Chrysoritis williami ( Heath 1997 ), 2023

Heath, Alan, 2023, Chrysoritis Butler (Papilionoidea: Lycaenidae: Aphnaeinae) - Part III: An integrative taxonomic revision, Metamorphosis 34 (1), pp. 11-28 : 17-18

Chrysoritis williami ( Heath 1997) stat. rev.

Poecilmitis dicksoni W.H. Henning (1977) .

Holotype: Ditsong NM. Type locality: “ 18km E. of Hondeklip Bay .” MPT :

ridge tops and the upper slopes of hills and dunes; this is unlike all known populations of pan , where males patrol gullies. Host ant: Crem. liengmei . Juvenile stages as for C. pan . A slightly smaller insect than pan ; the male forewing silvery-blue generally extends to about halfway across the cell spot. Distribution: within the broad area ~ 40 km S. of Hondeklip Bay northwards to Port Nolloth and eastwards to Killians Pass. The hind wing verso on coastal populations is often dark, similar to C. trimeni , whilst in C. williami from the more arid terrain inland to Killian’s Pass, the verso is pallid.

Taxonomy: Formerly treated as C. pan lysander ( Heath 1997) but revived here as Chrysoritis williami owing to its consistent MPT and discrete distribution differing from that of C. pan , its sister species in the COI tree. Samples of C. williami are monophyletic with 100% bootstrap support in the COI tree. The cluster of C. williami is four mutational steps removed from C. pan in the COI network, and sister to C. pan + C. aridus in the COI tree. In the CAD tree, all samples of C. williami (n = 2) form a well supported clade (98% bootstrap). C. williami is sympatric with C. aridus at Killians Pass but clearly distinguishable on the basis of iridescence, and their males patrol different terrains. See also the relationship with other closely related taxa under C. turneri (below). With sufficient support for its separate status, it is reinstated as Chrysoritis williami stat. rev.

Conservation status: LC.