Zaretis falcis Dias, Casagrande & Mielke

Dias, Fernando Maia Silva, Casagrande, Mirna Martins & Mielke, Olaf Hermann Hendrik, 2012, Description of a new species of the genus Zaretis Hübner, [1819], with taxonomic notes on Z. itys and Z. itylus, stat. rev. (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Charaxinae) and illustration of a gynandromorph, Zootaxa 3382, pp. 29-40 : 30-33

Zaretis falcis Dias, Casagrande & Mielke , sp. nov. ( Figs 1–12 )

Diagnosis: Z. falcis , sp. nov. can be distinguished from any other Zaretis species chiefly by its strongly falcate forewing apex and scalloped outer margin. Both sexes ( Figs 1–4 ) are more likely to be confused with Z. pythagoras , described by Willmott & Hall (2004). However, in Z. pythagoras the orange color of the wings upper side is much darker, with a purplish sheen when viewed obliquely, while Z. falcis , sp. nov. is uniformly light orange, without such sheen. The dark brown markings in the apex, along the outer margin to the tornus, and in the end of the discal cell are much darker and strongly developed in Z. pythagoras than in Z. falcis , sp. nov. Furthermore, in male Z. falcis , sp. nov., the outer margin of the hind wing is more rounded, with the emargination at Sc–Rs weakly developed. The projection between the costa and the harpe is smaller in the new species than in Z. pythagoras .

Description: Wing size and shape: (male: 3–3.2cm, n=4; female 3.3–3.6cm, n=5) Forewing outer margin slightly convex, scalloped; apex strongly falcate; emargination before tornus developed. Hind wing with emargination at Sc–Rs weakly developed, outer margin rounded and slightly crenulated, with a rounded tail at vein 2A. Female ( Figs 3–4 ) with hind wing proportionately larger than male; emargination at Sc–Rs strongly developed; apex projected at Rs; outer margin almost straight; inner margin emarginated near the tornus.

Wing color, upper side: Ground color of both wings dark brown with orange markings. Forewing mostly orange; dark brown at apex, along the outer margin and in the discal spot; postmedial area with suffused orange spots between M2 and the inner margin and separated from the medial area by dark brown lines; medial area with orange irregular spots from the costal margin to the inner margin, interrupted by a subtle dark brown line at the M3; variable presence of hyaline areas in spaces M3–CuA1 and CuA1–CuA2; basal and postbasal areas uniformly orange, separated from the submedial area by dark brown lines at the center of the discal cell and from M3 to the inner margin between the submedial and medial areas. Hindwing mostly orange, with a straight dark brown line separating the basal and postbasal areas from the medial area, and a sinuous dark brown line separating the postmedial area from the marginal area; border occeli dark brown, vestigial; anal fold yellowish. Female as in male, but lighter in color.

Wing color, underside: Ground color of both wings light brown with beige and dark brown random speckles, resembling a dead leaf. Forewing pattern similar to the upper side but very faint, except by a strongly marked brown line from CuA2 to the inner margin. Hindwing pattern also similar to the upper side, but the straight dark brown line between the submedial area and the medial area strongly marked. Female as in male, but lighter in color.

Head: Eyes reddish brown and naked; labial palpus creamy white ventrally, dark orange dorsally and at the tip; antennal length about one third of the forewing length, segments dark brown with some ventral white scales; club slender and elongated, tip reddish. Female as in male, but lighter in color.

Body: Thorax dorsally dark orange with random greenish scaling; ventrally dark brown; legs mostly dark brown, tibiae and tarsi creamy white. Abdomen dorsally uniform dark orange; ventrally uniform light brown. Female as in male, but lighter in color.

Genitalia ɗ (figs 5–9): Tegumen trapezoidal in dorsal view; in lateral view dorsally humped posteriad, strongly attached to the anterior part of the uncus and only slightly attached to the gnathos. Saccus short; dorsal projection of the saccus "C" shaped and projected dorsad at a right angle. Uncus semitubular and curved, with a well-developed dorsal ridge. Gnathos thin, produced ventrad, arms parallel; ventral part of the gnathos fused medially, bar-shaped. Valva with short setae; costa long and curved, developed anteriad; two pointed projections, one between the costa and the harpe, and another at the end of the harpe; sacullus triangular; ampulla developed and rounded. Aedeagus long and slender, cylindrical and bifid distally. Fultura inferior bar-shaped.

Ψ (figs 10–12): Tergum VIII triangular, attached ventrally to the sides of the lamella postvaginalis, and dorsally to the lamella antevaginalis by a slender sclerotized loop; anal papillae round and with short setae, projecting the posterior apophysis; lamellae antevaginalis assymetrical and thin, connected to the sides of the lamellae postvaginalis by sclerotized projections; lamellae antevaginalis left side longer, more curved and ventrally wider than the right, right side slender and curved; lamellae postvaginalis large, with the posterior edge rounded and medially indented; seminal duct close to the base of the ductus bursae; corpus bursae large and rounded, about half the length of the ductus bursae, bearing two parallel signa on the left side; these long, slender and thinner at the base of the corpus bursae.

