Athyma zeroca galaesus

Athyma zeroca galaesus (Fruhstorfer, 1912)


♂, Nakhon Nayok, Thailand. (photo by K.Yano)		♀, Nakhon Nayok, Thailand.

♂ (bred), Nakhon Nayok, Thailand.		♀ (bred), Nakhon Nayok, Thailand.

♂, Lam Dong, Vietnam. (photo by K.Saito)		♀, Lam Dong, Vietnam. (photo by K.Saito)

♀, Xiang Khouang, Laos. (photo by K.Saito)		♀ (bred, var.), Nakhon Nayok, Thailand.

ON : Pantoporia zeroca galaesus Fruhstorfer, 1912
OD : in Seitz, Grossschmett Erde 9 : 632, fig.123e♂.
TL : 'Siam' [Saraburi, C. Thailand].

Distribution : C. & E. Thailand, Cambodia, Laos,
C. Vietnam.

	● ssp.galaesus
	● ssp.meinippus
	● ssp.

Type Materials Information

1♂ 1♀, Types. (MNHN, photo examined)

Records taken from Literature

[ THAILAND ]
Athyma zeroca galaesus ; Pinratana & Eliot,1996 : 60. (Nakhon Nayok) (in part)
Athyma zeroca galaesus ; Ek-Amnuay,2012 : 416. (Khao Yai) (in part)
Athyma zeroca galaesus ; S.Sophonviwatkul, C.Sunthornwiphat & T.Laola,2024- : Butterflies of Thailand, figs. (Saraburi; Nakhon Nayok) (accessed: 2024.05.01)

[ LAOS ]
Pantoporia zeroca f. galaesus ; Dubois & Vitalis,1924 : 41. (Ban-Vang-Nam)
'Athyma zeroca galaesus ; Motono & Negishi,1989 : 59, not fig. (list only)'
Athyma zeroca galaesus ; Osada, Uémura & Uehara,1999 : 207, pl.59, figs.♂(dsf),♂,♂(Un),♀. (Lak Sao; Nong Het; Phong Saly; Xiang Khouang)
Athyma zeroca galaesus ; Nakamura & Wakahara,2012 : 45.
Athyma zeroca galaesus ; Onodera,2022 : 40, pl.118, figs.♂,♂(Un). (Oudomxai)

[ CANBODIA]
Pantoporia galaesus ; Vitalis,1919 : 230. (Cambodge)
Athyma zeroca ; Monastyrskii et al.,2011 : 129. (Phnom Samkos W.S.)
Athyma zeroca galaesus ; Chartier & Kosterin,2022 : 118. (Pursat)

[ VIETNAM ]
Athyma zeroca ; Monastyrskii et al.,2006 : 41. (Thua Thien Hue: Bach Ma)
Athyma zeroca meinippus ; Miyazaki, Saito & Saito,2006b : 26, fig.N-70,♂. (Lam Dong: Dambri)
Athyma zeroca meinippus ; Miyazaki et al.,2010 : 21, fig.N-70,♀. (Lam Dong: Gung Re)
Athyma zeroca galaesus ; Monastyrskii & Devyatkin,2015 : 35. (C / S)
Athyma zeroca meinippus ; Monastyrskii,2019 : 4(2):29-30, pl.37, figs.2a♂,2b♂(Un),2c♀,2d♀(Un). (C: Pu Hoat; Pu Mat; Huong Son; Bach Ma; Chu Yang Sin; Da Teh) (in part)

Specimens Examined

[ THAILAND ]
Nakhon Nayok : 8♂ 5♀ (incl. photo by S.Sophonviwatkul, M.Hayashi and T.Aoyama).

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Sa Kaeo : 1♂ (photo by S.Sophonviwatkul).

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

[ LAOS ]
Xiang Khouang : 1♀.

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

[ VIETNAM ]
Lam Dong : 2♂ 1♀.

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Notes

The butterfly is not rare in montane forests at moderate elevations (Alt. 500 - 1300m).
The taxon galaesus was described from 'Siam' by Fruhstorfer (1912). Confirmation of the type specimens in the MNHN showed that the female has a bright orange band as described by Fruhstorfer. As this form has only been found in the Saraburi - Nakhon Nayok area of Thailand, the type locality is considered to be Muak Lek district, Saraburi. The females of populations from C. Vietnam tend to be more orange colour, but there is a high variation and some individuals are indistinguishable. Some individuals in the Laos and CN. Vietnam populations are slightly close to ssp.meinippus. I provisionally treat all these as this taxon. Further taxonomic and distributional studies are needed.
The female of this taxon was previously only known with an orange banded form, but a white banded form appeared in a bred specimen from Nakhon Nayok district. The ratio of occurrence of both forms and comparisons with the Vietnamese population will be the subject of future work.
On the other hand, the population from Myanmar (Karen Hills) to north to north central Thailand, previously included in ssp.galaesus, seems to be a separate subspecies.

Literature

Fruhstorfer, H.,1912 : 6. Familie: Nymphalidae in Seitz, Gross-Schmett. Erde 9
617-632. (15.Oct.1912)


♂ (dsf), Nakhon Nayok, Thailand. (photo by T.Aoyama)	♀, Nakhon Nayok, Thailand. (photo by T.Aoyama)

♂, Nakhon Nayok, Thailand. (photo by T.Aoyama)	♂ (dsf), Nakhon Nayok, Thailand. (photo by T.Aoyama)

♀, Nakhon Nayok, Thailand. (photo by M.Hayashi)	♀, Nakhon Nayok, Thailand. (photo by M.Hayashi)

2006.03.10 - 2024.05.31.