Oenomaus taua Faynel & Moser

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 : 30-31

Oenomaus taua Faynel & Moser

Distribution, habitat, and remarks.

This species is widespread in wet lowland forest. It is recorded from Guatemala, Panama, French Guiana, eastern Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil (PA, AM, RO). It is one of the more common species in the genus and mating pairs have been collected in Panama, Ecuador, and Brazil.

New material examined.

Guatemala.- 1♂: Cayuga, Sept., Schaus & Barnes coll., Genitalia No. 1992: 28♂ R.K. Robbins (USNM). Panama.- 2♂: Canal Zone, Gamboa, 5.I.1979, Leg. R. Robbins, in copula 15:00, Genitalia No. 1982: 125♂ R.K. Robbins (USNM ENT 00180050); Canal Zone, Summit, 17.III.1979, Leg. R. Robbins, in copula 15:00, gen. prep. CF n°423 (USNM). 2♀: Canal Zone, Gamboa, 5.I.1979, Leg. R. Robbins, in copula 15:00, Genitalia No. 1982: 126♀ R.K. Robbins (USNM ENT 00180051) (Fig. 18); Canal Zone, Summit, 17.III.1979, Leg. R. Robbins, in copula 15:00, gen. prep. CF n°424 (USNM). Ecuador.- 2♂: Napo, 14 km Tena-Puyo Road, 1°06.7'S, 77°46.9'W, 600 m, X.2010 (Apuya), I. Aldas & Robert C. Busby leg., gen. prep. CF n°418 (RCB);Napo Province, 14 km S. of Tena, 600 m, 17-18.X.1996 (Apuya), mating pair, Robert C. Busby leg., gen. prep. CF n°345 (RCB). 1♀: Napo Province, 14 km S. of Tena, 600 m, 17-18.X.1996 (Apuya), mating pair, Robert C. Busby leg., gen. prep. CF n°417 (RCB) (Fig. 19). Brazil.- 1♂: RO, 160-350 m, vic. Cacaulândia, 10°32'S, 62°48'W, 19.X.1991, in copula, Leg. J. MacDonald, gen. prep. CF n°412 (USNM). 1♀: RO, 160-350 m, vic. Cacaulândia, 10°32'S, 62°48'W, 19.X.1991, in copula, Leg. J. MacDonald, gen. prep. CF n°413 (USNM); PA, Santo Antônio do Tauá, Reserva Sonho Azul, 1°15'S, 48°03'W, 2.III.2010,P. & J. Jauffret leg. (CF).

Intraspecific variation.

Females from Brazil and Ecuador (Fig. 19) are uniformly brown on the dorsal wing surface while the female from Panama (Fig. 18) has the basal parts of both wings blue. Their genitalia, however, are uniform. This geographic variability is similar to that in Oenomaus cyanovenata .

Behavior/ biology.

Territorial behavior on a hilltop in Panama (Canal Area, Gamboa, Cerro Pelado) was observed in January and August at 15:00 hours (vouchers in USNM). Two mating pairs were also collected on the same hilltop in January and March at 15:00 hours (vouchers in USNM).

Female.

We illustrate adult females that were collected in copula (Figs 18-19) and the genitalia of one (Fig. 37).

COI DNA sequence.

A female from Brazil, Pará (CF-LYC-064), which has a wing pattern similar to the females collected in copula, is 3.1% divergent from a male from Peru (CF-LYC-085).