Punargentus monticolens ( Butler, 1881 ) (Hipparchia)

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 : 65-67

Punargentus monticolens ( Butler, 1881) (Hipparchia) comb. nov.

( Figs. 11 D; 20G–I; 29)

Holotype: (male) BMNH #809618 (Specimen examined)

Type Location: Termas de Chillán, Chile

= Chionobas antarcticus Mabille, 1885 syn. nov.

Type Location: Santa Cruz, E. Patagonia

Holotype: (male) leg. Lebrun, 1883, MNHN, Paris (photo examined)

Other combinations:

Argyrophorus monticolens — Heimlich (1972); D’Abrera (1988, p. 798); Peña & Ugarte (1997, p. 272); Pyrcz & Wojtusiak (2010).

Palmaris monticolens — Herrera (1965); Lamas & Viloria (2004, p. 216)

Argyrophorus antarcticus — Pyrcz & Wojtusiak (2010)

Palmaris antarcticus — Lamas & Viloria (2004, p. 217)

Distribution. Found mainly in Bío Bío and Auraucania Provinces in Chile and in western Neuquén Province, Argentina, but can be found as far north as northern Mendoza Province, Argentina, east to the Paraná Delta just north of the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and south to northeastern Aisén Province, Chile, and to central Santa Cruz Province, Argentina, along the western border. Flies from November to February at nearly sea level to 3300m ( Fig. 29).

Diagnosis. Most similar to and sometimes confused with P. chiliensis , but having round antennal clubs and a yellow ring clearly circumscribing the ocelli between Rs-M1 and M1-M2. Dorsal side is warm medium brown to dark chocolate brown with the postmedian band sometimes appearing on the forewing as streaks or patches of maize yellow to rust orange and on the hindwing as teardrop-shaped patches of rust orange. Apical ocellus on the forewing appears as an indistinct dark coffee to black patch between M1-M2. Ventral side of the hindwing with dark chocolate to coffee striations superimposed over taupe to chocolate from the base to the proximal edge of the postmedian band and from the distal edge of the postmedian band to the termen. Postmedian band chocolate brown, bordered in light grey to white and edged in dark coffee to dark chocolate, narrower between M3-CuA1 than in P. chiliensis . Females with two tarsal segments on the foreleg and male foreleg tarsi unsegmented. Males with an aedeagus lacking dentate lateral projections and terminating in an acute proximal end.

Redescription. Head: Antennae 8–11 mm with white scales and a longitudinal stripe of chocolate brown that covers half of a round club. Eyes round and naked, length approximately 1.5X the width. Palps with a longitudinal dark chocolate stripe along the median with the dorsal side scales white and the ventral side scales cream to tan with dark coffee piliform scales. Terminal palp segment conical and about one-seventh the length of the second segment.

Thorax of the males dark amber with iridescent black scales and covered in white to cream piliform scales. The thorax of females dark amber with white and iridescent black scales and covered in black and tan piliform scales. Abdomen of both sexes cream to tan ventrally and tan to taupe dorsally. Foreleg tarsi of the females with two segments. Males with unsegmented tarsi that are shorter and stouter than that of the females. Midlegs and hindlegs with four rows of amber spines on the tibia and tarsus that project outward and nearly perpendicular to the leg.

Forewing ( Fig. 11 D): Wingspan 24–30mm. Termen nearly straight and the distal end of the discal cell sinuous, the costal end curved into a deep U-shape. Males with an androconial patch that extends across most of the discal cell and into each cell from M1 to CuA2, not extending past the median. Dorsal side warm medium brown to dark chocolate brown and with an apical ocellus between M1-M2 appearing as an indistinct dark coffee to black spot. Occasionally, another smaller indistinct black ocellus appears between M2-M3 and CuA1-CuA2. Cells between R5 and CuA 2 may have rust orange to maize yellow patches that flank the ocellus or ocelli between M1-M3 and surround that between CuA1-CuA2. Ventral side with a central patch of rust orange to rust red that extends over most of the discal cell and to the median. Postmedian band may be little more than narrow patches of maize yellow that surround the unpupillated ocellus between M1-M3 and occupy each cell from the radials to the tornus to a distinct band of maize yellow that is widest at the radials, narrow between M3-CuA1, and slightly wider between CuA1-CuA2 where it terminates. Ripple pattern in taupe and dark chocolate appears along the costal border and fades to light grey and dark chocolate at the apex. Remainder of the wing is chocolate brown and terminal sections of veins may be highlighted in white.

