Le contact entre deux "bad species" Zygaena transalpina Esper, 1781 et Z. Hippocrepidis Hübner, 1796 en France et dans quelques contrées limitrophes (Lepidoptera, Zygaenidae)
Auteur : Mazel (Robert)
Année de publication : 2009
Publication : Revue de l'Association Roussillonnaise d'Entomologie
Volume :
XVIII
Fascicule : 2
Pagination : 54-69
Résumé :
France is a favoured region for the study of the Zygaena transalpina complex, where only two taxa come in contact with each other: hippocrepidis and transalpina sensu stricto. Z. hippocrepidis generally comes from the West and transalpina from the East. Having made over 1000 genitalia preparations ? and ? mounted them on slides, belonging to both taxa, has enabled to define precisely the distinctive characters, presented and illustrated here, of the sclerotized part of the ductus bursae for females and of the cornuti of the vesica for males. The variation of these structures appears to be insignificant in the "pure" populations and such stability is all the more noteworthy that a large number of subspecies have been described based on habitus. In contact zones, on the contrary, a strong heterogeneity illustrates the recombination of both taxa's characters. In the field, this hybridization stretches over several tens of km and is carried out according to the introgression model, which implies a partial exchange of genes. The two taxa cannot however be considered as subspecies and the International Code Zoological Nomenclature, restricted to the trinominal system (genus, species, subspecies), obliges to place hippocrepidis and transalpina at the species rank without them becoming "bona sp." They place themselves among the "bad sp." sensu Descimon & Mallet, whether they are considered as quasi-species Schilder, 1962, semi-species Mayr, 1978, citraspecies Dujardin, 1965, etc. Finally the result of their hybridization varies geographically according to the subspecies. The study, more complex at that level, will be the subject of a further publication