Lafontaineana puma Martinez, 2021

Martinez, Jose I., Schmidt, B. Christian & Miller, Jacqueline Y., 2021, A new Andean genus, Lafontaineana, with descriptions of four new species and two new Neotropical species of Panthea (Noctuidae, Pantheinae), ZooKeys 1028, pp. 113-134 : 113

Lafontaineana puma Martinez sp. nov. Figures 12 , 13 , 23 , 33

Type material.

Holotype: ♂, Ecuador, La Alegria, 2700 m, 14-15 Sep. 1977, coll. Luis E. Peña / LACM ENT 332567 deposited in CNC. Paratype (1 ♀ CNC): Same collecting data as holotype / LACM ENT 332566.

Etymology.

Since the name "Jaguar Moth" makes reference to wild cats in general, the word Lafontaineana puma was chosen in reference to the cougar ( Puma concolor Linnaeus, 1771), which also means powerful in the Quechua language. The specific name is a noun in apposition.

Diagnosis.

The only species that looks very similar to Lafontaineana puma is L. imama (see diagnosis of L. imama ). However, the main external morphological character is the dorsal fusion of polygons in the middle of the thorax; internally the vesica has a remarkably reduced medial diverticulum.

Description.

Head. Last segment of the palpus in white with scattered black scales, male darker than female; frons covered by black and yellow scales in male, while grey and yellow in female. Thorax. Whitish yellow; polygon on the middle and those on each side of the posterior area from the mesothorax are fused, while the two lateral polygons remain separated; ventrally clothed by white and black scales Wing. Forewing length male 23-25 mm; female 28-30 mm; forewing same yellow color as the thorax; black linear patterns and the space in median field coppery; orbicular spot with the upper and lower sides flattened and large yellow spot in the middle; reniform spot D-shaped outlined with black rectangle; relatively large lunate marking within the reniform spot; hindwing with pale-orange veins and some small black dots; silvery white fringe on the outer margin, while the posterior margin has some brown scales; three well-developed black spots on costal and Sc+R1 cells, narrower in female; small discal spot; discal, medial, and postmedial lines absent in both sexes; tornal lunate marking very small in male and normally expanded through 2A and CuA2 cells in female. Legs. black with a small yellow line in each joint; yellow tufts, darker in male. Abdomen. The orange lines and the brown line in the middle almost the same size; male with completely brown tufts, female with yellow ends; genitalia covered with orange scales; brownish gray ventrally in male and brown with some brownish gray scales and yellow intersternal membrane in female. Male genitalia. Narrow and pointed cucullus; apex rounded and covered by setae; costal margin slightly swollen; sacculus wide with a lightly narrow process; juxta shield-shaped with the upper edges flattened; aedeagus slightly long; diverticulum relatively prominent; line of spines long and curved along on upper side of vesica. Female genitalia. Anal papilla wide; sterigma with long and wide opening; posterior apophysis length 1¼ × anal papilla; appendix bursae and corpus bursae similar in size.

Genetic characterization.

Unknown.

Distribution.

Both specimens were found in deciduous forests in western Ecuador (Fig. 35 ).

Remarks.

Attempts to extract DNA from these specimens were unsuccessful.

Figures

Figure 35. Distribution of examined specimens of Lafontaineana.

Figures 6 - 20. Adult habitus of Lichnoptera, Lafontaineana, and Panthea 6 Lichnoptera gulo, ♂, MGCL, Cundinamarca, Colombia 7 L. gulo, ♀, MGCL, Cundinamarca, Colombia 8 Lafontaineana marmorifera, ♂, MGCL, Cundinamarca, Colombia 9 L. marmorifera, ♀, MGCL, Cundinamarca, Colombia 10 L. imama, ♂, MGCL, holotype, Tolima, Colombia 11 L. imama, ♀, MGCL, paratype, Tolima, Colombia 12 L. puma, ♂, CNC, holotype, La Alegria, Ecuador 13 L. puma, ♀, CNC, paratype, La Alegria, Ecuador 14 L. thuta, ♂, MGCL, holotype, Loja, Ecuador 15 L. thuta, ♀, MGCL, paratype, Sucumbios, Ecuador 16 L. alexandrae, ♀, FSU, holotype, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador 17 Panthea guatemala, ♂, CNC, San Lorenzo, Guatemala 18 P. hondurensis, ♂, MGCL, holotype, Francisco Morazan, Honduras 19 P. reducta, CNC, ♂, Pedernales, Dominican Republic 20 P. taina, ♂, La Vega, MGCL, holotype, Dominican Republic.

Figures 21 - 24. Male genitalia of Lichnoptera and Lafontaineana 21 Lichnoptera gulo, MGCL, Cundinamarca, Colombia 22 L. imama, MGCL, holotype, Tolima, Colombia 23 L. puma, CNC, holotype, La Alegria, Ecuador 24 L. thuta, MGCL, holotype, Loja, Ecuador.

Figures 29 - 34. Female genitalia of Lichnoptera and Lafontaineana 29 Lichnoptera gulo, MGCL, Cundinamarca, Colombia 30 Lafontaineana alexandrae, FSU, holotype, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador 31 L. imama, MGCL, paratype, Tolima, Colombia 32 L. marmorifera, MGCL, Cundinamarca, Colombia 33 L. puma, CNC, paratype, La Alegria, Ecuador 34 L. thuta, MGCL, paratype, Sucumbios, Ecuador.