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Амурский зоологический журнал, 2023, т. XV, № 4
Amurian Zoological Journal, 2023, vol. XV, no. 4
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https://www.doi.org/10.33910/2686-9519-2023-15-4-755-761 http://zoobank.org/References/029E5BDD-6541-4267-838E-3EFCBE33B51B
UDC 595.786
Drasteria scolopax (Alpheraky, 1892) (Lepidoptera: Erebidae): New data on its range and ecology with description of a new
subspecies
S. K. Korb® P. Yu. Gorbunov2
1 Russian Entomological Society, Nizhny Novgorod Branch, P.O. Box 97, 603009, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia 2 Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology URO RAS, 202 8 Marta Str., 620144, Ekaterinburg, Russia
Authors
Stanislav K. Korb
E-mail: [email protected]
SPIN: 2230-3973
Scopus Author ID: 6602883930
ResearcherlD: ABA-7524-2020
ORCID: 0000-0002-1120-424X
Pavel Y. Gorbunov
E-mail: [email protected] SPIN: 6540-2216 Scopus Author ID: 56266617400 ResearcherID: ABF-9588-2020 ORCID: 0000-0003-1913-7894
Copyright: © The Authors (2023). Published by Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia. Open access under CC BY-NC License 4.0.
Abstract. Drasteria scolopax (Alphéraky, 1892) for the first time recorded from Kyrgyzstan as far as the western part of the Tarim depression. The new population discovered in Kyrgyzstan represents a new subspecies, which is described here as Drasteria scolopaxgilmanovi Korb et P. Gorbunov, ssp. n. Its type locality is Kyrgyzstan, Transalai Mts., Kaltabulak stream, 4 km W of Nura, 3025 m, 39°38'21.19"N, 73°49'10.68"E. The new subspecies differs from the nominative one by its wing coloration and wing pattern. The new subspecies looks quite darker than the nominative one because its median and basal belts are brown; the upper side pattern of the wing in the new subspecies is unclear, spots and belts are weakly visible; there is no black marginal spot in the new subspecies forewing underside, which is presented in D. scolopax scolopax. The collecting sites of D. scolopax gilmanovi ssp. n. are described.
Keywords: Kyrgyzstan, new taxon, new data, new record, owlet moths
Drasteria scolopax (Л1рЬегаку, 1892) (Lepidoptera: Erebidae): новые сведения по распространению и экологии, с описанием
нового подвида
С. К. Корбш, П. Ю. Горбунов2
1 Русское Энтомологическое Общество, Нижегородское отделение, а/я 97, 603009, г. Нижний Новгород,
Россия
2 Институт экологии растений и животных УрО РАН, ул. 8-го Марта, д. 202, 620144, г. Екатеринбург,
Россия
Сведения об авторах
Корб Станислав Константинович E-mail: [email protected] SPIN-код: 2230-3973 Scopus Author ID: 6602883930 ResearcherID: ABA-7524-2020 ORCID: 0000-0002-1120-424X Горбунов Павел Юниевич E-mail: [email protected] SPIN-код: 6540-2216 ResearcherID: ABF-9588-2020 Scopus Author ID: 56266617400 ORCID: 0000-0003-1913-7894 Права: © Авторы (2023). Опубликовано Российским государственным педагогическим университетом им. А. И. Герцена. Открытый доступ на условиях лицензии CC BY-NC 4.0.
Аннотация. Drasteria scolopax (Alpheraky, 1892) указывается впервые для территории Киргизии; это указание является также первым для западной части Таримской котловины. Новая популяция, обнаруженная в Киргизии, представляет неописанный подвид, который описывается как Drasteria scolopax gilmanovi Korb et P. Gorbunov, ssp. n. Типовое местонахождение нового подвида: Киргизия, Заалайский хр., ручей Кальтабулак, 4 км к З. от пос. Нура, 3025 м, 39°38'21.19" с. ш., 73°49' 10.68" в. д. Новый подвид отличается от номинативного окраской и рисунком крыльев: он выглядит темнее номинативного поскольку его срединная и базальная перевязи коричневые; рисунок крыльев сверху у нового подвида нечеткий, пятна и перевязи слабо выражены; на нижней стороне переднего крыла нет черного краевого пятна, имеющегося у D. scolopax scolopax. Описаны местообитания D. scolopax gilmanovi ssp. n.
Ключевые слова: Киргизия, новый таксон, новые данные, новая находка, совки
Introduction
Drasteria scolopax (Alpheraky, 1892) is little-known and one of the rarest species of the genus Drasteria Hübner, 1818 distributed in hardly accessible regions within north-eastern limits of the Tibetan Plateau and in the Helanshan (= Alashan) mountains. The most of materials on this species were collected over a century ago by G.E. Grumm-Grshimailo and P.K. Kozlov and currently deposited in the collections of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Saint Petersburg, Russia; further — ZISP). In the collections of Museum für Naturkunde Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiver-sitätsforschung (Berlin, Germany; further — ZMHU) and ZISP there are also specimens of D. scolopax collected by W. Rückbeil in Altyn-tag Mountain Ridge, but without exact locality. Most likely it was the most western known locality of this species at present.
