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CHECKLIST PAPILIONOIDEA W-PAL


A dynamic checklist of the Western Palearctic butterflies hyperlinked to the original descriptions
at species, genus and family level
(Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea)

  

Michel Taymans

Sylvain Cuvelier


30.xii.2025
Introduction Papilionoidea Papilionidae Hesperiidae Pieridae   Riodinidae Lycaenidae Nymphalidae Sources Thx Updates
 
   

Pyrgus (Pyrgus) melotis (Duponchel, [1834])
 
 
Synonyms
[ORIG] Hesperia melotis Duponchel, [1834]. In: Godart, Hist. nat. Lépid. suppl. 1: 257-258, pl. 42, fig. 1-2.  
    TL: Isle of Milos, Greece (see Notes (1): error ?).
[JS] Hesperia hypoleucos Lederer, 1855. Verh. zool.-bot. Ver. Wien 5: 193, pl. 1, fig. 8.  
    TL: Lebanon.  
[JS] Syrichtus malvae f. graecus Oberthür, 1910. Étud. Lépid. comp. 4: 394, 679, pl. 54, fig. 468-469.  
    TL: Greece (see Notes (2): error ?).  
[JS] Scelotrix melotis ssp. jordana Hemming, 1932. Trans. Entomol. Soc. London 80(2): 290, pl. 15, fig. 24-25, pl. 16, fig. 51-52.  
    TL: El Hammie (Jordan), Safed (Israël).  
[JS] Hesperia pontica Reverdin, 1914. Bull. Soc. Lépid. Genève 3(1): 66-72, pl. 3, fig. 6, 12, pl. 4, fig. 2-3.  
    TL: Amasya (Turkey).  
[JS] Hesperia melotis ssp. caucasica Rjabov, 1926. Bull. Sci. Inst. Explor. Reg. Caucase Nord 1: 298.  
    TL: Dzheyrakh (Rep. Ingushetia, Russian Federation).  
Notes  
(1) The type locality given by Duponchel in the original description of the species is “island of Milo”. This locality is highly doubtful and improbable because the type material is unknown and, moreover, the presence of this species in Greece, whether on the mainland or the islands, has never been confirmed again (see distribution map in Pamperis 2025).. The distribution of the nominotypical subspecies extends from southern Turkey to Israel and Jordan (de Jong 1987). It is therefore more prudent to adopt as the type locality that of the first synonym of melotis, namely hypoleucos, which is Lebanon.  
(2) According to de Jong (1987), the allotype of graecus has genitalia identical to those of the Boz Dağ populations (eastern Izmir, Turkey). It is therefore highly unlikely that the type locality is Greece, as stated in Oberthür’s original description.  
Bibliography  
Duponchel P. A. J. 1832-[1835].
In: Godart, Histoire naturelle des lépidoptères ou papillons de France - Diurnes. Supplément aux tomes premier et deuxième. Paris: Méquignon-Marvis (Ed.). pp. 1-467, Pl. 1-50. (note on publication dates: 1832: 1-368, pl. 1-42 ; [1835]: 369-467, pl. 43-50) (url)
New taxon: Hesperia melotis.		  
       

Hemming A. F. 1932.
The Butterflies of Transjordan. 
Transactions of the Entomological Society of London 80(2): 269-299, pl. 15-16. (url)
New taxon: Scelotrix melotis jordana.

  
       

Lederer J. 1855.
Beitrag zur Schmetterlings-Fauna von Cypern, Beirut und einem Theile Klein-Asiens - Verzeichniss der von Franz Zach bei Beirut gesammelten Schmetterlinge. 
Verhandlungen des zoologisch-botanischen Vereins in Wien 5(Abhandlungen): 187-234, pl. 1-5. (url)
New taxon: Hesperia hypoleucos.

  
   
Oberthür C. 1910.
Notes pour servir à établir la faune française et algérienne des Lépidoptères (suite).
Études de lépidoptérologie comparée 4: 15-691, Pl. 35-58. (url)
New taxon: Syrichtus malvae graecus.		  
       

Reverdin J.-L. 1914.
Notes sur les genres Carcharodus, Hesperia et Thanaos.
Bulletin de la Société lépidoptérologique de Genève 3(1): 38-76, pl. 1-4. (url)
New taxon: Hesperia pontica.

  
       

Рябов М. А. [Rjabov M. A.]. 1926.
Материалы по фауне чешуекрылых Северного Кавказа. 1. К познанию чешуекрылых горных степей Северного Кавказа.
Ученые Записки Северо-Кавказского Института Краеведения/Bulletin Scientifique de l’Institut de l’Exploration Régional du Caucase du Nord 1: 275-306.
New taxon: Hesperia melotis caucasica.

  
Reference publications  

Jong R. de -. 1987.
Superspecies Pyrgus malvae (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) in the East Mediterranean, with notes on phylogenetic and biological relationships.
Zoologische Mededelingen 61(34): 483-500, pl. (url)

  
       

Pamperis L. 2025.
The Butterflies of Greece. New Maps Distribution. (url)

  
       

Archives of Western Palearctic Lepidoptera 2025
Editors-in-Chief: Michel Taymans & Sylvain Cuvelier
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)
ISSN 3041-6531