Euptychia favonius Nakahara, Vega & Willmott

Nakahara, Shinichi, Vega, German & Willmott, Keith R., 2016, Description of a new species of Euptychia Hübner, 1818 (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae) from the western Andes, Zootaxa 4184 (2), pp. 358-366 : 360-365

Euptychia favonius Nakahara, Vega & Willmott , new species

( Figs 1–3 )

‘Undescribed Euptychia ’ in Fratello 2007: figs. 3–6 (p.2)

Diagnosis. Euptychia favonius can be distinguished from Euptychia meta by the following characters: 1) marginal lines of ventral forewing and ventral hindwing usually more undulating in E. favonius (less undulating in E. meta ); 2) outer ring of ventral concentric submarginal ocelli ringed with pale yellow and wider in E. favonius (ring paler yellowish white and narrower in E. meta ); 3) ventral hindwing discal and postdiscal bands relatively straighter (somewhat undulating in E. meta ); 4) ventral hindwing submarginal band narrower and more undulating in cells M2 and M 3 in E. favonius (wider and less undulating in E. meta ); 5) lamella antevaginalis more elongated in ventral view in E. favonius compared to E. meta ; 6) spines of signa somewhat more developed in E. favonius compared to E. meta . In addition, two other possibly consistent differences are the paler, more grayish ground color of the ventral wings and the broader and straighter dark ventral hindwing bands in E. favonius , but more material is needed to assess the reliability of these characters.

Description. MALE: forewing length: 16.5 mm – 18 mm (n=5)

Head: Eyes with sparse brown hairs, with white scales at base; first segment of labial palpus brown, second segment length almost twice as great as eye depth, covered with short white hair-like scales and white scales laterally, as well as black scales along distal one-third of dorsal surface, ventrally adorned with black hair-like scales similar in length to segment width, third segment slightly shorter than one-fifth of second segment and covered with black scales laterally and ventrally, with creamy-white scales laterally; antennae approximately twofifths forewing length, with ca. 35 segments (n=2), distal 12–13 segments composing club.

Thorax: Dorsally and ventrally covered with dark brown scales and with additional long, sparse multi-colored hair-like scales dorsally; ventrally scattered with grayish scales.

Legs: Foreleg brown, tibia and femur almost same length, tarsus slightly shorter; midleg and hindleg with femur dorsally brown, ventrally pale buff, tibia and tarsus pale buff, terminal segments of tarsus brown, tarsus and tibia adorned with spines ventrally, tibial spurs absent at distal end of tibia.

Abdomen: Eighth tergite fully developed, similar to seventh tergite.

Wing venation: Most of forewing subcostal vein swollen; base of cubitus not swollen; forewing recurrent vein present in discal cell; hindwing humeral vein not developed. Wing shape ( Fig. 1 ): Forewing subtriangular, apex rounded, costal margin convex, outer margin almost straight, inner margin straight; hindwing slightly elongate, outer margin slightly curved, inner margin slightly lobed near base and curved inward near tornus, anal lobe convex, slightly round.

Dorsal forewing ( Fig. 1 ): Light brown ground colour, darker towards apex, semi-translucent and thus subtly revealing ventral dark bands and ocelli, hair-like scales located at base of cell Cu2.

Dorsal hindwing ( Fig. 1 ): Ground colour similar to forewing, apex slightly darker, semitranslucent, thus subtly revealing ventral dark bands and ocelli, hair-like scales located in discal cell and cell Cu2.

Ventral forewing ( Fig. 1 ): Ground colour greyish; reddish-brown band extends posterior to swollen subcostal vein from radius to wing base; reddish-brown, straight discal band extends from radial vein, crossing discal cell in a slightly inward diagonal direction, narrower below cubital vein, and fading away before touching vein 2A; reddish-brown scales present along discocellular veins m1-m2 and m2-m3; reddish-brown postdiscal band extending from radial vein towards inner margin until reaching vein 2A, crossing wing in slightly outward direction, slightly narrowing towards posterior end; broad, faint, indistinct dark shading covering most of cells R5, M1, M2 and M3; concolorous sinuate submarginal band extending from apex towards tornus, broadening towards cell Cu1, slightly narrowing after cell Cu1; undulating marginal band, darker than previous four bands, extending from apex towards tornus; fringe brownish; ocellus in cell M1, extending across veins M1 and M2, black with one white pupil in center, tiny satellite ocellus present in cell M2, surrounded by two concentric rings, inner ring yellow, outer ring creamyyellow, wider than inner ring, small ocellus in cell M3 surrounded by two concentric rings, inner ring yellow, outer ring creamy-yellow, wider than inner ring.

