Janus Pannonius Múzeum Évkönyve 39 (1994) (Pécs, 1995)

Természettudományok - Bálint Zsolt: Adalékok a Balkán boglárkalepke-faunájához (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae)

77 The independent phyletic branches of Polyommatus escheri and P. dorylas - The historical P. escheri is a complex of several allopatric taxa exculsively distributed in the Mediterranean region (the escheri data from the Russian steppe were never confirmed, see KORSHUNOV 1972), P. dalmaticus is typical for the most of the Balkans, but a distinctive sister taxon was described from the Peloponnesos as ssp. parnassica Brown, 1977. P. dorylas and its relatives (e.g. golgus Hübner, (1813) and atlanticus Elwes, 1906) are also restricted to the Mediterranean region but P. dorylas could successfully be adapted to the environmental changes caused by human activities in the western Palearctic region and invaded wast territories up to Scandinavia. The distribution of the both taxa complex is closed by the Great Caucasus chain and behind the Caucasus region different but closely related and flourishing groups of polyommatine lycaenids can be found (BÁLINT 1992). Polyommatus admetus-ripartii - Three complexes can be distinguished: 1. the ripartii-group distributed from Iberia to Mongolia (BÁLINT, unpublished); 2. the admetus-group, which is restricted to Pannónia, the Balkans, Asia Minor and Levant and 3. the alcestis-group which is formed by a series of highly allopatric populations, very often described as distinct species. These three complexes are sympatric e. g. in the Iberian peninsula, in the Balkans and in Anatolia or Crimea. They are highly mixed in the faunistic literature (e.g. NEKRUTENKO 1985). Polyommatus eros-eroides - These European taxa can be derivated from Central Asian stocks of lycaenids, most probably from an erotides Staudinger, 1892 like ancestor, which became highly diversified in the high mountainous regions. While eros and its close relatives are mainly oreal-tundral, the line of eroides is orealxeromontane, accordingly the Iberian endemic species nivescens Keferstein, 1851 could be derivated from the eroides line. The Balkans has a significant position from Zoogeographie point of view, because it served several réfugia for oreal communities after the glacial period, while in the European region most of the oreal habitats disappeared as a result of the arboreal postglacial movements and the activities of the early man. Because of its intermediate geographic situation the Balkans always served as a link between the central and the western Palearctic region with the eastern Mediterranean Basin and the central Asian steppes and high mountains. This is well represented by the lycaenid fauna of the Balkans which consists several superspecies.