We collected it about 1400 km further west from the Altyntag Mts., in another mountain system but in the borders of the same drain-less Tarim depression, and it was an unexpected surprise. Due to its differences in wing pattern and coloration we decided to describe the found population as a separate subspecies; this description we place herein.
The type locality of Drasteria scolopax (Alpheraky, 1892) was mentioned as "Nian Schian, Gumansy" (by the lectotype designation) (Matov, Korb 2019). According to J. Grieshuber & S. Churkin (2003), Grumm-Grshimailo stayed in the vicinity of monastery Gu-man-sy (Komandse) from 5 to 10 May, 1890. This monastery temple is located in the Qinghai Province of China, at coordinates 37°02'33,81"N, 101°49'21,30"E. The coordinates "36.428741°N, 101.596951°E" in the last Drasteria revision (Matov, Korb 2019: 16) were mentioned erroneously as its type locality, and the type locality of D. scolopax then must be corrected with the right coordinates: "Nian Schian, Gumansy" (37°02'33,81"N, 101°49'21,30"E).
Drasteria mongoliensis Wiltschire, 1969 is the closest species to D. scolopax both by
the wing pattern and genitalia structures; its range covers Central Mongolia and Tuva in Russia. We believe D. mongoliensis was recorded from Ulan-Ude environs (Transbaikal) as "Aleucanitis scolopax Alph." (Kanter 1977); the figures in the mentioned publication (Kanter 1977: Figs. a, b) are very schematic, but the wing pattern more or less resembles D. mongoliensis; the genitalia depicted in the cited paper cannot be used for species identification due to its schematic view.
Taxonomic description
Drasteria scolopax gilmanovi ssp. n. https://zoobank.org/NomenclaturalActs/610C7887-D3EF-4894-9617-C34FD8FF029F (Figs. 1-6)
Material. Holotype: female, 19.07.2023, Kyrgyzstan, Transalai Mts., Kaltabulak stream, 4 km W of Nura, 3025 m, 39°38'21.19"N, 73°49'10.68"E, leg. S.K. Korb, P. Y. Gorbunov. Paratypes: 2 males, 10 females, 18-19.07.2023, same locality, leg. S. K. Korb, P. Y. Gordunov; 1 male, 2 females, 15-17.07.2023, Kyrgyz-stan, Alai Mts., 6,2 km NW Nura, 2922 m, 39°40'9.77"N, 73°48'37.40"E, leg. S. K. Korb, P. Y. Gorbunov. Holotype deposited in ZISP, paratypes — in ZISP and author's collections.
Description. Forewing length in holo-type 23 mm, in paratypes 20-24 mm. Head, thorax, abdomen uppersides brown, undersides whitish-yellowish. Antennae covered by brown scales, in males at ventral side with long (a bit longer than antenna width) light chetae. Legs covered by light beige scales. Forewing triangular, relatively narrow with straight costal edge. Maximum width to length ratio in forewing is 0.43. Forewing upperside brown, hindwing upperside grayish-yellowish; underside of both wings of the same color, grayish-yellowish. When moth is just collected, its body and forewings upperside partially covered by pink scales; after short time (several days) these scales turned to a regular brown coloration. In the holotype these pink scales are visible in the upperside of thorax and in the basal part of forewing. Wing upperside pattern represented by three lighter parts: discal belt with serrated edge (this belt does
1 \J ШШ
10 11 ■-" 12
Figs. 1-12. Drasteria scolopax (Alpheraky, 1892), habitus: 1-2 — D. scolopax gilmanovi, holotype, female, Kaltabulak, 19.07.2023; 3-4 — D. scolopax gilmanovi, paratype, female, Kaltabulak, 19.07.2023; 5-6 — D. scolopax gilmanovi, paratype, male, Kaltabulak, 19.07.2023; 7-9 — D. scolopax scolopax, lectotype, male, Gumansu; 10 — D. scolopax scolopax, paralectotype, female, Gumansu; 11-12 — D. scolopax scolopax, males, Altyntag. Photos 1-6 — by S. K. Korb, 7-12 — by A. Yu. Matov
Рис. 1-12. Drasteria scolopax (Alpheraky, 1892), габитус: 1-2 — D. scolopax gilmanovi, голотип, самка, Калтабулак, 19.07.2023; 3-4 — D. scolopax gilmanovi, паратип, самка, Калтабулак, 19.07.2023; 5-6 — D. scolopax gilmanovi, паратип, самец, Калтабулак, 19.07.2023; 7-9 — D. scolopax scolopax, лектотип, самец, Гумансу; 10 — D. scolopax scolopax, паралектотип, самка, Гумансу; 11-12 — D. scolopax scolopax, самцы, Алтынтаг. Фотографии 1-6 — С. К. Корб; 7-12 — А. Ю. Матов
not reach costal border of the wing); large kidney-shaped spot with unclear borders; marginal band about 3 mm width with relatively smooth internal border and with protrusions between veins. Hindwing with dark-gray suffusion along the veins, especially along the discal one (there is dark discal v-shaped stroke). The darkest part of the hindwing pattern is oval black-gray spot adjacent to the middle part of the outer margin; the marginal
dark gray band is not connected to the discal stroke and touches the black marginal spot. Fringes of the same color as wing background.
