Crates Grishin, 2025

Crates Grishin , new subgenus

http://zoobank.org/ 9EE62E32-9133-4B8B-A664-FA552E1350FF

Type species. Hesperia isocrates Fabricius, 1793 .

Definition. DNA sequence analysis reveals that Virachola isocrates (Fabricius, 1793) ( type locality in India) forms a subclade genetically differentiated from its congeners at the subgenus level ( Fig. 24 View Fig green and brown), e.g., COI barcodes differ by 5.5% (36 bp) between V. isocrates and Virachola perse (Hewitson, 1863) ( type locality in North India), and, therefore, it represents a new subgenus. This new subgenus is differentiated from its relatives by straighter and less jagged margins of the discal bands on the ventral side of the wings (not as rounded, arc-like in every cell or even separated into spots as in typical Virachola View in CoL ), straighter and paler, more continuous darker bands being more similar to Deudorix Hewitson, 1863 View in CoL ( type species Dipsas epijarbas F. Moore, 1858 View in CoL ), a more prominent orange lunule near the ventral hindwing tornus, and the lack of blue areas on the dorsal side of the wings. In DNA, a combination of the following characters is diagnostic in the nuclear genome: cce9657.10.14:T7356C, cce30130.8.1:C231T, cce30130.8.1:C243T, cce5405.12.5:A258G, cce4063.1.1:C81T, cce678.10.1:A132A (not G), cce 2577.1.1:G282G (not A), cce 2577.1.1:T291T (not C), cce4059.1.4:C252C (not T), cce3672.3. 1:C126C (not T); and COI barcode: A22A, A114A, C274C, T505C, A562T, T604C.

Etymology. The name is formed from the type species name [iso] Crates and is a masculine noun in the nominative singular.

Species included. Only the type species (i.e., Hesperia isocrates Fabricius, 1793 ).

Parent taxon. Genus Virachola F. Moore, 1881 .