Harjesia argentata Nakahara, Zacca and Lamas, 2018

Nakahara, Shinichi, Willmott, Keith R., Mielke, Olaf H. H., Schwartz, Johanna, Zacca, Thamara, Espeland, Marianne & Lamas, Gerardo, 2018, Seven new taxa from the butterfly subtribe Euptychiina (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae) with revisional notes on Harjesia Forster, 1964 and Pseudeuptychia Forster, 1964, Insecta Mundi 639, pp. 1-38 : 7-9

Harjesia argentata Nakahara, Zacca and Lamas , new species

( Fig. 4–6 , 16 )

Harjesia [n. sp.] Lamas, MS ( Nymphalidae : Satyrinae 1367 ); Lamas 2004: 220.

Description. Male. Forewing length: 29–30mm (n = 3).

Head: Eyes sparsely hairy, with white scales at base; first segment of labial palpi similar to second segment in width, similar in length to third segment, adorned with white long hair-like scales and brownish long hair-like scales, second segment length almost twice as great as eye depth and covered with white hair-like scales and white scales laterally, and with black scales along edge of distal two-thirds of dorsal surface, ventrally adorned with black hair-like scales about 3–4× as long as segment width, third segment roughly one-third of second segment in length and covered with black scales dorsally and ventrally, with creamy-white scales laterally; antennae approximately two-fifths of forewing length, with approximately 36 antennomeres (n = 1), distal 12–13 antennomeres composing club.

Thorax: Dorsally and laterally covered with dense long sparse light brownish hair-like scales; ventrally covered with long creamy whitish hair-like scales.

Legs: Foreleg whitish, tarsus, tibia and femur almost same in length; midleg and hindleg with femur whitish ventrally, tibia and tarsus dorsally greyish, tibia ventrally lighter, tarsus ventrally slightly paler, tarsus and tibia adorned with spines ventrally, tibial spurs present at distal end of tibia.

Abdomen: Eighth tergite appears as a thin sclerotized band at base of eighth abdominal segment; eighth sternite appears as a single plate.

Wing venation ( Fig. 6 ): Basal half of forewing subcostal vein swollen; base of cubitus swollen; forewing recurrent vein absent; hindwing humeral vein developed; origin of M 2 slightly nearer M 1 than M 3.

Wing shape: Forewing subtriangular, apex slightly angular, costal margin slightly convex, outer margin almost straight, inner margin almost straight, but rounded towards thorax near base; hindwing slightly elongate, rounded, costal margin slightly convex, outer margin undulating, inner margin slightly concave near tornus, anal lobe convex, slightly round.

DFW: Ground colour light brown, androconial scales present roughly between origin of M 1 and inner margin.

DHW: Ground colour similar to forewing, submarginal and marginal bands appear darker, margin darker, androconial scales present in discal cell and adjacent area.

VFW: Ground colour dark greyish; reddish-brown discal band extends from radial vein to cell Cu 2, crossing discal cell in a slightly outward diagonal direction, bent inwards below cubital vein, and fading away before reaching 2A; reddish-brown band present along discocellular veins m 1 -m 2 and m 2 -m 3; reddish-brown postdiscal band extending from radial vein towards inner margin until reaching vein 2A, crossing wing vertically, somewhat jagged below Cu 2; broad, faint, indistinct dark shading covering middle of area in between postdiscal and submarginal band, this area in between postdiscal band and submarginal band silverish, more prominent close to submarginal band; submarginal band brownish, jagged above Cu 1, straight below this vein; area distal to submarginal band light brownish; marginal band traversing from apex towards tornus; fringe brownish; five submarginal ocelli in cells R 5, M 1, M 2, M 3, and Cu 1, white pupil in center ringed with yellow, ocellus in cell M 1 appears black inside yellow ring, ocellus in Cu 1 often appears as a trace or is even absent in some specimens.

