Telemiades austini Siewert, Mielke & Casagrande, 2020

Siewert, Ricardo Russo, Mielke, Olaf Hermann Hendrik & Casagrande, Mirna Martins, 2020, Taxonomic revision of the Neotropical genus Telemiades Hübner, [1819] (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae: Eudaminae), with descriptions of fourteen new species, Zootaxa 4721 (1), pp. 1-111 : 24-26

Telemiades austini Siewert, Mielke & Casagrande , sp. nov.

( Figs 30–33 , 150 , 186 , 207 )

Telemiades avitus [misidentification]; C. Hoffmann, 1941. An. Inst. Biol., Mexico, 12: 247.—C. Hoffmann, 1976. Publ. Esp. Soc. Mex. Lep. 1: 121.— Steinhauser, 1975. Bull. Allyn Mus. 29: 30.—Okano, 1981. Tokurana 1: 98.—J. de la Maza E. & R. G. de la Maza E., 1985. Rev. Soc. Mex. Lep. 9: 42.—Llorente–Bousquets; Luis–Martínez & Vargas–Fernández, 1990. Publ. esp. Mus. Zool., Mexico, 1: 28.—J. de la Maza E.; White & R. G. de la Maza E., 1991. Rev. Soc. Mex. Lep. 14: 17.—R. G. de la Maza E. & J. de la Maza E., 1993. Marip. Chiapas, p. 202.—Austin et al., 1996. Trop. Lep. 7: 29.—Raguso & Llorente, 1997, in González; Dirzo & Vogt (eds). Hist. Nat. Tuxtlas. Inst. Biol., UNAM, p. 290.—Austin et al., 1999. Trop. Lep. 9, Suppl. 2: 12.—Warren, 2000, in Llorente; González & Papavero (eds). Biodiv., Tax., Biogeogr. Art. Mex. 2, p. 550; syn.: lamus , lurideolus, xantho .—Luis Martínez et al., 2004, in García–Mendoza; Ordóñez & Brio-nes–Salas. Biodiv. Oaxaca, p. 353.—Barrios; Méndez & Austin, 2006, in Cano (ed.). Biodiversidad de Guatemala 1, p. 439.—Glassberg, 2007. Swift Guide Butt. Mexico and C. America, p. 180, figs (male, female d, v).—Luis Martínez et al., 2011, in Cruz A. (ed.). Biodiv. Veracruz. Apénd. VIII.25, p. 4.—Luis–M., Salinas–G. & Llorente–B., 2011, in Álvarez (coord.). Chiapas: estudios diversidad biol., Inst. Biol., UNAM, Mexico, p. 387.—J. Miller et al., 2012. Insecta Mundi 205: 41.—Garwood & Lehman, 2013. Butt. C. Amer. 3, Hesp., p. 64, figs (d, v).—Luis–Martínez et al., 2016. Southw. Ent. 41 (1): 189.

Diagnosis. Telemiades austini Siewert, Mielke & Casagrande , sp. nov. is distinguished from the other species of the “ avitus group” by the males with the ground color dark yellow; uncus and tegumen broader and lamella antevaginalis with lateral expansions less developed than T. xantho . Besides the morphological characters, T. austini , sp. nov. is restricted to Central America.

Description. Head: frons and vertex dark brown and yellow. Labial palpi dark brown with sparse yellow scales. Antennae dark brown, base of each segment cream, apical third ventrally cream; nudum of 19–20 segments.

Thorax: dorsally and ventrally dark yellow in males and dark brown in females.

FW: length of males 16–17 mm (n=10) and females 18–19 mm (n=5). DFW ( Figs 30, 32 ): ground color dark yellow in males and dark brown in females; two cellular hyaline spots, the upper smaller and the lower with rounded distal margins in males and slightly truncated in females; two discal hyaline spots in M 3 –CuA 1 and CuA 1 –CuA 2, rectangular in females in M 3 –CuA 1 and rectangular with proximal margin slightly excavated in both sexes in CuA 1 – CuA 2; three apical hyaline spots in R 3 –R 4, R 4 –R 5 and R 5 –M 1, the middle smaller; males with two dark brown spots on discal area in CuA 2 –2A.

DHW ( Figs 30, 32 ): ground color dark yellow in males and dark brown in females; two dark brown rounded discal spots; six submarginal dark brown spots in Rs–M 1, M 1 –M 2, M 2 –M 3, M 3 –CuA 1, CuA 1 –CuA 2 and CuA 2 –2A, as an irregular band.

VFW ( Figs 31, 33 ): as DFW; ground color dark brown with sparse yellow scales on males.

VHW ( Figs 31, 33 ): as DHW; ground color dark brown; discal and submarginal spots darker.

