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Home » Taxonomy » Sphingidae » Smerinthinae » Smerinthini » Smerinthus » Smerinthus visinskasi - Zolotuhin & Saldaitis, 2009
Taxonomy
Smerinthus visinskasi Zolotuhin & Saldaitis, 2009
Nomenclature
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Tribe: SmerinthiniGenus: Smerinthus
Species:
Smerinthus visinskasi Zolotuhin & Saldaitis, 2009
Usage:
valid
Reference:
Type data:
HOLOTYPE ♂ Kazakhstan: 15km SE from Urda, Kandagash loc., 15.vi.1999 (V. Višinskas) [MTWM ].
Taxonomic Notes:
A.R. Pittaway (pers. comm.) considers this species to be just a smaller, greyer, desert form of Smerinthus ocellata ocellata in which the longer setae on the male antenna may be a local adaptation to desert conditions. However, the male differences do appear to be consistently different, as both Miatleuski et al. (2002) and Zolotuhin & Saldaitis (2009) reported the same set of diagnostic characters (although the former authors inverted the labeling of the species in all their figures). That said, only two Smerinthus visinskasi males appear to have been dissected and illustrated, and they have yet to be compared with nearby populations purporting to be Smerinthus ocellata ocellata (rather than quite distant specimens). DNA barcoding may provide additional data but no specimens of Smerinthus visinskasi have yet been sequenced.