Opoptera syme ( Hübner, 1821 ), Hubner, 1821

Penz, Carla M., 2009, The phylogeny of Opoptera butterflies, and an assessment of the systematic position of O. staudingeri (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae), Zootaxa 1985, pp. 1-20 : 10

Opoptera syme ( Hübner, 1821)

( Fig. 1 A, 2A, 2G–H, 4A, 5A, 6A)

Type species of the genus by original designation.

Type locality. Brazil.

Diagnosis. Male FW length range 38.9–42.7 mm (based on specimens in Appendix 1). Wings with pale brown background from base through medial (FW) or postmedial areas (HW), turning darker brown distally. Overall background coloration slightly darker than O. sulcius . FW with a conspicuous, orange ‘Y-shaped’ postmedial band that has a narrow proximal arm, and a well-developed (although broken) distal arm that intersects and obscures the subapical white spots. HW with a faded submarginal band. Males have a HW discal cell hairpencil and a scent-pocket. Ventral HW with a well-defined white postmedial band distal to the eyespots. Females similar to, but paler than males dorsally, and with a pale blue iridescence across the medial area of the HW.

Distribution. Brazil (southeastern coast, Rio de Janeiro to São Paulo) ( Brown 1992, Uehara-Prado et al. 2004, Appendix 1).

Remarks. Casagrande (2004) lists no subspecies for O. syme . It is unlikely that the specimen described by Rothshild (1916) as ssp. colombicola Rothshild was actually collected in Colombia. Although the male genitalia is nearly identical to O. sulcius , differences were found in the female genitalia. Opoptera syme and sulcius seem to co-occur in a few sites along their ranges, such as Campos do Jordão and Reserva Estadual do Morro Grande, Cotia (both in São Paulo state), and Nova Friburgo and Petrópolis (Rio de Janeiro; A.V.L. Freitas and K.S. Brown, pers. comm.).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Opoptera adult males, dorsal side on the left, ventral side on the right. Scale bar next to A = 1 cm. (A) syme, Brazil, São Paulo. (B) sulcius, Brazil, Santa Catarina, Taió. (C) fruhstorferi, Brazil, Santa Catarina, Taió. (D) aorsa, Brazil, Paraná, Toledo. (E) hilaris, Middle Ecuador. (F) staudingeri, Costa Rica, Heredia, Puerto Viejo. (G) arsippe, Peru, Chuchurras. (H) bracteolata, Bolivia. Schematic representation and photographic detail of the HW discal cell region showing male sent organs. Venation terminology is given in I. Dashed lines represent the scent-pocket next to vein Cu 2. (I) sulcius, Brazil, Santa Catarina, Taió; note thin hairpencil inserted into scent-pocket. (J) hilaris, Bolivia; note the three hairbrushes. (K) staudingeri, note the broad hairbrush inside discal cell. (L) arsippe, Peru, Chuchurras; note the open scent organ and long HW discal cell hairbrush.