Pampasatyrus edmondsii ( Butler, 1881 ) (Epinephele)

Matz, Jess & Brower, Andrew V. Z., 2016, The South Temperate Pronophilina (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae): a phylogenetic hypothesis, redescriptions and revisionary notes, Zootaxa 4125 (1), pp. 1-108 : 54-55

Pampasatyrus edmondsii ( Butler, 1881) (Epinephele) n. comb.

( Figs. 9 B; 18D–F; 28)

Holotype: (male) BMNH #809744 (specimen examined) Type location: Termas de Chillán, Bío-Bío province, Chile = Satyrus montrolii Berg, 1877 (not Feisthamel, 1839) Type location: Tandil, Buenos Aires province, Argentina Lectotype: (male) MACN, Buenos Aires? (photo examined) = Satyrus thione Berg 1882 , repl. name

= Neomaenas tenedia Weymer, 1907

Type material unknown.

Type location: Brazil

Other combinations:

Auca edmondsii Heimlich (1972)

Elina edmondsii —D’Abrera (1988, p. 792) Haywardella edmondsii — Lamas & Viloria (2004, p. 216)

Distribution. Found in Argentina from central Cordoba Province to central Mendoza Province from October to February at 400–1500m ( Fig. 28 ).

Diagnosis. Most similar to Pampasatyrus yacantoensis , but lacking ocelli on the ventral side of the hindwing and with the hindwing termen more deeply scalloped. Somewhat similar to Auca coctei , but larger and the males lacking androconia. Like other members of Pampasatyrus , the forelegs are extremely reduced and forewing ocelli are clearly visible on the dorsal side. Ventral side of the hindwing bears a ripple pattern in dark coffee to black striations over the entire wing and lacks ocelli within the borders of the postmedian band. Subterminal edge of the postmedian band is dark coffee to black and stronger than the median edge. Male genitalia with the uncus long and fingerlike and the distal two-thirds of the valvae acute triangular. Aedeagus similar to P. gyrtone , but without the lateral winglike projections along the median.

Redescription. Head: Antennae 8mm with white to cream scales and terminating in a spatulate club. Eyes round and naked, length approximately 1.2 times width. Palps white to tan with dark chocolate piliform scales on the ventral side. Terminal palp segment cylindrical and about two-fifths the length of the second segment.

Thorax bearing white to cream and tan scales with white and chocolate piliform scales, the abdomen cream to tan. Foreleg extremely reduced in size, the tarsus clublike and unsegmented in both sexes. Midlegs and hindlegs with four rows of dark amber spines on the tibia and tarsus.

Forewing ( Fig. 9 B): Wingspan 28–34mm. Termen nearly straight to slightly concave and the distal end of the discal cell a wide, flat U-shape. Males with no visible androconial patch. Dorsal side chocolate to dark chocolate brown with a ripple pattern along the costa in tan and dark coffee and fringe scales in white to chocolate. A rust orange patch appears over the discal cell, extending to the median edge of the postmedian band, which is a lighter orange than the discal cell and bordered in dark chocolate. Apical ocellus between M1-M3 appears as a round, dark chocolate to dark coffee spot ringed in daffodil yellow and another round ocellus of the same color, but not ringed in yellow appears between CuA1-CuA2. Ventral side with a ripple pattern in tan to yellow and dark coffee along the costa and subterminal band, fading to white and dark coffee at the apex. Rust orange extends over the discal cell to the median edge of the postmedian band, which is a lighter orange than the discal cell and bordered in dark chocolate. Apical ocellus between M1-M3 is round, black, bipupillate, and ringed in daffodil yellow. Ocellus between CuA1-CuA2 appears as a small, round, unpupillated black spot ringed in daffodil yellow. Borders of the postmedian band are irregularly sinuate and widest between CuA1-CuA2, inner margin is taupe to chocolate.

Hindwing ( Fig. 9 B): Wing trapezoidal and the termen slightly convex and scalloped with the inner margin excavated between the anal vein and 1A+2A. Dorsal side and fringe scales similar in color to the forewing with the postmedian band appearing as a patch of rust orange between Rs and CuA1. Long piliform scales appearing on both sexes at the base and over the discal cell, extending to the median and toward the inner margin. Ventral side taupe with a ripple pattern in dark coffee to black striations over the entire wing. Postmedian band taupe to tan with dark coffee to black striations and with deckle-edged borders, the subterminal edge stronger than the median edge.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 18 D–F): Uncus narrow and finger-like, widening slightly just past where it fuses with the tegumen, narrowing to a blunt end, and approximately 1.1X the length of the tegumen. Gnathos aute and about length of the uncus, pedunculus long and U-shaped, and saccus U-shaped and a little more than half the length of the gnathos. Valvae widest at the proximal one-third and narrowing gradually to an acute triangular distal end. Aedeagus with minute lateral serrations, nearly even in width, slightly narrower at the distal end, and narrowing to a thin and blunt proximal end.

Remarks. Locality labels on the holotype are confusing and contradict the locality mentioned in the original description: “‘Near Baths of Chillan, on slopes of Cordilleras, in March.’—T.E..” One label concurs with the original description, one reads “Valparaiso,” while another placed by Howarth (Herrera 1966) suggests Argentina as a more probable location. Hayward (1958) examined specimens from Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Cordoba, Entre Ríos, La Rioja, and Mendoza Provinces, suggesting a wider distribution across Argentina than is represented by the collections we examined. Given that this broader distribution is exclusive of Chilean provinces and no other Chilean specimens are known, the type locality may indeed be in error. This species was last placed in the monotypic genus Haywardella on the basis of its much reduced forelegs, but it is precisely this feature as well as features of the genitalia and similarities in wing patterning that place it in Pampasatyrus , which is also distributed east of the Andes.

Etymology. Named for the collector of the type material, Thomas Edmonds.

Specimens examined. Argentina, Cordoba Province, (MGCL) 1 male; Argentina, Mendoza Province, (MTSU) JMC0812-JMC0815; Uncertain locality, (BMNH) Holotype male 809744

Figures

FIGURE 9. Composite habitus images of Pampasatyrus species. The left side of each specimen is the dorsal surface, the right side is the ventral surface. A: Pampasatyrus gyrtone (Berg, 1877) male (BMNH # 809453); B: Pampasatyrus edmondsii (Butler, 1881) n. comb. male (MZUJ); C: Pampasatyrus glaucope (C. Felder & R. Felder, 1867) male (BMNH # 789978); D: Pampasatryrus gorkyi Pyrcz, Cerdeña and Zacca, 2014 holotype male (scale bar = 1 cm; reproduced from Cerdeña et al., 2014, open access); E: Pampasatyrus nilesi (C. Felder & R. Felder, 1867) male (MZUJ); F: Pampasatyrus quies (Berg, 1877) male (MZUJ).

FIGURE 18. Male genitalia of Pampasatyrus species. See Fig. 2 for labels of parts. All to the same scale. A – C: Pampasatyrus gyrtone (Berg, 1877) (MGCL); D – F: Pampasatyrus edmondsii (Butler, 1881) n. comb. (MZUJ), (E) showing ornamentation on the aedeagus; G – I: Pampasatyrus glaucope (C. Felder & R. Felder, 1867) (MGCL), (H) showing ornamentation on the aedeagus.

FIGURE 28. Distribution of locality records for Pampasatyrus species. Note that the locality for P. glaucope is overlain by a record for P. reticulata.