Oenomaus gaia Faynel

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 : 26

Oenomaus gaia Faynel

Distribution, habitat, and remarks.

This species occurs in wet and dry lowland forest. It has been recorded from Panama, French Guiana, Venezuela, eastern Ecuador, Peru (LO, SM, UC, MD) and Brazil (PA, AM, RO, MT, GO). This species, Oenomaus floreus , and maybe Oenomaus griseus occur in drier forest than other species with an “atena-like” ventral wing pattern.

New material examined.

Panama.- 1♂: Los Ríos, C. Z., 15.XII.1964, S.S. Nicolay leg., Genitalia 1992: 73♂ R.K. Robbins (USNM ENT 00180046). 2♀: Los Ríos, C. Z., 27.I.1965, S.S. Nicolay, gen. prep. CF n°430 (USNM) (Fig. 15); Los Ríos, C. Z., 19.XII.1964, G.B. Small, gen. prep. CF n°431 (USNM). Ecuador.- 1♂: Morona-Santiago 15 km S Gualaquiza, 850 m, 3°27.6'S, 78°33.1'W, 27.IX.2000, Robert C. Busby leg. (RCB). Peru.- 1♂: MD, Parque Manu, Pakitza 340 m, 11°55'48"S, 71°15'18"W, 15.X.1991, Leg. M. Casagrande, Genitalia No. 1992: 38♂ R.K. Robbins (USNM). Brazil.- 2♂: PA, Obidos, IX.1930, Ex coll. Le Moult, Genitalia No. 1992: 75♂ R.K. Robbins; PA, Santo Antônio do Tauá, Reserva Sonho Azul, 1°15'S, 48°03'W, 16.VII.2003,P. & J. Jauffret leg., CF-LYC-072 (CF); RO, 62 km SW Ariquemes, Línea 20, lot 21, 23, 25 (Fazenda Rancho Grande), 11.X.1993, AVZ Brower, gen. prep. CF n°411 (OSAC); GO, Pirenópolis, 820 m, 15°49'S, 48°59'W, E. Emery leg. (MC 255).

Female.

Four males in the USNM were collected on hills on Los Ríos hill (approximately 9°00'32"N, 79°35'34"W) and in Cocolí (approximately 8°58'46"N, 79°35'59"W), Canal Area, Panama. These areas are drier (<2 m annual precipitation, Rand and Rand 1982) than the forest in which other Oenomaus with an “atena-like” wing pattern have been found in Panama. Four females from these two localities have the same ventral wing pattern as the males. Since no other males are known from these localities, we associate the sexes and illustrate the adult wing pattern and genitalia of one of these females (Figs 15, 34).

We also associate a female from Brazil, Pará (CF-LYC-072) with a male of Oenomaus gaia from French Guiana because they have the same ventral wing pattern and have similar barcode sequences (0.2%).

COI DNA sequence.

As noted previously, interspecific variation in the barcode sequences of Oenomaus ambiguus , Oenomaus cortica , Oenomaus gaia , Oenomaus morroensis is less than 2%, in contrast to interspecific divergences among other species in Oenomaus . For example males of Oenomaus gaia (CF-LYC-023) and Oenomaus cortica (CF-LYC-052) are 0.8% divergent. Another male of Oenomaus gaia (CF-LYC-024) and Oenomaus morroensis (CF-LYC-015) are 1.1% divergent.