Male and female colorations are identical, male wing pattern is ever more unclear than in female.
Diagnosis (Figs. 1-12). The new subspecies differs from the nominate one by its wing coloration and wing pattern. Difference in wing coloration: new subspecies looks quite
darker than the nominate one because its median and basal belts are brown (in the nominate subspecies they are light-brown or even gray). Differences in wing pattern: upper side pattern of wings in the new subspecies is unclear, spots and belts are weakly visible (in the nominate one they are clear and visible); there is no black marginal spot in the new subspecies forewing underside, which is presented in D. scolopax scolopax. Male and female genitalia of the new subspecies are identical to the same of the nominate one (Figs. 13-16).
Etymology. This subspecies is named after Radion Gilmanov (Ekaterinburg, Russia), a school teacher living and working in Ekaterinburg, Russian Lepidoptera collector, who participated in the trip where this taxon was discovered.
Ecology. There is no data on the habitats of D. scolopax in the literature. However, analyzing information on the collection sites of this species (Myn-Dyn-Sha south of Sining, Gumansu north of Sining, Blagodatny spring in the valley of the Danhe River, Tszosto and Yamata streams in the Alashan Mountains, near the Gu-man-su Monastery) in the works of P. K. Kozlov (1899; 2015) and G.E. Grumm-Grshimailo (1899), in all cases it can be distinguished that habitats are river valleys in arid treeless (or almost treeless) areas located in the middle mountains (at altitudes between 2300 and 3100 m a.s.l.).
In the Alai Region of Kyrgyzstan, we collected D. scolopax in two rather different, although closely located (4 km in a straight line) habitats at an altitude of about 3000 m a.s.l.
Figs. 13-16. Genitalia of Drasteria scolopax (Alpheraky, 1892): 13 — D. scolopax scolopax, lectotype, male, Gumansu; 14 — D. scolopax gilmanovi, paratype, male, Kaltabulak, 19.07.2023; 15 — D. scolopax scolopax, paralectotype, female, Gumansu; 16—D. scolopax gilmanovi, holotype, female, Kaltabulak, 19.07.2023. Photos 14,16 — by S. K. Korb, 13,15 — by A. Yu. Matov
Рис. 13-16. Гениталии Drasteria scolopax (Alpheraky, 1892): 13 — D. scolopax scolopax, лектотип, самец, Гумансу; 14 — D. scolopax gilmanovi, паратип, самец, Калтабулак, 19.07.2023; 15 — D. scolopax scolopax, паралектотип, самка, Гумансу; 16 — D. scolopax gilmanovi, голотип, самка, Калтабулак, 19.07.2023. Фото: 14,16 — С. К. Корб, 13,15 — А. Ю. Матов
Figs. 17-18. Drasteria scolopax (Alphéraky, 1892), habitats: 17 — Transalai Mts., Kaltabulak stream; 18 — Alai Mts., Koksu River valley. Photos by P. Y. Gorbunov
Рис. 17-18. Drasteria scolopax (Alphéraky, 1892), местообитания: 17 — Заалайский хребет, ручей Калтабулак; 18 — Алайский хребет, долина реки Коксу. Фотографии П. Ю. Горбунова
Fig. 19. Drasteria scolopax (Alpheraky, 1892), range. Square — new subspecies; circles — nominate subspecies
Рис. 19. Drasteria scolopax (Alpheraky, 1892), ареал. Квадрат — новый подвид; кружочки — номинативный подвид
We collected 14 specimens in the valley of the Kaltabulak stream, 3 km upstream of its confluence with the Kyzylsu River (sometimes called Eastern Kyzylsu, the Chinese name is Ulugchat) (Fig. 17). The depth of the narrow Kaltabutak valley here reaches 20 m. In the floodplain there are patches of meadow subalpine vegetation represented by Ligularia heterophylla, Pedicularis dolichorrhiza, P. lud-wigii, Stachyopsis lamiiflora, Swertia lactea, Galium verum, Dracocephalum integrifolium, Alfredia acantholepis, Dactylorhiza umbrosa, Cirsium esculentum, etc., in combination with shrubs of Caragana jubata, Lonicera micro-phylla, L. stenantha, Rosa sp., Juniperus sp., and Ribes meyeri. Stony-clay rather flat slopes are covered with fragmented, but quite diverse vegetation with the presence of Neotri-nia splendens, Krascheninnikovia ceratoides, Juniperus sp., Ferula kokanica, Hedysarum cumuschtanicum, Zygophyllum obliquum, Artemisia rutifolia, Bassia prostrata, Hippolytia herderi, Ziziphora pamiroalaica, Dianthus kuschakewiczii, Dichodon cerastoides, etc.
