Sodalia spangla ( Evans, 1955 ) Gaviria-Ortiz & Dolibaina & Carneiro & Warren & Mielke & Casagrande, 2020

Gaviria-Ortiz, Fabian Guillermo, Dolibaina, Diego Rodrigo, Carneiro, Eduardo, Warren, Andrew D., Mielke, Olaf Hermann Hendrik & Casagrande, Mirna Martins, 2020, A review of the Neotropical skipper genus Sodalia Evans, 1955 (Lepidoptera Hesperiidae: Hesperiinae) with the description of a new species, Zootaxa 4877 (1), pp. 102-124 : 119-122

Sodalia spangla ( Evans, 1955) comb. nov.

Figs 17–18 , 23 , 28 , 33 , 38 , 45

Mnasitheus spangla Evans, 1955 . Cat. Amer. Hesp. 4, p. 146, pl. 63 (male gen.); [holo] type male, Rio Blanco , [Morona Santiago,] Ecuador, 1700 m, F. M. Brown leg.; BM(NH).— Bridges, 1983. Lep. Hesp. 1, p. 111; 2, p. 21.— Bridges, 1988. Cat. Hesp. 1, p. 176; 2, p. 34.— Lamas, 2003. Marip. Machu Picchu, p. 190.— Mielke, 2004. Hesperioidea, p. 72, in Lamas (ed.). Checklist: Part 4A, Hesperioidea-Papilionoidea, in Heppner (ed.). Atlas Neotrop. Lep. 5A.

(no genus) spangla ; Beattie, 1976. Rhop. Direct., p. 262.

Diagnosis. Sodalia spangla is the smallest species of Sodalia and the only one with the dorsal and ventral wing surfaces completely speckled with yellow scales.

Redescription. Head: Mostly brown mixed with yellow, frons with a patch of short, compact, iridescent bluishgreen scales. Labial palpus mostly dark brown and yellow. Antenna brown, ventrally yellow at base of segments;

club brown, with yellow ring at base; apiculus shorter than club, ventrally with a yellow line; nudum of 11 segments, dark brown, restricted to apiculus.

Thorax: Entirely brown and yellow including patagia, tegula and legs.

Wings: Forewing length 9–10 mm. DFW and DHW dark brown speckled with yellow; DFW with two brands over and under CuA 2, covered by dark brown scales, the former longer than in all other species of the genus, with base only slightly wider than tip, bordering CuA, the latter brand narrower and shorter than former, bordering CuA 2. VFW dark brown, yellow speckling denser than on DFW; VHW as VFW but yellow speckling denser. Fringe of both wings yellowish brown.

Abdomen: Dorsally dark brown, densely speckled with yellow scales; ventrally as dorsally but paler.

Male genitalia: Tegumen more than two times wider than long in dorsal view, proximal margin with a short indentation. Fenestra semicircular, almost reaching distal margin of uncus in dorsal view. Saccus slightly longer than tegumen. Uncus more than twice as long as tegumen; distal margin of base with a wide, shallow indentation; arms parallel to tegumen, about six times longer than base, narrowed distally to a sharp ventrally bent tip. Gnathos arms about 2/3 length of uncus, markedly narrowed distally to an upturned tip. Valva 2.5 longer than wide, base narrow, widening distally; ampulla 2/3 width of valva, wider distally, distal margin rounded; harpe longer than ampulla, with a sharp, serrated and upcurved distal projection, slightly curved anteriorly. Fultura inferior the smallest of the genus, lateral sides dorsally projected, base with an anterior and another, short, ventral rounded projection. Aedeagus about 90% as long as valva, straight in dorsal and slightly concave in lateral view; distal opening restricted to tip; aedeagus distal margin with a short median dorsal indentation; no cornutus.

Type material. Mnasitheus spangla Evans, 1955 was described based on the [holo] type male from Rio Blanco , Ecuador. This specimen is deposited at the NHMUK bearing the following labels : / Type / 432 / ECUADOR: Cord. Oriental E. Foothills [, Morona Santinado,] Rio Blanco 1700 m. May 1949 F. M. Brown / Brit. Mus. 1950-369. / accidentally damaged after description / PHOTO AA / BMNH (E)# 806018 / NHMUK.

Distribution. This species is distributed at mid to high elevations of the eastern Andes of Ecuador and Peru ( Fig. 45 ).

Comments. Sodalia spangla is the smallest species of the genus and the only one with wings densely speckled with yellow scales, an atypical pattern among skippers. This color pattern is also found, albeit to a lesser extent, in the Andean endemic S. petiti sp. nov.. The range of S. spangla extends along a narrow zone of elfin forest in the Andes of Ecuador, Peru and possibly Colombia (which needs further confirmation), where it is believed to be endemic, in areas at least between 2200–3000 m elevation, although two specimens are known from the type locality at 1700 m. At the MGCL there are seven males from Ecuador labeled by Lafebre from the NW slope of Volcan Pichincha (Pichincha Province) at 3500 m, and a male labeled from the Cordillera Cotacachi (Imbabura Province) at 3750 m. Given that various Lafebre specimens from Ecuador are known to be mislabeled, the occurrence of S. spangla as high as 3750 m requires verification.

