VII. Prometheus Hübner, [1824]

A genus originally containing a single species endemic to southeastern Brazil and northeast Argentina, Prometheus cochrus (Fabricius, 1787) (Penco 2011; Maes & González 2022). However, Gazera Herrich-Schäffer, [1853], Duboisvalia Oiticica, 1955, Tosxampila Oiticica 1955, and Zegara Oiticica, 1955, were later synonymized by Moraes & Duarte (2014), increasing the number of species in Prometheus to 10. Most species currently incorporated into this genus belong to various mimetic rings (Miller 1986; Maes & González 2022), among which they mainly mimic some species of Papilionidae and Nymphalidae ( Heliconiini, Ithomiini) (Miller 1986; Vinciguerra 2008; González et al. 2010, 2017; Moraes & Duarte 2014; Parrales-Ramírez & Vargas-Fonseca 2017; Van den Berghe et al. 2020). All species are of medium to large size with a high phenotypic variation. Miller (1995) considered four valid taxa of this complex with a distribution in Central America, but Lamas (1995) synonymized most of them and accepted what would become Prometheus zagraea (after Moraes & Duarte (2014)) as a single species with two subspecies, present in Central America and Colombia, respectively. Interestingly, the distribution of P. cochrus differs to a great extent from most species currently included in the genus, which are distributed mainly in Central America and the Andean region (Miller 1986). Further review of this genus as currently treated by Moraes & Duarte (2014) is certainly needed. Ongoing research (Worthy & González, in prep.) suggests that P. z. zagraea and P. z. salvina may be separate species.