BIODIVERSITY, FAUNISTIC STUDIES OF THE FAMILY (SPHINGIDAE: LEPIDOPTERA) FROM PAKISTAN AND AZAD KASHMIR WITH THEIR CLADISTIC ANALYSIS

Abstract

Twenty-nine species belonging to twenty-one genera representatives of six tribes viz., Smerinthini, Sphingulini, Acherontiini, Dilophonotini, Macroglossini, and Choerocampini of three subfamilies viz., Smerinthinae, Sphinginae and Macroglossinae of the family Sphingidae with fifteen newly recorded species from different areas of Pakistan and Azad Kashmir are described in detail with special reference to their head, wing venations, fore and hind wings and male and female genital complex where available. In subfamily Smerinthinae, two tribes, the tribe Smerinthini includes seven genera with seven species viz. Smerinthus kindermannnii Lederer, Marumba dyras Walker, Sataspes infernalis Westwood, Leucophlebia lineata Westwood, Clanis deucalion Walker, Clanidopsis exausta Butler, and Polyptychus dentatus Cramer, In tribe Sphingulini only one genus and one species presented, Dolbina grisea Staudinger. The second subfamily Sphinginae includes only one tribe Acherontiini, with two genera, Agrius and Acherontia. In the genus Acherontia two species included A. lachesis (Fabricius), and A. styx Westwood, while in genus Agrius only one species Agrius convolvuli (Linnaeus), presented. The third subfamily Macroglossinae contains three tribes with eleven genera and eighteen species. In five genera having one species of each, Cephonodes hylas (Linnaeus), Nephele hespera (Fabricius), Daphnis nerii (Linnaeus), Gnathothlibus erotus (Cramer), and Pergesa acteus (Cramer). In remaining six genera, Macroglossum with three species M. belis (Linnaeus),M. nycteris Kollar, and M. stellatarum (Linnaeus), Acosmeryx with two species A. anceus Rothschild & Jordan, A.sericeus (Walker), Deilephila with two species D. elepenor (Linnaeus), D. rivularis (Biosduval), Hyles with two species Hyles gallii (Von Rottemburg), Hyles livornica (Esper), Hippotion with two species Hippotion celerio (Linnaeus), Hippotion rosetta (Swinhoe), Theretra with also two species Theretra alecto (Linnaeus),and Theretra oldenlandiae (Fabricius). All the taxa including new records are compared with their closest allies and a key to the subfamilies, genera and species are formulated on the basis of reliable characters, which help readily identify the taxa. The cladistic analysis of the representatives of the family Sphingidae is also attempted using their apomorphic characters. The biodiversity of all the included taxa is also discussed and a map of Pakistan is given to show the distributional range and diversity of the above taxa.