Mesene monostigma monostigma

Dolibaina, Diego Rodrigo, Dias, Fernando Maia Silva, Siewert, Ricardo Russo, Mielke, Olaf Hermann Hendrik & Casagrande, Mirna Martins, 2016, Mesene Doubleday (Lepidoptera: Riodinidae) from Parque Nacional da Serra do Divisor, Acre, Brazil, with taxonomic notes and the description of a new species, Zootaxa 4175 (5), pp. 463-472 : 466

Mesene monostigma monostigma (Erichson, [1849])

( Figs 3–4 , 34 )

Two males of this taxon were collected on the same hilltop, one in 2011 and another in 2014. In both years the males were observed following typical hilltopping behavior consisting of erratic flight, about four meters above the ground around 13:00h.

Specimens collected at the PNSD were tentatively identified as M. monostigma monostigma , even though the PNSD is closer to the type locality of M. monostigma discolor Stichel, 1929 . This taxon was recognized by Hall & Harvey (2002) as a subspecies of M. monostigma due to intermediate specimens between these two phenotypes in eastern Andes . Nevertheless, Mesene discolor Stichel, 1929 was described based on a female specimen from Bolivia, and no males were yet associated with certainty to this female. The male illustrated by D’Abrera (1994, p. 1027) and identified as M. monostigma discolor supposedly from “ Bolivia?”, is similar to the specimens collected at the PNSD, except by the presence of an additional white spot in CuA2–2A submarginal area of the forewing upper side. However, it is inadvisable to recognize this specimen as the male of M. monostigma discolor , due to the vagueness of the collecting locality and the lack of knowledge on the intraspecific variation and extent of the distribution of M. monostigma monostigma .

A large series of M. monostigma studied by us reveals the existence of at least two species with similar phenotype in this complex, based on the morphology of the male genitalia (Dolibaina & Dias, pers. obs.). Nevertheless, specimens collected at the PNSD are similar in the morphology of male genitalia to specimens of M. monostigma from southern Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, which are usually identified as M. monostigma monostigma (e.g. Salik et al. 2014). Given the distinctive morphology of the male genitalia, the phylogenetic affinities of M. monostigma are still uncertain.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 32. Mesene species from Parque Nacional da Serra do Divisor, Acre, Brazil (unless otherwise indicated), in dorsal and ventral views. 1 – 2 M. gracielae sp. nov., male holotype. 3 – 4 M. monostigma monostigma, male from Santa Rosa do Purus, Acre, Brazil. 5 – 8 M. nepticula stigmosa, 5 – 6 male; 7 – 8 female. 9 – 12 M. eupteryx stat. rest., 9 – 10 male from Senador Guiomard, Acre, Brazil; 11 – 12 female. 13 – 14 M. nola, male from Alto Alegre, Roraima, Brazil. 15 – 20 M. paraena, 15 – 16 male from Cáceres, Mato Grosso, Brazil; 17 – 18 male; 19 – 20 female. 21 – 28 M. epaphus (23 – 28 upper side left, underside right), 21 – 22 M. epaphus pyrrha, male; 23 female from Porto Acre, Acre, Brazil; 24 female from Senador Guiomard, Acre, Brazil; 25 M. epaphus epaphus, male from Belém, Pará, Brazil; 26 M. epaphus pyrrha, male from São Paulo de Olivença, Amazonas, Brazil; 27 – 28, M. epaphus pyrrha, males from Senador Guiomard, Acre, Brazil. 29 – 32 M. leucophrys, 29 – 30 male from Santa Rosa do Purus, Acre, Brazil; 31 – 32 female. Scale bar 1 cm.

FIGURES 33 – 40. Male genitalia of Mesene species from Parque Nacional da Serra do Divisor, Acre, Brazil (unless otherwise indicated), in lateral view. 33 M. gracielae sp. nov., holotype. 34 M. monostigma monostigma. 35 M. nepticula stigmosa. 36 M. eupteryx stat. rest. from Senador Guiomard, Acre, Brazil (DZ 36.494). 37 M. nola from Alto Alegre, Roraima, Brazil (DZ 36.794). 38 M. paraena. 39 M. epaphus pyrrha. 40 M. leucophrys. Scale bar 1 mm.