Polyura inopinatus Röber, 1940; a remarkable butterfly mystery resolved

• Main Authors: Chris J. Müller, W. John Tennent
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Pensoft Publishers 2018-07-01
• Series: ZooKeys
• Online Access: https://zookeys.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=26458

The most distinctive species of Polyura, P. inopinatus, described from a single specimen said to be from North Sulawesi, Indonesia, has been a great mystery since it was first described by Röber, in 1940. The holotype, originally illustrated in monochrome in the journal Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift, Iris, was lost very soon after it was described, almost certainly destroyed during allied bombing of Dresden in the 1940s. No other specimen was known for almost eight decades. We suggest that the type locality (Sulawesi) is incorrect and that the holotype was more likely to have been collected in the Baining Mountains, East New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea. We report the recent discovery of several male P. inopinatus from West New Britain Province, and describe and illustrate specimens. A neotype is designated.