Wacus, Zhang & Cong & Shen & Song & Grishin, 2025

Zhang, Jing, Cong, Qian, Shen, Jinhui, Song, Leina & Grishin, Nick V., 2025, Advancing butterfly systematics through genomic analysis, The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey 12 (5), pp. 1-201 : 32

Wacus Grishin , new subgenus

http://zoobank.org/ 2500C4A7-39A3-4A9A-A24A-46058014FE94

Type species. Myrina epirus C. Felder, 1860.

Definition. DNA sequence analysis reveals that several species of Deudorix Hewitson, 1863 (type species Dipsas epijarbas F. Moore, 1858 ) form a subclade genetically differentiated from others at the subgenus level ( Fig. 24 blue and dark blue); e.g., their COI barcodes differ by 5.8% (38 bp), and, therefore, they represent a new subgenus. This new subgenus is differentiated from its relatives by its creamy-white ventral wings with dark brown discal and submarginal bands and margins, a longitudinal stripe in the anal area of the hindwing, and an orange stripe with dark spots (some blue-pupilled) extending from the tornus along the submarginal band, sometimes penetrating it. In DNA, a combination of the following characters is diagnostic in the nuclear genome: cce3391.1.3:A1839G, cce49.4.1:A150T, cce8439.15.1:T595C, cce8439.15.1:T945A, cce 2318.3.4:G270A, cce1567.13.2:T48T (not A), cce303136.3.19:T96T (not C); and COI barcode: T133A, A268G, T391A, T436A, T536C, A538T.

Etymology. The name is formed from [Ara] wacus Kaye, 1904, a Neotropical genus of Lycaenidae with a striped pattern in many species reminiscent of this new subgenus, but with additional stripes (thus a longer name). Furthermore, the name hints at a ventral wing pattern that is odd and eccentric (i.e., "wacky") for Deudorix . The name is a masculine noun in the nominative singular.

Species included. The type species (i.e., Myrina epirus C. Felder, 1860), Deudorix ceramensis Ribbe, 1901 , Deudorix eos Hewitson, 1863 , Deudorix maudei Joicey & Talbot, 1916 , Deudorix niepelti Joicey & Talbot, 1922 .

Parent taxon. Genus Deudorix Hewitson, 1863 .