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Melitaea acentria arabica Benyamini, Pittaway & Coutsis n. ssp. Arabian Fritillary M. a a a a a a a a. ace ntr 2 2
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M. a. acentriaia
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An endemic, isolated, subspecies from central Saudi needs to be taken in separating individuals of M. acentria
Arabia, which is common in late winter and early spring and M. persea.
along the Jabal Tuwaiq/Tuwayq Escarpment (Pittaway, Captain A. F. Hemming C.B.E. described Melitaea persea
1979; 1981), a roughly 800 km long series of rocky sargon, ssp. nov. (1932) based on seven Melitaea
#
canyons, gullies and wadis which run off and along a small specimens collected by W. K. Loftus in Baghdad, Ottoman
escarpment running up through the central Nejd plateau Turkey (the then Turkish Empire Vilayet (district) of paratype of ´M. persea sargon””
type of
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M. per
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of Saudi Arabia at around 600 – 1150 m asl. The area Baghdad) before World War 1 (1914-18), noting that ‘the Hemming, 1932, Jordan, Wadi Rajil
receives most of its rain in late winter and spring, but largely unmarked upperside is the main characteristic’. 20.4.1927
DGXOW © Trustees Natural History Museum London,
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

there can be violent thunderstorms during the summer. These are in the Natural History Museum, London -- HJJ 1 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 10 1 1 12 used with permission.
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21603-BRACHA-PARPAR - 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR | 13 - B | 22-01-02 | 10:39:04 | SR:-- | Yellow
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#21603-BRACHA-PARPAR - 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR | 13 - B | 22-01-02 | 10:39:04 | SR:-- | Black
21603-BRACHA-PARPAR - 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR | 13 - B | 22-01-02 | 10:39:04 | SR:-- | Cyan
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In winter there are even frosts and a little snow (Pittaway NHMUK, B.M.(N.H.) types No’s RH 380-386, where the pupa
pers. comm. to DB). Most of the wadis and gullies support holotype male is RH 380, allotype female RH 381, five M. a. acentria
a significant bottom strip of low forbs. The persistence of a males paratypes no’s 382-386, along with a female (Tristram)
Melitaea species in the central Arabian super-overgrazed collected on 20.iv.1927 by L. K. Lockhart in Transjordan
highlands is due to exceptional circumstances; at Wadi Rajil NW of Jebel Kurma eastern desert, 20 miles
a. During winter and spring, grazing animals tend to avoid east of Qasr Azraq (Hemming coll. No. 19785 – illustr. 2).
the many strongly aromatic herbs, including Teucrium Larsen (1983: 433) and Pittaway (1979 & 1985) used
oliverianum Ging. ex Benth. (the larval host (Pittaway, the same scientific name, M. p. sargon Hemming, 1932,
1979)), preferring grasses, trefoils, mallows, composites for the Arabian Fritillary without a detailed check of the
etc. It is during this period that the Arabian Fritillary genitalia. Male paratype No. RH 386 was received on
breeds. loan from NHMUK * (London) to DB (illustr. 3) and was
b. By late spring, when most of the low vegetation has transferred in person to John Coutsis in Athens together
withered, the hungry animals will start nibbling on plants with three Arabian males all leg. Tony Pittaway. Its genitalia Mt. Hermon 2000m. 7.6.1973 Mt. Hermon 2300m. 15.6.1974 M. a. acentria
like Teucrium, but by this time the now diapausing L3 was checked and drawn by John Coutsis (Athens, Greece –
larvae are already well protected inside their small ‘nests’ illusrt. 4) who found it, most surprisingly, to be ‘identical’
low down at the base of the hostplant. to that of Melitaea acentria from Mt Hermon (illustr. 5).
This same strategy is used by diapausing L3 larvae A second female was collected 66 years later on 19 April
of Melitaea arduinna (Esper, 1783) in the Levant and 1993 between Na’ur (W Amman) and NE Dead Sea, 500
elsewhere (Benyamini, 2011a; Russell et al., 2017; m, Jordan, by ten-Hagen, and is presently in his collection Mt. Hermon 1650m. 19.5.1973
Benyamini & Russell, 2019; DB breeding notes). DB did – illustr. 6 (ten-Hagen pers. comm.). This Jordanian race,
find a possible Levantine hostplant at Ras en Naqb (1550 based on two females, looks closer to M. a. acentria, but
m) on 27 May 2007, namely Teucrium pruinosum Boiss., its present status is unknown and cannot be substantiated
which was at the southern edge of Edom above the Hisma without a matching Jordanian male.