Ventral hindwing ( Fig. 1 ): Ground colour similar to forewing; regular reddish-brown band near wing base; discal band broader than forewing discal band, tapering posteriorly; postdiscal band parallel to discal band, concolorous, similar in width, anterior end extending distally along costa, posterior end bent basally along inner margin; broad, faint, indistinct dark shading covering around submarginal ocelli; submarginal band extending from apex towards tornus, anterior end occasionally fused with postdiscal band in cell Rs, undulating in cells M2 and M3, somewhat ‘M-shaped’, posterior end broadening and occasionally fused to postdiscal band in cell 2A; marginal line, darker, undulate, much thinner than submarginal band; fringe brownish; submarginal ocelli in cells M1, M2, M3 and Cu1 identical in appearance to forewing ocellus, ocelli in cells M2 and M3 smaller compared to those in M1 and Cu1, those ocelli in M1 and M2, M3 and Cu1 are each surrounded by two concentric rings, inner ring yellow, outer ring creamy-yellow, wider than inner ring.

Genitalia ( Figs 2 A–C): Tegumen somewhat subtriangular in lateral view, dorsally flattened, anterior dorsal edge present, conspicuous posterior projection above uncus present, projecting from dorsal margin of tegumen and extending posteriorly; uncus narrow, long, without setae, slightly hooked, tapering posteriorly, slightly longer than tegumen in lateral view; gnathos absent; combination of ventral arms from tegumen and dorsal arms from saccus straight; appendices angulares absent; saccus approximately half length of uncus; juxta shallow ‘U-shaped’ in posterior view; valve sparsely setose, with distal half angled upward at approximately 30º to horizontal; basal half appears roughly trapezoidal in lateral view, ventral margin convex, dorsal margin slightly concave, distal half narrow with a rounded tip, basal half somewhat rectangular with costa projecting dorsally in lateral view; aedeagus slightly curved, similar in length to valve, tubular, open anterodorsally, cornuti absent; ventral surface of anal tube weakly sclerotized.

FEMALE: forewing length: 15.5 mm – 18 mm (n=4)

Similar to male except as follows: female foretarsus divided into five segments; forewing more rounded and broader, outer margin convex; ground colour of both wing surfaces white, apical half of dorsal forewing black, dark ventral bands and lines appearing as darkly scaled rather than just visible through wing; dorsal hindwing with dark marginal scaling stronger, submarginal and marginal lines visible to tornus, in addition to ocelli in cells M1 and Cu1.

Female Genitalia ( Figs 2 D–G): Lamella antevaginalis sclerotized, somewhat trapezoidal with very deep concavity at median region of posterior margin in ventral view, anterior portion appears darker in coloration than remainder of lamella antevaginalis; basal side of 8th abdominal segment sclerotized; ductus bursae membranous, origin of ductus seminalis close to ostium bursae; corpus bursae roughly oval in dorsal view, with two short signa, spines of signa developed and somewhat robust.

Types: HOLOTYPE: ECUADOR: Esmeraldas; km 44 Lita-San Lorenzo rd., La Punta , [1º3'55''N, 78º39'W], 300m, (K. Willmott & J. Hall), 21–22 June 1994, 1 ♂, Genitalic vial SN-15-131, ( MGCL, to be deposited in MECN).

PARATYPES: COSTA RICA: Heredia; Finca La Selva , 12 Apr 1975, 1 ♀, [FLMNH-MGCL- 190961], ( MGCL) ; Puntarenas; Osa Peninsula, Cerro Brujo , 700m, (Fratello, S.), 1♀, Genitalic vial SN-15-126, [FLMNH- MGCL- 190960], ( MGCL) . PANAMA: Panamá; Altos de Pacora , [9º14'N, 79º20'W], 2000m, (Small, G.B.), 5 Apr 1977, 1 ♂, ( USNM) ; Cerro Jefe , [9º14'N, 79º22'W], 900m, (Small, G.B.), Apr 1977, 1 ♀, ( USNM) ; near Altos de Pacora , [9º14'N, 79º20'W], 750m, (Small, G.B.), 15–19 Mar 1978, 1 ♀, ( USNM) . COLOMBIA: Santander; La Borrascosa , 500-1200m, 13 Dec 1945, 1 ♂, ( AMNH) ; La Lechera , [7º7'28''N, 73º18'33''W], 2000m, 1 Dec 1945, 1 ♂, ( AMNH) ; Chocó; Río San Juan , [5º13'N, 76º39'W], 4♂, ( ZMHU) . ECUADOR: Esmeraldas; km 12.5 Lita-San Lorenzo rd., Río Chuchuví , [0º52'51''N, 78º30'54''W], 800–950m, (K. Willmott), 29 October 2003, 1 ♀, ( MGCL) ; km 15 Lita-San Lorenzo rd. , [0º53'52''N, 78º31'29''W], 800m, (K. Willmott), 6 May 2000, 1 ♀, ( MGCL) ; km 17 San Lorenzo-Ibarra rd., San Francisco ridge, [1º6'26''N, 78º41'55''W], 200–250m, (K.R., J.C.R, J.I.R. Willmott), 6 July 2015, 1 ♂, [FLMNH-MGCL-217573], ( MGCL), 8 July 2015, 1 ♂, [FLMNH-MGCL-217574], ( MGCL) ; km 40 Lita-San Lorenzo rd. , El Durango, [1º2'27''N, 78º38'4''W], 300–400m, (K. Willmott & J. Hall), July, 1♀, ( MGCL) ; km 44 Lita-San Lorenzo rd., La Punta , [1º3'55''N, 78º39'W], 300m, (K. Willmott & J. Hall), 24 March 1995, 1 ♂, Genitalic vial KW-14-32, ( MGCL) ; Lita-San Lorenzo rd. , NE San Francisco, ridge N La Ceiba, [1º7'57''N, 78º39'32''W], 250m, (K.R. Willmott, R. Aldaz), 5 July 2015, 1 ♀, [FLMNH-MGCL-195691], ( MGCL) ; San Lorenzo-Lita railway, El Placer , [0º54'30''N, 78º36'W], 750m, (K. Willmott), 9 September 1997, 1 ♀, ( MGCL, to be deposited in BMNH) .