VHW: Ground colour similar to forewing; general wing pattern similar to forewing except as follows: discal band extends across wing; post discal band broader, bent outwards at origin of M 3 (variable character); submarginal band jagged after Cu 1; marginal band undulating; submarginal ocelli in cells M 1 and Cu 1 black with white pupil in center ringed with yellow, ocelli in cells M 2 and M 3 somewhat elongate, white pupil located slightly nearer wing base, whitish scales scattered around and ringed with yellow, ocellus in cell Rs black with whitish smudge-like pupil in center, ringed with yellow.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 5 a–d): Tegumen appears somewhat rectangular in lateral view, relatively small, dorsally flattened, anterior margin convex, uncus broad, appears as about twice as long as tegumen in lateral view, without setae, tapered posteriorly, ventral margin longer than dorsal margin; brachia about two-thirds of uncus in length, apical point below uncus in lateral view; combination of ventral arms from tegumen and dorsal arms from saccus straight; appendices angulares present (short and curved inwards); saccus similar in length of uncus plus tegumen; juxta present; valvae distally setose, valva appears roughly rhomboid in lateral view, ventral margin convex, dorsal margin slightly convex around costa (slight projection visible inside in dorsal view) close to the dorsal margin, distal one-fourth narrow with rounded apex; phallus roughly straight, slightly longer than valva, phallobase consists of anterior 3/8, posterior 5/8 aedeagus with vesica coming out disto-ventrally, cornuti apparently absent; sclerotized region of ventral surface of anal tube not examined.

Female. Forewing length 29 mm (n = 1).

Similar to male except as follows: Female foretarsus divided into five distinct tarsomeres; androconial scales absent on dorsal surface of wings.

Female genitalia ( Fig. 5e, f ): Eighth tergite weakly sclerotized; lamella antevaginalis apparently weakly sclerotized; lateral side of 8th abdominal segment sclerotized, apparently fused to lamella antevaginalis at its anterior margin; papilla analis oblong and strongly sclerotized at base; ductus bursae membranous, origin of ductus seminalis located at one-third distance from ostium bursae to corpus bursae; corpus bursae membranous and elongated, with two signa located latero-ventrally, parallel to each other, extending almost entire length of corpus bursae.

Types. Holotype. MALE: 6–8-VIII-2008, 9.2 km SE Santa Rosa do Purus Acre Mielke and Carneiro leg.// DZ 36.563// BC-DZ Willmott 293// Holotype // Harjesia argentata Nakahara, Zacca and Lamas det. 2018// ( DZUP) .

Paratypes. (9 ♂, 1 ♀) Brazil: Acre: 14.2 km SE Santa Rosa do Purus , [9°31′22″S, 70°26′6″W], (Mielke, O. H. H. [and Carneiro, E.]), 12 Aug 2008, 1 ♂ [DZ-36543], 1 ♀ (dissected) [DZ-36523], ( DZUP) ; 6.4 km E Santa Rosa do Purus , [9°28′39″S, 70°26′58″W], (Mielke, O. H. H., Carneiro, E.), 5 Aug 2008, 1 ♂ [DZ-36553], ( DZUP) ; 9.2 km SE Santa Rosa do Purus , [9°29′28″S, 70°26′18″W], (Mielke, O. H. H., Carneiro, E.), 6–8 Aug 2008, 1 ♂ (dissected), [DZ-36513], ( DZUP) ; Marechal Thaumaturgo, Alegria, Reserva Extrativista Alto Juruá, (Brown, K.S.), 15 Sep 1994, 1 ♂, ( ZUEC) ; Reserva Extrativista Alto Juruá, Tabocal do Nonato, caminho para Rio Arara , (Brown, K.S., Freitas, A.V.L.), 12 Sep 1997, 1 ♂, ( ZUEC) ; Rio Juruá, Cruzeiro do Sul , [7°37′S, 72°40′W], 200 m, (Ebert, H.), 1 Oct 1973, 1 ♂ [DZ-36573], ( DZUP) . Peru: Cuzco: Pilcopata, Villa Carmen , [12°54′S, 71°24′W], 540 m, (Gibson, L.), 2 May 2015, 1 ♂ [MUSM-LEP-102422], ( MUSM) ; Madre de Dios: Río de Las Piedras , [12º31′S, 69º15′W, 200 m], (Luscombe, A.), 27 Sep 1974, 1 ♂ (dissected, vial pinned), [MUSM-LEP-102423], ( MUSM) ; Puerto Maldonado , [12°36′S, 69°11′W, 200m], (Schunke, J. M.), 25 May 1975, 1 ♂ [MUSM-LEP-102424], ( MUSM) .

