Kretania martini

Kretania martini
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Lycaenidae
Genus:	Kretania
Species:	K. martini
Binomial name
	Kretania martini; Allard, 1867
Synonyms
	Lycaena martini Allard, 1867; Plebejus martini Allard, 1867;

Kretania martini, or Martin's blue, is a species of North African butterfly in the family Lycaenidae and the subfamily Polyommatinae.

Systematics

The species was first described by French entomologist Gaston Allard in 1867. He initially named the species Lycaena martini.[1][2] The type specimen was from Lambaesis, in Algeria.

The species was placed in the genus Plebejus, and the subgenus Plebejides,[3] but was later moved to the genus Kretania,[4] along with other species placed in Plebejides.

Subspecies

Several subspecies have been described.[5]

Kretania martini martini (Allard, 1867) — from Algeria
Kretania martini ungemachi (Rothschild, 1926) — from the High Atlas and the Middle Atlas mountains of Morocco
Kretania martini mgouna (Tarrier, 2002) — from the M'Goun mountain in Morocco
Kretania martini regularis (Tennent, 1995) — from the Rif region of Morocco

Description

The imago of the species is a small butterfly which is sexually dimorphic. The top of the male is blue purple with a thin black border and a white fringe, while that of the female is dark brown with a blue basal suffusion, white fringe, and a series of orange submarginal half moons and black marginal spots on the hindwings.

The underside of the wings is beige gray decorated with black spots circled in white, with a series of orange submarginal half moons bordered by black and white chevrons, and a series of black marginal spots.

The ornamentation resembles a similar species, Kretania allardii.[3]

Biology

Phenology

The species emerges from May to late June.[3][6]

Host plants

Plants that host the species include Astragalus massiliensis and Acanthyllis numidia for K. m. martini, Astragalus incanus incurvus for K. m. ungemachi and Astragalus armatus for K. m. regularis. Astragalus alopecuroides and Astragalus nemorosus also host the species. The catepillars exist in myrmecophily with ants from the genus Crematogaster.[6]

Distribution

The species is present in Northern Africa, specifically Morocco and in northern Algeria.[3][6]

It prefers fairly dry and flowery open environments, generally between 1,000 and 2,100 m above sea level.[3]

Conservation

In Morocco, the subspecies Kretania martini ungemachi is considered vulnerable, and the subspecies K. m. regularis and K. m. mgouna endangered.[5]

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References

Allard, G. (1867). "Notes sur les insectes de l'Algérie". Annales de la Société Entomologique de France. 7 (4): 314, 319.
Savela, Markku (November 23, 2018). "Kretania martini (Allard, 1867)". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
De Prins, van der Poorten & Bálint 1992.
Talavera, Gerard (2013). "Establishing criteria for higher-level classification using molecular data: the systematics of Polyommatus blue butterflies (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae)". Cladistics. 29 (2): 166–192. doi:10.1111/j.1096-0031.2012.00421.x.
Les Rhopalocères du Parc Naturel d'Ifrane.
(Tolman & Lewington 1997)