This species was originally placed by Evans (1955) in the genus Mnasitheus . However, S. spangla differs from most of the species included in that genus by the presence of a transverse brand over CuA 2, the broadly divided uncus, and coecum of the aedeagus of similar thickness as the rest of the structure, with the opening of the ejaculatory bulb almost as long as half the length of the aedeagus. Most of the species included in Mnasitheus have a longitudinal or sagitated brand over CuA 2, a slightly divided uncus, and the coecum of the aedeagus is distinctly thinner than the rest of the structure. Therefore, the characters above support the combination of Sodalia spangla (comb. nov.). Although the female of S. spangla remains unknown, it is expected that the morphology of its genitalia will reinforce the new combination proposed here.

Examined material. ECUADOR: Imbabura —Cordillera Cotacachi, 3750 m, XI.1971, R. de Lafebre leg., 1 ♂ ( MCGL) . Pichincha— old road from Quito to coast, 2713–2957 m, 00°18’03.4’’S 78°38’55.0’’W, 15.X.2005, J. D. Turner leg., 1 ♂ ( MCGL *) . Niebli ( NW Slope, Vol. Pichincha) , 3500 m, 1.VIII.1971, R. de Lafebre leg., 7 ♂ ( MCGL) . Tugurahua — Rio Blanco, 1700 m, VIII.1971, R. de Lafebre leg., 1 ♂ ( MGCL *) . Loja — Podocarpus National Park ( Cajanuma Ranger Station ), 2823 m, 04°06’58.2’’S 79°10’19.3”W, 15.XI.2009, C. V. Covell Jr. leg., 1 ♂ ( MCGL) . PERU— Amazonas— Oso Perdido, 2200 m, 05°43’S, 77°50’W, XI.2016, J. Pintado leg., 1 ♂ ( OM 83.645 *) , IV.2017, J. Pintado leg. 2 ♂ ( OM 83.945 , OM 83.985 ) .

Figures

FIGURE 45. Geographic distribution of Sodalia petiti sp. nov. and Sodalia splanga comb. nov.

FIGURES 1–18. Habitus of species of Sodalia, males (left) and females (right). 1–4. S. sodalis, 1–2. Male from Santo Antônio do Tauá, Pará, Brazil (DZ 35.537), 3–4. Female from Cacaulândia, Rôndonia, Brazil (OM 21.494). 5–8. S. argyrospila, 5–6. Male from Antonina, Paraná, Brazil (OM 14.223), 7–8. Female from Pontal do Paraná, Paraná, Brazil (OM 25.358). 9–12. S. coler, 9–10. Male from Pontal do Paraná, Paraná, Brazil (DZ 35.842), 11–12. Female from Seara, Santa Catarina, Brazil (DZ 35.696). 13–16. S. petiti sp. nov., 13–14. Male holotype from Alluriquin, Ecuador (OM 52.619). 15–16. Female allotype from Alluriguin, Ecuador (DZ 31.487). 17–18. S. spangla comb. nov., male from Oso Perdido, Amazonas, Peru (OM 83.945). Scale bar: 1 cm.

FIGURES 19–23. Head of species of Sodalia in antero-dorsal view. 19. S. sodalis, male from Santo Antônio do Tauá, Pará, Brazil (DZ 31.331). 20. S. argyrospila, male from Antonina, Paraná, Brazil (OM 14.223). 21. S. coler, male from Agrolândia, Santa Catarina, Brazil (DZ 35.352). 22. S. petiti sp. nov., male holotype. 23. S. spangla comb. nov., male from Oso Perdido, Amazonas, Peru (OM 83.945). Arrows indicate areas of frons with iridescent bluish-green. Scale bar: 1 mm.

FIGURES 24–28. Head and thorax of species of Sodalia in dorsal view. 24. S. sodalis, male from Yavita, Amazonas, Venezuela (OM 39.809). 25. S. argyrospila, male from Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil (DZ 35.654). 26. S. coler, male from Pontal do Paraná, Paraná, Brazil (DZ 35.842). 27. S. petiti sp. nov., male holotype. 28. S. spangla comb. nov., male from Oso Perdido, Amazonas, Peru (OM 83.945). Scale bar: 1 mm.

FIGURES 29–33. Forewing brands of male Sodalia. 29. S. sodalis, from Yavita, Amazonas, Venezuela (OM 39.809). 30. S. argyrospila, from Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil (DZ 35.654). 31. S. coler, from Pontal do Paraná, Paraná, Brazil (DZ 35.842). 32. S. petiti sp. nov., paratype from Tinalândia, Alluriquin, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, Ecuador (OM 52.619). 33. S. spangla comb. nov., from Oso Perdido, Amazonas, Peru (OM 83.945). Scale bar: 1 mm.

FIGURES 36–38. Male genitalia of Sodalia. 36. S. coler, from Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil (DZ 396). 37. S. petiti sp. nov., paratype from Santo Domingo de los Colorados, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, Ecuador (OM 33.708). 38. S. spangla comb. nov., from Oso Perdido, Amazonas, Peru (OM 83.645). Structures and views as described in the legend of figures 34–35. Scale bar: 1 mm.