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Platyja
umbrina Doubleday comb. n.
Iontha
umbrina Doubleday, 1842, Entomologist,
1: 298.
Platyja
rufiscripta Swinhoe, 1904, Trans. ent. Soc. London,
1904: 141.
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Platyja
umbrina  |
Platyja
umbrina |
Platyja
umbrina |
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Diagnosis.
The wings are highly modified in the male, the forewings rather narrower and
more acutely produced apically than in the next two species and the triangular
hindwings have a similarly acute apex and a tornus that is distinctly lobed. The
abdomen extends well beyond the hindwings and has a conspicuous black tuft
apically that arises from the valves of the genitalia. The wings are a uniform
dark brown above, lacking the paler patch in the apex of the loop of the
postmedial of the next two species. The wings sometimes grade slightly paler at
the margin, but rarely with the blue irroration of the typical mainland Asian
race. The females are more typical of the genus in facies, with the strongly
looped postmedial much more clearly delineated on the forewing as illustrated,
and with conspicuous, more or less straight submarginals that delimit a paler
marginal zone. There is some variation, with uniform brown forms, and more
variegated ones with extensive ochreous areas marginally and between the
antemedial and submarginal on the forewing.
Taxonomic
note. There has been some confusion in the past about the identity of
the female of umbrina (Holloway, 1982; Sugi, 1982; Zilli, 2001). On the
basis of concordance of geography and altitude range, and a comparable sexual
dimorphism in the Sulawesi representative of the group (see below), the original
suggestion by Tams (1924b) and Joannis (1929) that the taxon rufiscripta
is
based on the female of umbrina is considered correct, as indicated by Holloway
(1982). An externally similar species from Sulawesi (slide 18317) has distinct
male genitalia, particularly at the apex of the valve and in the ornamentation
of the aedeagus vesica.
Geographical
range. N.E. Himalaya, Vietnam, Thailand (VK), Hainan; Sundaland (ssp. rufiscripta).
Habitat
preference. The species is infrequent in lowland forest, with singletons
taken at 1000m (G. Mulu) and 1618m (Bukit Retak).
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