Hipparchia lunulata Naderi & Hagen & Nazari 2025, sp. nov.

Hipparchia lunulata Naderi & Nazari, sp. nov. (Figs. 2A–B, H–I; 3B, 4A–B) Type materials. Holotype: ♂, Iran, Esfahan, 2 km S. Daran, TV Tower Road, 2500m, 28–29.VII.2015, leg. A.R. Naderi, coll. code 446b, SampleID Naderi2024–32 (barcoded). Deposited in the coll. National Natural History Museum and Genetic Resources (MMTT), Tehran, Iran. Paratypes: Iran: Esfahan: 1♂ 3♀ Khansar, Sarcheshmeh, 2400m, 23.VIII.2005, leg. A. Harandi (coll. Harandi); 1♂ 1♀ Ibid, leg: M. Raddanipour (coll. Harandi); 4♂ Fereydounshahr, Alimakan, 2600m, 4.VIII.2008, leg. A. Harandi (coll. Harandi); 2♂ Ibid, eg: M. Raddanipour (coll. Harandi); 1♂ Natanz, Oureh, 2100m, 17.VIII.2023, leg. A. Harandi (coll. Harandi); 2♂ 1♀ Kashan, Niasar-Sericheh, 1650m, 29–31.VII.1983, leg. Pazuki / Hashemi (coll. Hayk Mirzayans Insect Museum [HMIM], Tehran). Markazi: 2♂ Tafresh, Naghusan, 2300m, 18.VII.2002, leg. A. R. Naderi (coll. Naderi); 1♀ Mahallat, 11. August. 1995, leg. A. Karbalai (coll. Zehzad); 2♂ Pass E Tafresh, 2400 m, 2–3.VIII.1998, leg. W. ten Hagen (coll. ten Hagen); 2♂ Kuh-e Goran (S side), 2450 m, 20–21.VII.1998, leg. W. ten Hagen (coll. ten Hagen). Hamadan: 2♂ 1♀ Avaj, 5.VIII.1996, leg. A. Karbalai (coll. Zehzad). Lorestan: 3♂ 2♀ Dorud, Saravand, 1900–2100 m, 4.VIII.1998, leg. W. ten Hagen (coll. ten Hagen); 3♂ 15 km E Dorud, Saravand, Darastaneh, 2000m, 6.VIII.1975, leg. Pazuki (coll. HMIM); 4♀ 30 Km W Dorud (Pass), 2100 m, 3–4.VIII.1998, leg. W. ten Hagen (coll. ten Hagen); 4♂ 1♀ 55 Km E Khorram-Abad, 2000 m, 17.VII.1996, leg. W. ten Hagen (coll. ten Hagen); 1♂ Kuh-e Garrin, Pass Nurabad - Nahavand (E side of pass), 1900–2400 m, 8–9.VII.2000, leg. W. ten Hagen (coll. ten Hagen). Chaharmahal-o Bakhtyari: 1♂ Rokh pass, 2200m, 11.VIII.2023, leg. A. Harandi (coll. Harandi). Kohkiluye va Boyerahmad: 1♂ Kuh-e Dinar, Pass W Meimand, 2400–2700 m, 15. VII. 2000, leg. W. ten Hagen. Fars: 1♂ Dashte Arjan, 1900m, 20.X.2010, leg. A. Hofmann & J. Meineke (coll. Naderi); 1♂ 15–20 km E Neyriz, 2000–2100m, 5.VII.1997, leg. ten Hagen, dissection GP 19 1999 (coll. ten Hagen); 1♂ Kuh-e Hatun, NE Qaderabad, 2400–2600m, 17.VII.1999, leg. W. ten Hagen (coll. ten Hagen). Description. Male: Forewing Length (FWL) 30mm; Upperside:Both wings ground color dark brown to blackish; forewing with an obscure but broad androconial patch; hindwing edge tends to be less undulated and more roundish; pale whitish margins especially on the hindwings very distinct, sometimes even extending into inner submarginal area as white lunules; a black line separates white margin from darker submarginal area; fringes white. Underside: close to H. fatua persiscana with a pale gray background; hindwing with a wide dark brown patch that extends from S2 to S 5 in the marginal area. Female: FWL 28 mm; Upperside: Both wings ground color dark brown but lighter than the male; forewing with two black eyespots in S2 and S5 and two white pupils in-between; the wing margins are paler than the ground-color of the wings; hindwings with broad white margins and distinctive submarginal lunules in S1 to S7. Diagnosis (Fig. 3). The new species is easily distinguishable from H. fatua by the presence of a white margin on the upperside of the hindwings in males and the added white submarginal lunules in females. In H. fatua the upperside of the hindwings are almost uniformly deep brown to black with no white marginal lunules. In H. lunulata sp. nov., the hind wings are more rounded and much less undulated than in H. fatua. The underside pattern of H. lunulata sp. nov. is similar to H. fatua but with a distinctive wide brown submarginal patch between S2 and S5 area on the hindwing. This patch is very faint or absent in H. fatua. Male genitalia (Fig. 4). The dorsal sub-terminal triangular extension of valva well-developed, more robust than those in H. fatua persiscana (Fig. 4C), not as rounded as in H. fatua sichaea (Fig. 4D), and not as elongated as in H. fatua fatua (Fig. 4G) and H. statilinus (Fig. 4H) from Western Turkey. Etymology. The name lunulata refers to the white submarginal lunules on the upperside of the hindwings. Distribution and Ecology. The range of the new species is restricted to the central and southern parts of the Zagros mountains in Iran (Fig. 5). Adults fly very late in the season, usually in xerophytic habitats with thorny Astragalus and Acantholimon, and nectar on flowers of Acantholimon and Acanthophyllum. They are petrophilous and generally prefer to stay near the ground and rocks where the patterns on the underside of their hindwings provide an adaptive camouflage against predators. They can also be seen resting on the tree trunks in cool shady spots.