Melitaea phoebe (Denis & Schiffermuller, 1775)

Russell, Peter J. C., Lukhtanov, Vladimir A. & Tennent, W. John, 2022, Reassessment of the status of some European and Asian Melitaea taxa described as subspecies of Melitaea phoebe ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775), with designations of lectotypes where appropriate (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), Zootaxa 5141 (1), pp. 25-38 : 28

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5141.1.2
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:F1B8B140-4A7C-4AAA-97C6-A0DAA259C8E3
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6580820
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/DB6B87B0-FFFB-FFE5-E1FD-01EDFB99FCFA
treatment provided by	Plazi (2022-05-24 15:34:29, last updated 2024-11-26 04:56:38)
scientific name	Melitaea phoebe
status

Treatment

M. phoebe View in CoL ab. tatara Krulikovsky, 1891

[TL: circa Kazan, Russian Federation] was considered by Krulikovsky to be a hybrid. In 1897 Krulikovsky said: ‛Earlier I mentioned that I caught M. phoebe (male) in copula with M. arduinna (female). I suspect that ab. tatara, which was shown by me in Bull. de Moscou, 1890, pl VIII, f. g, perhaps is a hybrid between M. phoebe and M. athalia, Rott. ’.[Translation by G. Kuznetsov] [The species mentioned refer to M. arduinna ( Esper, 1783) and M. athalia ( Rottemburg, 1775) .] Unfortunately the search by Kostjuk & Zolotuhin (2017: 445–446) in the collections of the Zoologisches Museum of Shevchenko University, Kyiv failed to find the holotype. The habitat was ‘swampy meadows’ unsuitable for M. ornata but acceptable to both M. phoebe and M. athalia ; also Kazan is outside the known distribution of M. ornata . Hybrids between Melitaea species are known to occur ( Russell et al. 2014; Pazhenkova & Lukhtanov 2021); also numerous interspecific, intergeneric and even intersubfamily copulations have been observed ( Russell 2012a, b). In the absence of the specimen the authors can only provide a copy of Krulikovsky’s figure of this aberration or hybrid(?) ( Fig. 8 View FIGURES 7–11 ).

References

Esper, E. J. C. (1783) Die Schmetterlinge in Abbildungen nach der Natur mit Beschreibungen. Theil I: Die Tagschmetterlinge. Fortsetzung. Band 2 (7), 141 - 156, plates 81, 82, (8), 157 - 172, plates 83 - 88.

Kostjuk I. Y. & Zolotuhin V. V. (2017) The types of moths and butterflies described from the Volga-Ural Region by Leonid Krulikowsky (Krulikovsky). Part 2. Macrolepidoptera. In: Anikin V. V., Sachkov S. A., Zolotuhin, V. V. (Eds.), Fauna lepidopterologica Volgo-Uralensis: from P. Pallas to present days. Munich-Vilnius. Proceedings of the Museum Witt. Munich, 7, 443 - 450, 586 - 593.

Krulikovsky, A. (1891) Experimental catalogue of Lepidoptera of Kazakh Province. Bullitin de la Societe Imperiale des Naturalistes de Moscou (New Series) 4, 200 - 251. [In Russian, colour pls. I - VIII]

Pazhenkova, E. A. & Lukhtanov, V. A. (2021) Genomic introgression from a distant congener in the Levant fritillary butterfly, Melitaea acentria. Molecular Ecology, 30 (19), 4819 - 4832. https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / mec. 16085

Rottemburg, S. A. (1775) Unmertungen zu den Hufnagelifchen Tabellen der Schmitterlinge Der Naturforscher, 6, 1 - 34.

Russell, P. J. C. (2012 a) Intergeneric pairings involving Maniola jurtina L. (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae): are sight and smell overridden by this butterfly's sex drive? Entomologists' Gazette, 64, 11 - 17.

Russell, P. J. C., Pateman, J. & Verovnik, R. (2014) First record of M. ornata Christoph, 1893, from Slovenia, with notes on its confirmed distribution and hybridisation with M. phoebe ([Denis & Schiffermuller], 1775). Entomologist's Gazette, 65, 135 - 153.

Figures

FIGURES 7–11. 7, Lectotype of Melitaea phoebe sibina Alphéraky, 1881. 8, Melitaea phoebe ab. tatara Krulikovsky, 1891. 9, Lectotype of Melitaea phoebe ornata Christoph, 1893. 10, Lectotype of Melitaea phoebe uralensis Krulikovsky, 1897 (= ufensis Krulikovsky 1902). 11, Lectotype of Melitaea phoebe var. tungusa Herz, 1899. Figs 7, 9, 11 © V.A. Lukhtanov. Figs 8, 10 © expired. A = upperside, B = underside, C = labels on specimen pin.