In the second habitat, in the wide valley of the Koksu River 2 km upstream of its confluence with the Kyzylsu River (Fig. 18), only
3 specimens of D. scolopax were collected. The light traps were located in a wide flood-plain occupied by subalpine forb or sedge-forb meadows dominated by Astragalus tibetanus, Carex sp., Ligularia heterophylla, Pedicularis ludwigii, Lomelosia alpestris, Dactylorhiza umbrosa, and Geranium collinum, and areas with trees and shrubs dominated by Hippo-phae rhamnoides, Salix sp., Myricaria squamosa, Rosa sp., and Lonicera stenantha. Stony slopes with fragmentary xerophytic vegetation were located at a distance of about 100-200 m from the traps. Krascheninnikovia ceratoides, Clematis songorica, Zygophyllum obliquum, Thymus seravschanicus, Ziziphora pamiroalaica, Chondrilla laticoronata, Hedysarum flavescens, Rhinactinidia limoniifolia, Angelica ternate, etc. were recorded on these slopes.
Collecting dates of the museum specimens start from 5-10 May and end on 1 July. Correcting for the Julian calendar used in Russian Empire, we have a flight period in the Chinese part of the range from late May to mid-July. We collected D. scolopax on 15-19 July. Since mainly females and three severely damaged males were captured, it can be assumed that the flight period was coming to an end.
Distribution (Fig. 19). The new subspecies range covers south-eastern extreme of Kyr-gyzstan, the so-called "Kyrghyz Kashgaria"; at present there are two closely located sites in the Alai and the Transalai Mountain Ridges (about 4 km from each other by direct line), far away (about 1400 km) from the closest known locality in China. It is very possible that its range in Kashgaria (not only Kyrgyz but also Chinese) is much wider, as there are no light trappings conducted in this area in the right time.
Discussion
Based on the number of D. scolopax collected, it can be concluded that the habitat with closely located slopes and rich xerophytic vegetation (Kaltabulak stream) is more suitable for this species. Further, it can be assumed that according to its ecological preferences, D. sco-lopax is a mountain-steppe xerophylic taxon, moreover, located in this area of the Pamir-Alai at the upper limit of its vertical distribution (this is also evidenced by the late flight
dates in comparison with the Nan Shan and the Alashan specimens), and, consequently, at the western limit of its range. It cannot cross the higher parts of the Alai Valley or the mountains of the Eastern Pamirs to go further west. Another reason for the limited distribution of the species in Kyrgyzstan may be the local distribution of its host plants, which can be, for example, Hedysarum spp. or Zygophyllum ssp. known for some other species of the genus Drasteria and presented in both habitats.
Acknowledgments
We are sincerely grateful to Dr G. Laz-kov (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan) for his great help with plants identification. We are grateful to Dr W. Mey (ZMHU, Berlin, Germany) who granted us access to the curated Lepi-doptera collection. We also cordially thank Dr A. Yu. Matov (ZISP, Saint Petersburg, Russia) for photographs of type specimens of D. scolopax and their genitalia and for critical reading of the manuscript of this paper.
For citation: Korb, S. K., Gorbunov, P. Yu. (2023) Drasteria scolopax (Alpheraky, 1892) (Lepidoptera: Erebidae): New data on its range and ecology with description of a new subspecies. Amurian Zoological Journal, vol. XV, no. 4, pp. 755-761. https://www.doi.org/10.33910/2686-9519-2023-15-4-755-761 Received 11 September 2023; reviewed 26 September 2023; accepted 27 September 2023.
Для цитирования: Корб, С. К., Горбунов, П. Ю. (2023) Drasteria scolopax (Alpheraky, 1892) (Lepidoptera: Erebidae): новые сведения по распространению и экологии, с описанием нового подвида. Амурский зоологический журнал, т. XV, № 4, с. 755-761. https://www.doi.org/10.33910/2686-9519-2023-15-4-755-761 Получена 11 сентября 2023; прошла рецензирование 26 сентября 2023; принята 27 сентября 2023.
References
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