Neohesperilla Waterhouse & Lyell, 1914

Toussaint, Emmanuel F. A., Braby, Michael F., Müller, Chris J., Petrie, Edward A. & Kawahara, Akito Y., 2022, Molecular phylogeny, systematics and generic classification of the butterfly subfamily Trapezitinae (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea: Hesperiidae), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 195, pp. 1407-1421 : 1416-1417

Neohesperilla Waterhouse & Lyell, 1914 syn. nov.

Type species: Toxidia thyrrhus Mabille, 1891 (by monotypy).

Remarks

Braby (2010: p. 26) remarked ‘The genus Toxidia comprises a divergent assemblage of taxa [currently nine species] that have probably been grouped together more for convenience than on phylogenetic grounds.’ Notably, he pointed out that the genus Neohesperilla on available evidence is poorly defined; the known morphological characters do not distinguish it from Toxidia (see Braby, 2000). Moreover, the morphology of the larva and pupa, general biology and larval food plants of Neohesperilla ( Johnson et al., 1994) are similar to those of Toxidia ( Crosby, 1973; Atkins, 1988; Wood & Muller, 2003; Jenkinson, 2009). For example, in both taxa the head of the final instar larva is black and finely pitted or rugose, and the head of the pupa is sclerotized and rounded, lacking a prominent projection. Currently, four species are referred to Neohesperilla , but phylogenetic analysis of this genus has, until now, been lacking to establish its systematic relationship and determine whether Neohesperilla should be maintained or synonymized with Toxidia .

In the phylogeny generated in the present study, Toxidia was paraphyletic and polyphyletic with regard to Neohesperilla and Signeta , respectively. Although Neohesperilla comprised a monophyletic lineage, it was embedded within a larger clade that consisted of six other species of Toxidia , while the two species of Signeta formed a monophyletic group with two other species of Toxidia ( Toxidia peron and Toxidia melania ) that was sister to the remaining species of Toxidia plus Neohesperilla .

Given the strong phylogenetic relationships uncovered in the present work, previous morphological studies, and the lack of clear synapomorphies by which to distinguish Neohesperilla from Toxidia , we synonymize Neohesperilla under Toxidia . The issue of polyphyly with regard to Signeta is dealt with below, in which we remove two species from Toxidia . Thus, the nomenclature, new combinations and synonyms recognized for the revised 11 species of Toxidia and their constituent subspecies are as follows:

Toxidia arfakensis (Joicey & Talbot, 1917)

Toxidia inornata (Butler, 1883)

Toxidia inornata inornata (Butler, 1883)

= Hesperia maykora Plötz, 1885

= Telesto uniformis Swinhoe, 1905

Toxidia inornata sekara (Plötz, 1885)

= Toxidia damora Fruhstorfer, 1911

Toxidia inornata anga Evans, 1949

Toxidia andersoni (Kirby, 1893)

Toxidia rietmanni (Semper, [1879])

Toxidia rietmanni rietmanni (Semper, [1879])

= Telesto extranea Plötz, 1884

= Telesto leucostigma Meyrick & Lower, 1902

Toxidia rietmanni parasema (Lower, 1908)

Toxidia doubledayi (C. Felder, 1862)

= Telesto leachii C. Felder, 1862

= Carystus vallio Mabille, 1883

Toxidia thyrrhus Mabille, 1891

= Telesto bathrophora Meyrick & Lower, 1902 Toxidia parvula (Plötz, 1884)

= Hesperilla humilis Miskin, 1889

= Hesperilla ismene Anderson & Spry, 1894

Toxidia xanthomera ( Meyrick & Lower, 1902) comb. nov.

Toxidia senta ( Miskin, 1891) comb. nov.

Toxidia xiphiphora ( Lower, 1911) comb. nov.

Toxidia crocea (Miskin, 1889) comb. nov.

= Hesperilla satulla Mabille, 1891

The larvae of Toxidia feed exclusively on Poaceae .