holotype of Lethe elwesi houjiangae Lang & Bozano , Yunnan, Gongshan, East slope of Mts. Gao-li-gong, 3200 m, 25.VII.2015, leg. Song-yun Lang ( CMNH) ; 10 ♂♂, Paratype of Lethe elwesi houjiangae Lang & Bozano , Yunnan, Gongshan, Dulong-jiang valley, West slope of Mts. Gao-li-gong, 2800 m, 19.VII.2015, leg. Song-yun Lang ( LSY) ; 39 ♂♂, Paratype of Lethe elwesi houjiangae Lang & Bozano , Yunnan, Gongshan, East slope of Mts. Gao-li-gong, 2500–3200 m, 20–26.VII.2015, leg. Song-yun Lang ( LSY) ; 1 ♂, Para- type of Lethe elwesi houjiangae Lang & Bozano , ditto ( CMNH) .

Notes. When this taxon was described as a subspecies of Lethe elwesi, Lang & Bozano (2015) compared it with material of L. giancbi Lang & Das sp. nov. from SE Tibet which was identified as the nominate L. elwesi in that work. After checking all male genitalia of species in the jalaurida -subgroup, the present authors think that this taxon is quite different from Lethe elwesi and should be a distinct species which is more closely related to L. giancbi Lang & Das sp. nov. than to the others.

Diagnosis. 1) On both sides pale markings and stripes are yellowish, it is similar to Lethe atkinsonia but without male brand on dorsal forewing; 2) uncus is heavily bent downwards; 3) valva is not elongated as in L. giancbi sp. nov.; 4) valva apex is sharply pointed inwards; 5) aedeagus has a slender dorsal ridge near its cephalic end, this structure is also present in L. giancbi sp. nov. but absent in other species.

Distribution. China (NW Yunnan).

Figures

FIGURES 4–11. Butterflies. 4, Lethe giancbi Lang & Das sp. nov., male, holotype, SATY0368 (Medog, Tibet), dorsal; 5, ditto, ventral; 6, L. houjiangae Lang & Bozano stat. nov., male, holotype, SATY0369 (Gongshan, Yunnan), dorsal; 7, ditto, ventral; 8, L. gelduba gelduba Fruhstorfer stat. nov., male, SATY0367 (Puge, Sichuan), dorsal (left) and ventral (right); 9, L. gelduba nuolaensis Huang stat. nov., male, SATY0361 (Gongshan, Yunnan), dorsal (left) and ventral (right); 10, L. nosei (Koiwaya), male (Gongshan, Yunnan), dorsal; 11, ditto, ventral. Scale bar = 10 mm.