Entheus plinius

Siewert, Ricardo Russo, Zacca, Thamara, Mielke, Olaf Hermann Hendrik & Casagrande, Mirna Martins, 2016, Taxonomic revision and cladistic analysis of the genus Sophista Plotz, 1879 (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) with description of a new species from north-east Brazil, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 177 (3), pp. 526-540 : 532

Entheus plinius ; Shepard, 1936. Lep. Cat. 74: 626.

Sophista aristoteles plinius ; Evans, 1953; Cat. Amer. Hesp. 3: 42, pl. 29 (male gen.). Ebert, 1969;. Jour. Lep. Soc. 23: Suppl. 3: 39. Bridges, 1988b; Cat. Hesp. 1: 150; 2: 55. K. Brown, 1992; in Morellato. Hist. Nat. Japi, p. 176, fig. 16(d). K. Brown & Freitas, 2000; Bol. Mus. Biol. Mello Leit ao ~, n.s., Sta. Teresa, 11/12: 111. Mielke, 2004;. Hesperioidea, p. 55, in Lamas (ed.). Checklist: Part 4A, Hesperioidea- Papilionoidea, in Heppner (ed.). Atlas Neotrop. Lep. 5A. Mielke, 2005. Cat. Amer. Hesperioidea 3: 711.

(no genus) plinius ; Beattie, 1976. Rhop. Direct., p. 235.

Diagnosis

Sophista plinius resembles S. aristoteles , but can be distinguished by the narrow white band on DW. Left valva with harpe approximately seven times longer than wide; ampulla with well-developed spine and harpe with another spine in its internal dorsal region. Right valva with harpe approximately ten times longer than wide; ampulla with two welldeveloped spines, one dorsally and other spine close to inner margin; harpe with median – dorsal projection with spines, curved inwards. Distal portion of aedeagus lanceolate. Left projection of sterigma covered with spines that are less developed than in S. aristoteles ; ventrally with sclerotized and developed projection in right basal third; right lobe present.

Taxonomic comments

Sophista plinius Plotz, 1882 was described based on one male specimen from South America. Evans (1953) considered S. plinius as a subspecies of S. aristoteles , and this allocation has been followed until the present study. Despite their superficial resemblance, S. plinius and S. aristoteles have very distinctive male and female genitalia.

The holotype male is deposited in the ZMHU, with the following labels (separated by slashes): / Typus / 4954 / Brasil Virm / plinius Pl. type 5954 /.

Geographical distribution

Sophista plinius is distributed in central – eastern and southern Brazil, especially in localities at higher altitudes in the Atlantic Forest ( Mielke, 2005) ( Fig. 76).

Host plant

Unknown.

Examined material

Brazil. Minas Gerais: Araponga , 1400 m, 12-II-1990, 1 male, Miers leg., OM 25.069 ( OM) . Virgınia : Fazenda dos Campos, 1500 m, 13-15-II-2010, 1 male and 1 female, Mielke & Casagrande leg., DZ 26.468, DZ 26.469 ( DZUP) . Rio de Janeiro: Itatiaia, Parque Nacional de Itatiaia , 1100 m, 13-II-1962, 1 male, Ebert leg., ex-coll. Ebert, DZ 26.460 ( DZUP) ; 800 m, 25-II-1966, 1 male, Ebert leg., ex-coll. Ebert, 1162, DZ 26.461 ( DZUP) . Veu de Noiva , 10-XII-1968, 1 male, Santos & Machado leg., DZ 26.457 ( DZUP) ; 900 m, 23-I-1936, 1 male, without collector, ex-coll. Gagarin, 7235, DZ 26.462 ( DZUP) . Resende, Parque Nacional de Itatiaia , 10-I-1973, 1 male, Mielke leg., DZ 26.454 ( DZUP) ; 1200 m, 11-I-1973, 1 male, Mielke leg., DZ 26.455 ( DZUP) ; 1400 m, 12-I-1973, 1 male, Mielke leg., DZ 26.454 ( DZUP) . S ao ~ Paulo: Barreira de Piquete , 1400 m, 26-I-1996, 1 male, O.- C. Mielke & Miers leg., OM 41.632 ( DZUP) . Campos do Jord ~ ao, 1810 m, 29-XII-2005, 1 male, C. Mielke leg., OM 67.621 ( OM) . Eldorado, Represa Nova S ao ~ Paulo ( Capital ), 27-IV-1941, 1 male, D’Almeida leg., ex-coll. D’Almeida, 11484, DZ 26.459 ( DZUP) . Jundiaı, Japi , 09-III-1990, 1 male, Brown leg., OM 24.902 ( OM) . 27-III-1986, 1 male, Brown leg., OM 25.036 ( OM) . Santo Antônio do Pinhal, 1200 m, Eugênio Lefevre, Campos Jord ao ~, 17-XII-1952, 1 male, D’Almeida & L. Travassos-Filho leg., ex-coll. D’Almeida, 11485, DZ 26.458 ( DZUP) . Parana: Balsa Nova, S ao ~ Luiz do Purun a ~, 950 m, 13-II-1988, 2 females, Mielke leg., OM 16.981 , OM 16.982 ( OM) ; 1000 m, 25/ 26-II-2007, 1 male, Beltrami leg., DZ 26.465 ( DZUP) . Quatro Barras, Morro do Anhangava , 430 m, 20-I-2010, 2 males, Carneiro leg., DZ 26.466, DZ 26.467 ( DZUP) .