Other records. Peru: Madre de Dios: Parque Nacional Manu, Cocha Cashu , [11°53′S, 71°25′W], 350 m, (Lilleengen, P.), 1 ♂, (collection unknown) (P. Lilleengen, pers. comm. (email to KRW 29 Sep 2016)).

Etymology. This species name is based on the feminine Latin adjective ‘ argentata ’, meaning ‘silvered’, in reference to the distinctive silvery ventral coloration of this species.

Distribution. This species is known from the southwestern Amazon basin (Cuzco and Madre de Dios, Peru; Acre, Brazil).

Systematic placement and diagnosis. This species is well-supported as sister to Harjesia blanda (type species of Harjesia ) + H. obscura in our molecular phylogeny ( Fig. 1 ), thus, our placement of this species in Harjesia is justified. Harjesia argentata n. sp. is distinguished from H. blanda by its relatively broad and prominent ventral discal and postdiscal bands, in addition to the less jagged VHW discal band. There is a whitish shading (in the silvery area between the postdiscal and submarginal bands) just distal of the ventral postdiscal band in H. blanda , which is absent in H. argentata n. sp. The ground colour of the ventral surface is more greyish in H. argentata n. sp., whereas more brownish in H. blanda . The forewing apex appears angular in H. argentata n. sp., whereas more rounded in H. blanda . The male genitalia of H. argentata n. sp. differs from that of H. blanda by having a gradually tapering apical process of the valva, whereas there is an indentation at both dorsal and ventral margins where the apical process begins in H. blanda . Also, the uncus appears rather broad and straight in H. argentata n. sp., whereas it is curved in H. blanda . The female genitalia of H. argentata n. sp. is distinguished from H. blanda by the lamella antevaginalis apparently being more weakly sclerotized and not connected to the lateral sclerotized plate of the 8th abdominal segment. Harjesia argentata n. sp. is distinguished from H. obscura by its less curved ventral discal band and less jagged ventral post discal band. In addition, the ventral coloration distal to the VHW submarginal band is more buffish in H. obscura , whereas it appears silvery in H. argentata . The male genitalia of H. argentata n. sp. are distinguished from H. obscura by the developed brachia and the broad uncus, whereas the brachia are reduced and the uncus is narrow, gradually tapering in H. obscura . The female genitalia of H. argentata n. sp. are distinguished from H. blanda by the lamella antevaginalis apparently being more weakly sclerotized and not connected to the lateral sclerotized plate of the 8th abdominal segment.

Figures

Figure 1. Phylogeny of selected taxa of the “Taygetis clade” sensu Peña et al. (2010) based on maximum likelihood with support shown as non-parametric bootstrap. Taxa discussed or described in this paper are highlighted in bold.

Figure 4. Harjesia argentata n. sp., adults. Top row, paratype male (MUSM-LEP 102422), dorsal on left, ventral on right; bottom row, paratype female (DZ 36.523), dorsal on left, ventral on right

Figure 5. Harjesia argentata n. sp., genitalia. a) Male genitalia in lateral view. b) Valva in lateral view. c) Phallus in lateral view. d) Male genitalia of DZ 36513 in lateral view. e) Female genitalia in ventral view. f) Corpus bursae with focus on signa (illustrated genitalia: MUSM-LEP-102423 for male, unless indicated otherwise; DZ 36523 for female).

Figure 6. Harjesia argentata n. sp., wing venation. a) Male forewing and hindwing. b) Female forewing and hindwing.

Figure 16. Distribution maps of the euptychiine taxa discussed herein