Chrysoritis chrysaor (Trimen 1864)

Heath, Alan, 2023, Chrysoritis Butler (Papilionoidea: Lycaenidae: Aphnaeinae) - Part III: An integrative taxonomic revision, Metamorphosis 34 (1), pp. 11-28 : 14

Chrysoritis chrysaor (Trimen 1864) .

Zeritis chrysaor Trimen 1864: 177 .

Holotype: NHM, London. Type locality: Cape Colony, British Kaffraria & Kaffraria . Note: “Cape Town. Wynberg” is written on the holotype label .

C. chrysaor is monophyletic and well supported in all trees, and is sister to the clade containing C. aethon , C. aureus and C. lyncurium in the COI, CAD and EF trees.

The natural history of C. chrysaor is described and illustrated in great detail by C.G.C. Dickson (1943). Host ants: see below.

C. chrysaor chrysaor

Characters: Upper side glossy yellowish-orange to copper-red with narrow dark margins. Underside of hind wing yellow to reddish-brown and often with a greenish tinge among females, sometimes spots showing through obscurely from upper side. Male: aedeagus lacks cornuti. Forewing with twelve veins. Hind wing vein 1 margin is produced to a varying extent and usually with a short filiform tail extending from it. Wing profile, size of black markings and tail length may vary between populations and individuals. Conservation status: LC.

Eastern populations: Known from inland, along the mountain ranges of southern Mpumalanga through Lesotho and the eastern Free State to the mountains of the Eastern Cape, and thence westwards. The filiform tail is often longer and broader in the eastern populations than those in the west (see also Williams 2021).

Host ants for low elevations: Crem. gallicola and Crem. liengmei (see C. chrysaor midas below). High elevation populations of C. c. chrysaor (Lootsberg Pass; Great Winterberg, EC) share the exact same ecology as C. c. midas (below) but they may not have such dark scaling. Host ants for high elevations: Crem. peringueyi .

Western populations: Often having a yellowish tint (f. lycia Riley); filiform tail vestigial or absent. Host ant: Crem. gallicola and Crem. liengmei , although the host ant and host plant are not yet known for the high elevation populations on the Hottentot-Holland Mountains. The range of host plants recorded is more diverse than those of the eastern populations (Table S1).

Taxonomy: There is no consistent morphological or ecological trait to support a split between eastern and west coast populations of C. chrysaor chrysaor , hence no taxonomic distinction is accorded.

The chrysaor holotype specimen from Wynberg is part of the west coast population. A small coastal population of C. chrysaor overlooking the sea near Sarrisam Farm, 37km SE of Hondeklip Bay, NC, is placed as sister to the other west coast populations of C. chrysaor in the COI tree. However, it does not differ in its range of facies, nor in its observed ecology.