WHAT IS MATVEEV’S FRITILLARY (CLOSSIANA MATVEEVI P. GORBUNOV ET KORSHUNOV IN KORSHUNOV, GORBUNOV, 1995)?

Abstract

Clossiana matveevi P. Gorbunov et Korshunov in Korshunov et Gorbunov, 1995 has been hitherto known only from the type locality in the Yerlyaуry River headwaters on Kuraiskii Mt Range (Ust’-Ulagan District, Altai Republic, Russia), where it was for the first time collected in 1990. Presumably the same species was collected by the outstanding Siberian geographist Prof. V. V. Sapozhnikov in 1905 in the Tsagangol River headwaters (Kobdo Aimak, Mongolia), that is 146 km to the south. A special search for this species in some mountain ranges adjacent to the type locality failed. Two males resembling C. matveevi by external habitus but approaching C. tritonia (Böber, 1812) by the shape of the costal processus of the valva were collected by Dr. A. V. Barkalov in 2002 at Shapshal Pass through Shapshal Range, that is on the border between Republics of Altai and Tyva and 145 km ENE of the type locality of C. matveevi. It turned out that the claimed difference of C. matveevi from the related species С. tritonia (Böber, 1812) in the shape of the apical processus of the valva is unreliable since even in the type population of C. matveevi, individuals occur approaching C. tritonia in this character. It is suggested to consider the taxon matveevi a well diverged and isolated western subspecies of C. tritonia: Clossiana tritonia matveevi P. Gorbunov et Korshunov in Korshunov et Gorbunov, 1995, comb. nov. The Shapshal population is described by one of us as Clossiana tritonia barkalovi Dubatolov, ssp. n.