Basin, S Jordan. These plants were in full bloom but Additional material was collected in 1 May 1995 by ten- M. a. acentria
without any Melitaea present - illustr. 1. Hagen on the eastern slopes of Jebel al-Druz, ‘Hauran’,
S Syria at Rushaydah (1400 m) & Busan (1500 m). On Partially aberrant 6
7KH LGHQWLW\ RI ¶Melitaea persea sargon· IURP FHQWUDO dissection by JC its identity was revealed to be M. acentria Mt. Hermon 2000m. 2.7.1975 Syria, Qarah 2000m. 29.6.1966
6DXGL $UDELD It should be noted that Melitaea acentria acentria - illustr. 1 in former species .
was first described in 2017 by Lukhtanov from Mt Hermon, This relict and local population together with both
S Anti-Lebanon ridge, northern Israel. Up until then these Jordanian females (M. acentria ssp.?) form part of the
populations were assumed to form part of the Melitaea ancient “bridge” between the Lebanese / Anti-Lebanese
persea complex. Between 1978 and 1980 Pittaway nominotypical M. acentria population and the newly
collected a series of a poorly marked, pale Melitaea in described C Arabian M. a. arabica (in this chapter). L Lebanon, , Lb
ebanon
Lebanon,
wadis of the Jabal Tuwaiq near Riyadh, central Saudi Cedar Mts. 1986m. 17.6.2014 Cedar Mts. 1986m. 17.6.2014 M. a. arabica
Arabia. After discussions with Larsen, and comparison with 'HVFULSWLRQ RI WKH QHZ VVS Melitaea acentria arabica n.
material from Iraq, these were assigned to Melitaea persea ssp. Benyamini, Pittaway & Coutsis; (Benyamini, 2022b).
sargon Hemming, 1932 (Pittaway, 1979), although Walker 7\SHV - 0DOHV
& Pittaway (1987) did note that ‘it differs considerably - 01 +RORW\SH forewing length 17 mm, labelled as: ‘25
from the Iraq and Persian butterflies in diminished size APR. 1980 [/] DIRIYAH [/] C SAUDI ARABIA (Printed) [/]
and number of black spots on the upperside of the wings’. coll. A. R. PITTAWAY (Printed)’ and ‘Holotype’ red label 1 1
Larsen (1983) had even commented that ‘the Arabian (Printed) in col. DB – illustr. 4; Syria, Hauran, Busan 1500m. 1.5.1995 Syria, Hauran, Rushaydah 1400m. 1.5.1995
series [collected by Pittaway] are even more extreme than SDUDW\SHV PT 02 - forewing length 18.6 mm, labelled as
the original series of ssp. sargon [described by Hemming]’. ‘Al GHAT [/] 30.3.1983 [/] Col. Dubi Benyamini (Printed) ‹ ‹ 'XEL %HQ\DPLQL Q L
L
'XE
%HQ
L
DP
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Lukhtanov (2017) stated that ‘in M. acentria the [/] C. Saudi Arabia [/] leg A. R. Pittaway’ and ‘M. acentria
genitalia are clearly different from both M. persea and [/] ssp. sargon [/] prep. no. [/] 5753’ (prepared by John M. a. arabica
Melitaea didyma (Esper, 1779), but at the same time Coutsis, Athens Greece) and ‘Paratype’ (Yellow label
are intermediate in some aspects’. His conclusion was printed) in coll. DB* ;
that M. acentria originated 1–1.6 million years ago in PT 03 - forewing length 17.9 mm, labelled as ‘25. 3 4 4
M. acentria VVS "
the Levantine refugium from a common ancestor with APR.1980 [/] DIRIYAH [/] C. SAUDI ARABIA (Printed) [/] Jordan, Na’ur, Amman 500 m. 19.4.1993 Mt Hermon, 2-5 June 1864
M. persea, probably as a result of hybridization with M. COLL. A. R. PITTAWAY’ and ‘Melitaea acentria arabica
didyma, but that it still belongs to the M. persea species n. ssp. (Printed) [/] Benyamini, Pittaway & Coutsis
complex. Tshikolovets & Ben Yehuda (2020) state that the 2021’ (Printed) [/] Paratype 03 (printed) and ‘Genitalia
‘distribution of M. acentria requires clarification because Preparation (Printed) [/] No. 5897, M. acentria. (Printed)
some records are confused with M. persea’. Thus care [/] NHMUK 012824338.’ (Printed) and ‘B.M.(N.H) (Printed) © Dubi Benyamini
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