Hindwing ( Fig. 11 D): Wing oval, the termen slightly convex and barely scalloped. Dorsal side similar in color to the forewing with the postmedian band appearing as a series of rust red to maize yellow teardrop-shaped patches. Fringe scales are as in the forewing and long piliform scales appear at the base and over the discal cell, extending to the median and toward the inner margin. Ventral side with dark chocolate to coffee striations superimposed over taupe to chocolate from the base to the proximal edge of the postmedian band and from the distal edge of the postmedian band to the termen. Postmedian chocolate to taupe at the center, bordered in light grey to white and edged in dark chocolate to coffee. Band is narrowest between M3-CuA1 and deckle-edged on both sides. A black lenticular unpupillated ocellus bordered in maize yellow appears in each cell along the postmedian band, with two ocelli sometimes appearing between CuA2-1A+2A and the ocellus between M3-CuA1 sometimes reduced to a short maize yellow dash parallel to the veins. Veins are highlighted in white.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 20 G–I): Uncus narrow at the base, widening at the median to 3X the width of the base and narrowing to an acute end that hooks slightly downward. Uncus approximately 1.4X the length of the tegumen. Gnathos acute and approximately half the length of the uncus. Pedunculus long and rounded at the terminus. Saccus truncate and less than three-fourths the length of the gnathos. Valvae with the proximal end about half the width of the median, narrowing only slightly toward the distal end with a blunt deltoid terminus. Aedeagus nearly even in width throughout, narrowing gradually to an acute proximal end.

Remarks. Weymer (1911) described P. monticolens as a form of P. chiliensis , but the two are distinct, albeit closely related species both morphologically and genetically. Originally placed in Hipparchia by Butler, Weymer placed it, along with P. chiliensis , in the genus Cosmosatyrus . Herrera (1965) formed the genus Palmaris on the basis of autapomorphies such as slight differences in wing venation, male and female genitalic features, and foreleg segmentation. In our view, these differences are insufficient to place these similar species into separate genera. Elwes (1903) observed its flight as rapid and straight, “20 to 50 yards backwards and forwards over wet subalpine meadows always amongst grass and stones,” remarking that it was much harder to catch than the slower P. chiliensis . Chionobas antarcticus is synonymized with P. monticolens here on the basis that, while the wings of antarcticus are more narrow and elongated, there are no other significant differences in morphology. (We note that Heimlich (1972), synonymized C. antarcticus with Argyrophorus (Stuardosatyrus) williamsianus , after synonymizing Herrera’s generic names Stuardosatyrus and Palmaris with Argyrophorus —a decision we view as an error: see discussion under Argyrophorus , above).

Specimens examined. Chile, Bío-Bío Province, (BMNH) Holotype 809618, (MTSU) CH 24A-3, CH 24A-5, (MGCL) 1 male; Argentina, Mendoza Province, (MTSU) JMC0811, (MZUJ) 1 male; Argentina, Neuquén Province (MTSU) JMC1002, (MZUJ) 7 males, 2 females; Argentina, Santa Cruz Province (MZUJ) 1 male, 1 female

Figures

FIGURE 11. Composite habitus images of Punargentus species. The left side of each specimen is the dorsal surface, the right side is the ventral surface. A: Punargentus lamna (Thieme, 1904) male (MZUJ); B: Punargentus angusta picota (Fuchs, 1954) male, Pampa Galeras, Ayacucho, Peru, 4200 m (photo reproduced from Cerdeña et al. 2014, open access); C: Punargentus blanchardii blanchardii (Pyrcz & Wojtusiak, 2010) n. comb. holotype male (photo reproduced from Pyrcz & Wojtusiak, 2010, open access); D: Punargentus monticolens (Butler, 1881) n. comb. male (MZUJ); E, F: Punargentus gustavi (Staudinger, 1898) n. comb., two specimens from Tacna Prov., Peru showing variability in the degree of silver scaling on the dorsal surface (photos reproduced from Cerdeña et al., 2014, open access); G, H: Punargentus chiliensis chiliensis (Guérin-Méneville, [1830) n. comb. male (G) and female (H) (MZUJ).

FIGURE 20. Male genitalia of Punargentus and Stuardosatyrus species. See Fig. 2 for labels of parts. All drawings to the same scale. A – C: Punargentus lamna (Thieme, 1904) (CUIC) (uncus (A) and right valva (C) damaged); D – F: Punargentus chiliensis chiliensis (Guérin-Méneville, [1830) n. comb. (CH 32 - 2) showing ornamentation on the aedeagus (E); G – I: Punargentus monticolens (Butler, 1881) n. comb. (CH 24 A- 5); J – L: Stuardosatyrus williamsianus (Butler, 1868) (JMC 1003), showing ornamentation on the aedeagus (K).