OTHER RECORDS: ECUADOR: Esmeraldas; Río Santiago , Playa de Oro, [0º52'33''N, 78º47'40''W], 70m, (Hardwick, R.), 26–29 September 2013, 1 ♀, (photograph of live specimen).

Etymology. This specific epithet is derived from the masculine Latin noun, favonius , used in apposition, a word meaning ‘west wind’, in reference to the fact that this species is only known from west of the Andes.

Distribution. ( Fig. 3 ): Based on the examined specimens, this new species is distributed from Costa Rica to northwestern Ecuador.

Biology. In western Ecuador, E. favonius occurs in wet lowland rainforest from 70–900 m elevation, where it is uncommon. Males were only encountered on prominent hilltops, where they perched and patrolled singly approximately 1 m above the ground at the edges of light gaps in the mid-morning. Females were observed both on hill and ridgetops as well as hillsides, flying along trails in the primary forest understorey about 1–2 m above the ground from midday to early afternoon.

Taxonomy of Euptychia meta and E. favonius . Weymer (1911) described E. meta based on an unspecified number of specimens from Marcapata, Peru. Although only one syntype in the ZMHU has so far been located (a female), examination of the original description indicates that Weymer believed that he had examined both sexes. In plate 46 the dorsal surface of the female is figured, but the sex is not mentioned and it is difficult to judge whether Weymer correctly realized that this species was sexually dimorphic. Therefore, additional syntypes (if they exist) might consist just of female specimen(s). The single known female syntype ( Fig. 1 D) exhibits an undulating marginal band on both ventral wings, similar to E. favonius in this respect. However, the ventral hindwing submarginal band and outer ring of concentric submarginal ocelli are both typical of other east Ecuadorian E. meta and are distinct from those of E. favonius (see diagnosis). Since cryptic species are frequently found in euptychiine butterflies (e.g. Cong & Grishin 2014), we designate this female syntype ( Fig. 1 D, forewing length = 17mm) in the ZMHU with the following labels as the lectotype of E. meta in order to stabilize the nomenclature and allow confident identification of E. favonius : LECTOTYPE ♀ Euptychia meta Weymer designated by Lee D. Miller. 1989 // Marcapata Cuzco // genitalia vial M-9055 ♀ Lee D. Miller.

Euptychia meta and E. favonius are clearly sister taxa, based on both morphological and molecular data (Nakahara, unpublished data), and given their allopatry they could arguably be regarded as conspecific. However, the small but consistent wing pattern differences are similar in extent to those distinguishing other sympatric, closely related Euptychia species (Nakahara, unpublished data). Moreover, the significant divergence in COI, which is of an order of magnitude greater between the two taxa than within the two taxa, suggests that separate species status is warranted.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Male and female specimens of E. favonius sp. nov. and E. meta, left dorsal and right ventral surfaces: A) E. favonius, HOLOTYPE male, western Ecuador; B) E. favonius, PARATYPE female, western Ecuador; C) E. meta, male, eastern Ecuador; D) E. meta, LECTOTYPE female, southeastern Peru.

FIGURE 2. Genitalia of E. favonius: A) male genitalia, in lateral view; B) aedeagus, in lateral view; C) juxta, in posterior view; D) female genitalia, in posterior view; E) lamella antevaginalis, in ventral view; F) ductus bursae and corpus bursae, in dorsal view; G) signa (SN- 15 - 131; SN- 15 - 126) Scale bar = 1 mm.

FIGURE 3. Distribution map for E. favonius.