Eurota marcia, Zerny, 1937

Pinheiro, L. R. & Gaal-Haszler, S., 2015, Illustrated catalogue of Neotropical Ctenuchina, Euchromiina and Pericopina types (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Arctiinae, Arctiini) described by Hans Zerny, with discussion on their taxonomic status, Zootaxa 3925 (4), pp. 505-535 : 521

marcia Zerny, 1937

( Fig. 51)

Eurata strigiventris Hampson, 1898 ; Orfila, 1931 (misidentification of E. strigiventris Guérin-Meneville, 1831 ). Unknown number of syntypes (at least 71). Type localities: ARGENTINA, Córdoba, Capilla del Monte; Buenos Aires; Corrientes; Misiones; Chaco; Formosa; Tucumán; Mendoza; Southern Brazil [Syntypes at the ZMS and BMNH examined]. Eurota [sic] marcia Zerny, 1937: 13 .

Current combination. Eurata marcia Zerny, 1937 .

Remarks. Eurata marcia was described for the concept of E. strigiventris (Guérin-Méneville, 1831) with discontinuous yellow abdominal bands, as mentioned by Hampson (1898) and Orfila (1931). According to article 72.4.2 ( ICZN, 1999), the type series of a new nominal species-group taxon that is based in part on a published misidentification by an earlier author includes the specimen or specimens which had been misidentified. Therefore the type series of E. marcia is composed of the 24 specimens that Zerny had from Argentina, plus those that Hampson (1898) and Orfila (1931) erroneously (at least according to Zerny) named E. strigiventris . This excludes those treated by Hampson (1898) as “subspecies 1” (ICZN, article 72.4.1). The BMNH houses two syntypes of E. marcia , one with the label “ Argentina, J. H. Leech, 95-156”, the other with three labels: “Porto Alegre, Brazil ”, “Joicey bequest Brit. Mus. 1934-120”, and “ Syntomidae genitalia slide No. 11". Hampson (1898) was specific in that there was only one specimen from Argentina (the one above mentioned, because all others were collected after Hampson, 1898), but left the number of Brazilian specimens undetermined. The above mentioned was the only one found. Orfila (1931) mentioned 45 specimens from four different Argentinian collections (20 from Col. Mus. Nac. Hist. Nat., five from Col. Lab. Zool., Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales de Buenos Aires, 16 from Col. Breyer, and 4 from Col. Orfila), but it is unknown whether they still exist. As with the type series of E. hilaris , the types of E. marcia also will not have old type labels, due to the circumstances of the description of this name.

Additionally, there is confusion concerning the range of type localities, given that Zerny omitted southern Brazil—mentioned by Hampson (1898) —and included Paraguay, even though neither he, Hampson (1898), nor Orfila (1931) mentioned specimens from this country. Therefore Paraguay is here omitted from the type localities for E. marcia .

The fates of the lepidopteran specimens described by Guérin-Méneville are largely unknown. A few are deposited at the BMNH, while others were found at the MNHN (Gerardo Lamas, personal communication). Confirmation that E. marcia and E. strigiventris are indeed different species awaits a revision of Eurata , which must include a search for the type (s) of the latter (nothing was found at the BMNH). Because of the variation observed in wing patterns of the syntypes of the former at the ZMS, we decided not to designate a lectotype for it until a careful study of this genus is performed.