Abdomen: dorsally dark yellow in males and dark brown in females; ventrally dark brown.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 150 ): tegumen rounded, distal margin with one pair of lateral apophysis with same size of uncus. Anterior projection of saccus triangular, anterior margin rounded. Uncus about 1/2 than tegumen, distal margin with a pair of lateral, squared and short apophysis. Valva rectangular, three times as long as wide; costa rectangular; distal process of harpe elongated, curved inwards, and with serrated margin; sacculus rectangular, about 1/3 the length of valva. Fultura inferior distally bifid, with distal margin rounded and base truncated on dorsal–median region. Aedeagus cylindrical, laterally sinuous on proximal half view, insertion of manica in proximal third of aedeagus, opening for ejaculatory bulb rounded; distal margin truncated; opening for vesica dorsal, about 2/3 of size of aedeagus; cornuti as numerous spines with same size, disposed in lines.

Female genitalia ( Fig. 186 ): tergum VIII rounded; papilla analis covered by scales on apical third; posterior apophysis with same size than papilla analis; lamela antevaginales retangular, laterally expanded and covered by microscales, and connected to tergum VIII by a thin membrane; lamella postavaginalis rectangular, about 2/3 narrower than lamella antevaginales; distal margin bilobed with a smooth groove at median region; ductus bursae membranous, sclerotized proximally of ostium and with two flattened plates proximally of corpus bursae; corpus bursae membranous and globular, with same size of ductus, third proximal region rough; signa absent.

Natural history. Janzen & Hallwachs (2009) partially illustrated the immatures stages of T. austini , sp. nov. found at Área de Conservación de Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Immatures have been reported on some species of Lonchocarpus (Fabaceae) : L. calcaratus , L. felipei , L. guatemalensis , L. heptaphyllus and L. oliganthus .

Distribution. Telemiades austini , sp. nov. occurs in Central America, with records from Mexico to Panama.

Etymology. This species is named in honor of George T. Austin (1943–2009) in recognition of his extensive contribution to our knowledge of Neotropical skippers.

Taxonomic discussion. The wing pattern of Telemiades austini , sp. nov. is similar to that observed in the other species of the “ avitus group” and, for this reason, several authors have mistakenly associated the species with T. avitus . Despite the phenotypic similarity between the two species, T. austini , sp. nov. is easily distinguished from congeners in the “ avitus group” by several morphological characters (see diagnosis of this species). Its geographical distribution, restricted to Central America, corroborates its status as a separate species.

Type material. Holotype male deposited at DZUP–OM with the following labels : / Holotypus / 12–XI–1994 Puerto Viejo, Sarapiqui, C. Rica, Pagels leg./ OM 40.251 / BC–DZ / Holotypus Telemiades austini Siewert, Mielke & Casagrande det. 2019/. Allotype female deposited at DZUP with the following labels : / Allotypus / 15–VI–1967 Cocoli Panama C.Z/ DZ 26.097/ GEN. PREP. R. SIEWERT / Allotypus Telemiades austini Siewert, Mielke & Casagrande det. 2019/.

Paratypes. MEXICO: Veracruz— Atoyac , 7 males and 3 females, H.H.S. May leg., NHMUK 010242346 , NHMUK 010242348 , NHMUK 010242350 , NHMUK 010242351 , NHMUK 010242352 , NHMUK 010242353 , NHMUK 010242354 , NHMUK 010242172 , NHMUK 010242347 , NHMUK 010242349 ( NHMUK); Presidio, VI–1950, 1 male, T. Escalante leg. ( OUMNH); VII–1954, 1 female, T. Escalante leg. ( OUMNH) .

HONDURAS: no specific locality, 1 female, NHMUK 010242356 ( NHMUK) .

COSTA RICA: Heredia— Tirimbina de Sarapiqui , 7–III–1993, 1 male, Pagels leg., OM 37.633 * ( DZUP– OM); San Mateo— IX, 1 male, NHMUK 010242355 ( NHMUK) .

Figures

FIGURE 207. Geographical distribution of Telemiades from the “avitus group”.

FIGURES 24–33. Species of Telemiades from the ‘avitus group’, dorsal (left) and ventral (right) views. 24–25. Telemiades avitus (Stoll, 1781), neotype male from Óbidos, Pará, Brazil (DZ 26.211—DZUP). 26–29. Telemiades xantho Hayward, 1939, stat. rev. 26–27. Male from Guaratuba, Paraná, Brazil (OM 51.782—OM). 28–29. Female from Morretes, Paraná, Brazil (OM 53.367—OM). 30–33. Telemiades austini Siewert, Mielke & Casagrande, sp. nov. 30–31. Holotype male from Puerto Viejo, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica (OM 40.251—DZUP). 32–33. Allotype female from Cocoli, Panama (DZ 26.097—DZUP).

FIGURES 148–150. Male genitalia of Telemiades from the “avitus group”. 148. Telemiades avitus (Stoll, 1781) (OM 39.036— OM). 149. Telemiades xantho Hayward, 1939, stat. rev. (DZ 26.217—DZUP). 150. Telemiades austini Siewert, Mielke & Casagrande, sp. nov. (OM 37.633—OM).

FIGURES 185–186. Female genitalia of Telemiades from the “avitus group”. 185. Telemiades xantho Hayward, 1939, stat. rev. (OM 53.373—OM). 186. Telemiades austini Siewert, Mielke & Casagrande, sp. nov. (DZ 26.097—DZUP).