Oenomaus mentirosa Faynel & Robbins

Faynel, Christophe, Busby, Robert C. & Robbins, Robert K., 2012, Review of the species level taxonomy of the neotropical butterfly genus Oenomaus (Lycaenidae, Theclinae, Eumaeini), ZooKeys 222, pp. 11-45 : 18-19

Oenomaus mentirosa Faynel & Robbins sp. n. Figs 7, 23, 40, 47

Type-locality.

Peru: Madre De Dios, Río La Torre, Tambopata Res., 12°50'13"S, 69°17'35"W, 300 m. Tambopata is at the mouth of the Río La Torre. In 1986 there was a lodge and a network of trails through uncut wet lowland forest. The holotype was collected during the transition between the dry and wet seasons when butterfly abundance and diversity generally peak.

Type-specimen.

Holotype ♂ (Fig. 7) labeled as "PERU Madre De Dios / Rio La Torre 300m / Tambopata Res. / 3 Oct.' 86 / S. S. Nicolay" [rectangular, white, printed and handwritten], "GENITALIA NO. / 2011: 409♂ / C. FAYNEL" [rectangular, green, printed] "Holotype ♂ / Oenomaus mentirosa / Faynel & Robbins, 2012" [rectangular, red, printed]. Deposited in USNM.

Paratypes: Peru.4 ♂: LO, km 28, Iquitos-Nauta, 180 m, 0359/7326, 30.X.2003, J.J. Ramírez leg. (MUSM); MD, Boca Río La Torre, 300 m, 17.IX.1984, I. Bohórquez leg., Genitalia NO. 1992: 47♂ R.K. Robbins (MUSM); MD, Boca Río La Torre, 300 m, 27.X.1981, G. Lamas et al., Genitalia NO. 1992: 48♂ R.K. Robbins (MUSM); MD, Tambopata Reserve, 12°50'S, 69°17'W, 300 m, 27.X.1990, Leg. R. Robbins, Genitalia NO. 1992: 39♂ R.K. Robbins (USNM ENT 00180049).

Description, diagnosis and recognition as a distinct species.

Male FW length: 14.9 mm (SD = 0.3, N = 2). Wing pattern (Fig. 7) and genitalia (Fig. 23) illustrated. The ventral wing pattern of Oenomaus mentirosa is very similar to some species of the Porthecla gemma group ( Faynel et al. 2011), but the male genitalia have the non-triangular bifurcate valvae in lateral aspect that are characteristic of Oenomaus . Its genitalia, especially the valvae, are very similar to those of Oenomaus cortica ( D’Abrera) and Oenomaus druceus Faynel & Moser. Oenomaus mentirosa is the only known Oenomaus species with red scales at the base on the VHW. In addition, it has a distinctive white spot along the VFW costa in cell Sc-R1. This feature occurs in no other Eumaeini except Porthecla minyia (Hewitson) where there are two white markings placed side by side in the cell between the costa and Sc. In male Oenomaus species, the eighth tergum is generally rectangular, but the anterior and posterior edges may be modified. In Oenomaus mentirosa , the male eighth tergum has a slightly modified anterior edge which looks like a shallow “W”. The female of Oenomaus mentirosa is unknown.

Etymology.

The name of this species comes from the Spanish word ‘mentirosa’, which means a feminine liar. We picked this name because the underside wing pattern resembles that of Porthecla gemma (Druce) and Porthecla minyia (Druce), but this resemblance appears to be a false indicator of relationship. We treat the name as a feminine noun in apposition.

Habitat and distribution.

Oenomaus mentirosa is known from lowland wet forest in Amazonian Peru (Fig. 47).

Remarks.

Resemblance of the ventral wing patterns of Oenomaus mentirosa and Porthecla gemma / Porthecla minyia was noted in the etymology. Adults of all three species fly in the same habitats at the same time of year in the vicinity of Puerto Maldonado, Peru.