Taxonomic comments: Zaretis falcis , sp. nov. probably has not been recognized as a distinct species in the past because of the intrinsic phenotypic variation within Zaretis and the relative rarity of this species when compared to others. Males and females of Z. falcis , sp. nov. superficially resemble Z. pythagoras , and the female can be confused with female specimens of other species in the genus, as Z. pythagoras and some specimens of Z. itys . Nonetheless, Z. falcis , sp. nov. is easily recognizable when larger series of specimens are available. Furthermore, besides the aforementioned differences in wing shape and color, Z. falcis , sp. nov. is known only from the Amazon basin and French Guyana, while Z. pythagoras is probably restricted to the western slopes of Ecuador and Colombia ( Willmott & Hall 2004, Choimet 2009). There is little seasonal polyphenism in this species, as can be deducted from the limited series of known specimens. Zaretis pythagoras was illustrated by D’Abrera (1988: 720) as a form of “ Z. itys itys ”, and the female was described and illustrated by Choimet (2009). The name Z. violacea Salazar & Constantino (2001) , nom. nud. referred by Salazar & Constantino (2001) also represents Z. pythagoras .

Distribution: Currently recorded from the Guyanas and the Amazon basin, in Amazonian lowland forests of Peru and Brazil, in the states of Amazonas, Roraima, Acre and Mato Grosso, as far east as the state of Pará, Brazil.

Etymology: The word falcis is latin for sickle, a hand held tool with a curved blade typically used for harvesting grain, an allusion to the strongly falcate forewing apex.

Type Material: Holotype male with the following labels: / Holotypus / 23–28-II-1988 - Ilha de Maracá, Alto Alegre, RR [Roraima, Brazil] Mielke & Casagrande/ HOLOTYPE Zaretis falcis Dias, Mielke & Casagrande , det. 2012/ DZ 19.625/ ( DZUP). Allotype female with the following labels: / Allotypus/ 23–28-II-1988 - Ilha de Maracá, Alto Alegre, RR [Roraima, Brazil] Mielke & Casagrande/ ALLOTYPE Zaretis falcis Dias, Mielke & Casagrande , det. 2012/ DZ 19.478/ ( DZUP).

Examined material: BRAZIL, Acre, Cruzeiro do Sul, Alto Juruá, 1ɗ VII.1973, Ebert leg., DZ 20.192 ( DZUP); Senador Guiomard, Reserva Catuaba, 1ɗ 25.IX.2004, Mielke & Casagrande leg., DZ 15.568 ( DZUP); Amazonas, Manaus, 1ɗ X.42, Cardoso leg., DZ 20.353 ( DZUP); Mato Grosso, Ribeirão Cascalheira, 11–18km N, 1ɗ 21–23.VIII.1997, Mielke leg., DZ 20.652 ( DZUP); Pará, Santarém, 1ɗ no data, Ebert leg., DZ 20.536 ( DZUP); Roraima, Alto Alegre, Rio Uraricoera (Ilha de Maracá), 1ɗ, 1Ψ 21–23.II.1988, Mielke & Casagrande leg., DZ 20.062, DZ 20.100 ( DZUP); FRENCH GUIANA, Cayenne, Cayenne, 1Ψ no data, ex. coll. Schaus ( USNM); PERU, Loreto, Tingo Maria, 1ɗ III.1981, Jenkins leg., 1ɗ 9.IV.1981, 1ɗ 7.X1981 ( USNM); Puerto Maldonado, 30km SW, 1ɗ, 21.10.1983, Nicolay leg. ( USNM); San Martin, Cucharas (Rio Huallaga), II.1954, Nicolay leg. ( USNM); no locality, 1Ψ no data, Owen leg. ( USNM).

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 4. Zaretis falcis, sp. nov. 1 – 2. Holotype male, dorsal and ventral; 3 – 4. Allotype female, dorsal and ventral. Scale bar = 1 cm

FIGURES 5 – 12. Genitalia of Zaretis falcis, sp. nov. 5 – 9. Male genitalia; 5. Lateral view, valva, aedeagus removed; 6. Gnathos and uncus, ventral view; 7. Gnathos and uncus, posterior view; 8. Valva, lateral view; 9. Aedeagus, lateral view; 10 – 12. Female genitalia; 10. Ventral view; 11. Lateral view, left side; 12. Lateral view, right side. Scale bars, figs 5 – 9 = 0.5 mm; figs 10 – 12 = 1 mm.