Grishinata Robbins and Busby, 2022

Robbins, Robert K., Faynel, Christophe, Hall, Jason P. W. & Busby, Robert C., 2022, A segmented and clawed male foreleg in a newly described genus and species of eumaeine butterfly (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae), Insecta Mundi 2022 (922), pp. 1-6 : 3-5

Grishinata Robbins and Busby , new genus

Type species. Grishinata penny Busby, Hall, and Robbins , new species, by present designation.

Diagnosis and description. Grishinata penny belongs to the tribe Eumaeini Doubleday, 1847 . It has ten forewing veins in both sexes, hairy eyes, and “greyhound” shaped male genitalia (sensu Eliot 1973, Fig. 3 ). It differs from all other eumaeines (except for some species of Theclopsis ) by possessing a male foreleg with a clawed pretarsus and a five-segmented tarsus ( Fig. 2 ). This trait occurs in the six known males (a seventh male lacks forelegs). It differs from species in Theclopsis by lacking male secondary sexual organs on the wings ( Fig. 1 ) and by its stouter male genitalia in lateral aspect ( Fig. 3 ).

Adults of G. penny possess wing characters ( Fig. 1 ) that are unusual, but not unique, in the Eumaeini . There are no secondary sexual organs on the wings, a trait shared with a variety of other taxa such as subtribe Calycopidina Duarte and Robbins, 2010 and Symbiopsis Nicolay, 1971 . The ventral forewing of G. penny lacks a postmedian line, a trait shared with Kolana Robbins, 2004 , Exorbaetta K. Johnson, Austin, Le Crom and Salazar, 1997 , and some species of Siderus Kaye, 1904 . The hindwing lacks a tail in both sexes, and the hindwing anal lobe is vestigial to absent, but these traits occur sporadically in many genera of Eumaeini . Wing venation is typical of Eumaeini , with forewing vein R 3 arising from the discal cell, and forewing vein M 2 arising about halfway between the origin of veins M 1 and M 3 ( Fig. 1 ).

Forewing length (base to apex) for males is mean = 1.3 cm, sd = 0.06, N = 4. The only known female has a forewing length of 1.3 cm.

There are no abdominal brush organs associated with the male genitalia (sensu Robbins 1991; Martins et al. 2019). Most Eumaeini that lack wing secondary sexual traits, such as Calycopidina and Symbiopsis , have abdominal brush organs ( Robbins 2004; Duarte and Robbins 2010).

The male genitalia of G. penny are more compact than those of Theclopsis ( Fig. 3 ) and lack distinctive traits that might suggest phylogenetic relatedness.

The male and female of G. penny are associated based on their size, shape, and wing pattern. Both lack a postmedian line on the ventral surface of the forewing. The postmedian line on the ventral surface of the hindwing is almost indistinguishable. Both lack a hindwing tail. We are unable to associate this unique female with males of other species.

Type material. Holotype male ( Fig. 2 ). [white printed label] ECUADOR: Napo /Rio Pimpilala ( SW of Talag)/ 1° 04.6S. 77° 56.2W./ July 2007 (600-900m)/E. Aldas, R. C. Busby , leg. [white printed label] R. C. Busby /No. 3286. [white printed label] DNA sample ID:/NVG-17075H12/c/o Nick V. Grishin. [white printed label] USN- MENT /01102312. [red printed label] Holotype / Grishinata penny Busby, Hall, and Robbins. Deposited USNM.

Paratypes (8♂, 1♀). Ecuador. 1♂, same locality as holotype, June 2007 ( RCB). 1♂, same locality as holotype, but the label has an additional Rio Jatunyacu and is restricted to 600m, 17 Apr 1995 ( JHKW). 2♂, same locality as holotype, but the label has an additional Rio Jatunyacu and is restricted to 600m, 24 Sep 1996 ( JHKW). 1♀, Morona Santiago, 1.8 km Santiago-Puerto Morona Rd., 3°0.24′S. 77°59.7′W., 300 m, 18 Sep 2005 ( RCB). Peru. 1♂, Cusco, Carretera Manu, Km 89 Chontachaca, 772 m, Tierra Linda Reserve, 13°00.172′S, 71°27.849′W, 4 Aug 2021 ( CF). 3♂, same locality, 22 Sep 2021 ( MUSM, CFC, CF).

Etymology. The non-latinized masculine generic name Grishinata recognizes Nick Grishin for his contributions to eumaeine systematics using genomic sequences. The addition of 'ata' is intended to make the name euphonious.

The species G. penny is named for Penelope Marie Hughes, the granddaughter of author Robert Busby . It is a feminine noun in apposition.

Distribution, habitat, and behavior. Grishinata penny is known from three localities on the eastern slope of the Andes in Ecuador and Peru from 300–900 m elevation ( Fig. 4 ). The Peruvian records are from the Cosñipata Valley, where this species was previously unknown ( Lamas et al. 2021).

At the type locality, solitary males were observed setting up mating territories at the top of a tree (5 m above the ground) in a streamside clearing from 13:20 to 14:00 hours. In Peru, three males set up a mating territory and were flying about each other from 12:30 to 13:00 hours at the top of trees, 5 m above the ground.

Remarks. We discovered the unusual male foreleg structure of G. penny more than two decades ago. We subsequently tried to find other specimens in the field and looked for related species in museum collections. Despite these attempts, Grishinata penny is a rare species with no evident close relatives. We see no alternative to describing it as a monotypic genus. A by-product of the project in which we are sequencing the genome of G. penny is that we will be able to determine the genera to which Grishinata is most closely related. As noted, we expect that this will represent another case in which a five-segmented male foretarsus with a clawed pretarsus evolved from a fused male foretarsus lacking a pretarsus ( Mattoni and Fiedler 1991).

Figures

Figure 1. Adult Grishinata penny. Male holotype dorsal and ventral wings (top). Female dorsal and ventral wings (bottom). Scale 1 cm.

Figure 2. Male foretarsus of Grishinata penny showing five tarsal segments and pretarsal claws (yellow arrows). Dorsal (top) and lateral aspects.

Figure 3. Male genitalia of Grishinata penny (left) and Theclopsis gargara (Hewitson, 1868) (right). Lateral view of genital capsule (top). Lateral view of penis (middle). Ventral view (bottom). Posterior of butterfly to the right. Scale 0.5 mm.

Figure 4. Distribution of Grishinata penny in Ecuador and Peru.