Family BRAHMAEIDAE (1 species) Brahmaea hearseyi White (Part 3, p. 93). N.E. Himalaya and W. China to Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, Philippines and possibly Java. (Lowland to lower montane). Note 79. Note 79. The concept of Brahmaeahearseyi White as presented in Part 3 has been the subject of some debate subsequently. Nässig & Paukstadt (1990) placed the species in the genus Brahmophthalma Mell, but subsequently this has been treated as a subgenus of Brahmaea (e.g. Nässig & Treadaway, 1998b). They placed Sundanian material in ssp. ardjoeno Kalis and gave details of the early stages. Nässig & Treadaway (1998b) retained this broad concept but suggested it might be paraphyletic if celebica Roepke from Sulawesi was regarded as a good species. Naumann & Brosch (2005), despite the intraspecific variability in the genitalia of both sexes noted by Nässig & Treadaway (1998b), have restricted hearseyi to mainland Asian populations and have divided the rest into five allopatric species: ardjoeno (Java); loeffleri Naumann & Brosch (Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo); naessigi Naumann & Brosch (Philippines: t. loc. Mindanao); paukstadtorum Naumann & Brosch (Philippines: t. loc. Negros); celebica Roepke (Sulawesi). However, DNA barcoding data (W.A. Nässig, pers. comm.) indicate integrity of hearseyi from mainland Asia to Sundaland and the Philippines, with only the Javan population, ardjoeno, being potentially distinct. Therefore, the original concept of hearseyi set out in Part 3 is retained here. B. celebica is a good species. |
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