First record of Brilliant Flash Rapala melida nicevillei (Swinhoe, 1911) (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae: Theclinae) to Meghalaya, India
Main Article Content
Abstract
Brilliant Flash Rapala melida nicevillei belonging to the family Lycaenidae is reported for the first time from Meghalaya, northeastern India. Its description, illustration, distribution, and habitat notes are provided. The taxonomic identity of the species is discussed and compared with the most similar species, Rapala varuna. This observation presents the first photograph of the live specimen from India.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors own the copyright to the articles published in JoTT. This is indicated explicitly in each publication. The authors grant permission to the publisher Wildlife Information Liaison Development (WILD) Society to publish the article in the Journal of Threatened Taxa. The authors recognize WILD as the original publisher, and to sell hard copies of the Journal and article to any buyer. JoTT is registered under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY), which allows authors to retain copyright ownership. Under this license the authors allow anyone to download, cite, use the data, modify, reprint, copy and distribute provided the authors and source of publication are credited through appropriate citations (e.g., Son et al. (2016). Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) of the southeastern Truong Son Mountains, Quang Ngai Province, Vietnam. Journal of Threatened Taxa 8(7): 8953–8969. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.2785.8.7.8953-8969). Users of the data do not require specific permission from the authors or the publisher.
References
Alfred, J.R.B. (1999). Fauna of Meghalaya-Part 6. Insecta (Diptera and Lepidoptera). I-IV. Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta, 537 pp.
Butler, A.G. (1879). On a collection of Lepidoptera from Cachar. Transactions of the Entomological Society of London 1879: 1–8.
Cantlie, K. (1952). More butterflies of the Khasi and Jaintia Hills, Assam. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 51: 42–60.
Cantlie, K. (1962). The Lycaenidae portion (except the Arhopala group)of Brigadier Evans the identification of Indian Butterflies 1932(India, Pakistan, Ceylon, Myanmar). Bombay Natural History Society, Bombay, vi + 159pp.
Evans, W.H. (1932). The Identification of Indian butterflies (2nd Ed.). Bombay Natural History Society, Bombay. x + 454 pp., 32 pl.
Fruhstorfer (1912). Uebersicht der Lycaeniden des Indo-Australischen Gebiets. Begründet auf die Ausbeute und die Sammlung des Autors. Berliner entomologische Zeitschrift 56(3/4): 197–272, f. 1–4.
Hatter, S.J.S., N. Sen, M. Rosamma & S. Sharma (2004). Faunal Diversity of Saipung Wildlife Sanctuary, Narpuh Reserve Forest, Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya. Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata. Conservation Area Series 21: 1–66.
Parsons, R.E. & K. Cantlie (1948). The butterflies of the Khasia and Jaintia hills, Assam. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 47: 498–522.
Radhakrishnan, C., J.R.B. Alfred & M.R. Rynth (1989). Butterflies of Shillong and Its Environs. Science & Technology Cell, Govt. of Meghalaya, Shillong, 70 pp.
Sondhi, S., K. Kunte, G. Agavekar, R. Lovalekar & K. Tokekar (2013). Butterflies of the Garo Hills. Samrakshan Trust (New Delhi), Titli Trust (Dehradun) and Indian Foundation for Butterflies (Bengaluru), xvi + 200 pp.
Swinhoe, C. (1893). A list of the Lepidoptera of the Khasia Hills. Part I. Transactions of the Entomological Society of London 41: 267–330.
Swinhoe, C. (1896). New species of Lepidoptera from Khasia Hills. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, including Zoology, Botany, and Geology 17(6): 357–363.
Swinhoe, C. (1911–1912). In: Moore. Lepidoptera Indica. vol. IX. Rhopalocera, Family Lycaenidae. 9: 1–144, 1911; 145–278, 1912. L. Reeve & Co., London.
van Gasse, P. (2013). Butterflies of India – Annotated Checklist. Kruibeke, Belgium, 161 pp.
Varshney, R.K. & P. Smetacek (2015). A Synoptic Catalogue of the Butterflies of India. Butterfly Research Centre, Bhimtal and Indinov Publishing, New Delhi, ii + 261 pp., 8 pl.