Oenomaus moseri Robbins & Faynel

Faynel, Christophe, Busby, Robert C. & Robbins, Robert K., 2012, Review of the species level taxonomy of the neotropical butterfly genus Oenomaus (Lycaenidae, Theclinae, Eumaeini), ZooKeys 222, pp. 11-45 : 21-22

Oenomaus moseri Robbins & Faynel sp. n. Figs 10, 11, 25, 30, 44, 45, 46

Type-locality.

Brazil: SC, Joinville, 26°19'39"S, 48°57'38"W, 10-200 m. Miers collected butterflies for decades in the wet lowland forests around Joinville, where he lived. His favorite collecting spot was a hill that he called “Serrinha” (little hill in Portuguese) in Vila Nova, approximately 10 km west, south-west of the center of Joinville. According to DZUP butterfly curator Olaf Mielke, specimens collected on Serrinha, including the holotype, have an elevation label 10-200 m, which distinguishes them from those specimens collected in other parts of the Joinville area.

Type-specimen.

Holotype ♂ (Fig. 10): Brazil, SC, Joinville, 10-200 m, 2.IV.1978, Miers leg.,gen. prep. CF n°218, DZ 10.065, CF-LYC-012 (DZUP).

Paratypes: Brazil.12 ♂: SC, Joinville, 200 m, 26°19'S, 48°58'W, 20.V.1971, H.Miers leg., gen. prep. CF n°444 (MC 252); SC, São Bento do Sul, 600 m, 25.IV.2002, Moser & Rank leg., gen. A. Moser, n°234 (MC 034); SC, Joinville, 200 m, 5.II.1993, A. Moser leg.,gen. A. Moser, n°226 (MC 032); SC, Joinville, 200 m, 5.II.1993, A. Moser leg.,gen. A. Moser n°233 (MC 033); SC, Joinville, 10-200 m, 8.XII.1983, Leg. H. Miers, R.K. Robbins collection (USNM); SC, Joinville, 10-200 m, 6.I.1984, Leg. H. Miers, R.K. Robbins collection (USNM); PR, Ponta Grossa, Buraco do Padre, 900 m, 20.II.2009, Carlos Mielke leg., CF-LYC-063 (CF); SP, Serra do Japi, 110[0m], 23°15'S, 46°54'W, 12.IV.1991, Robbins & K. Brown, territorial behavior at 14:23, Genitalia NO. 1992: 27♂ R.K. Robbins (USNM); SP, Serra do Japi, 110[0]m, 23°15'S, 46°54'W, 12.IV.1991, Robbins & K. Brown, territorial behavior at 14:48 (USNM); SP, Serra do Japi, 800-1250 m, 23°12'S, 47°02'W, 23°17'S, 46°53'W, 25.III.1990, Leg. K. Brown (x2, USNM); SP, Serra do Japi, 800-1250 m, 23°12'S, 47°02'W, 23°17'S, 46°53'W, 28.III.1990, Leg. K. Brown (USNM); RJ, Petrópolis, 6.I.1980, Leg. C. Callaghan, R.K. Robbins collection, Genitalia NO. 1992: 79♂ R.K. Robbins (USNM ENT 00180045). 1♀: SC, Joinville, 10-200 m, 9.III.1973, Leg. H. Miers, R.K. Robbins collection, gen. prep. CF n°410 (USNM) (Fig. 11).

Description, diagnosis and recognition as a distinct species.

Male FW length: 16.1 mm (SD = 0.9, N = 8). Female FW length: 15.7 mm (N = 1). Wing pattern (Figs 10, 11) and genitalia (Figs 25, 30) illustrated. The adult wing pattern of Oenomaus moseri is similar to that of the sympatric Oenomaus morroensis Faynel & Moser and to that of Oenomaus cyanovenata ( D’Abrera); the species with which it was previously confused ( Faynel 2008). Oenomaus moseri (Figs 25, 45) differs from Oenomaus morroensis (plate 11 in Faynel and Moser 2008) by its male genitalia having (1) a smaller dorsal part of the valvae attached to the top of the ventral part, not to the bottom, (2) a swollen posterior part of the male penis, and (3) a larger posterior part of the saccus in lateral view. Oenomaus moseri differs from O. cyanovenata by (1) a wider DFW black margin at the tornus, (2) a central depression on the posterior edge of the eighth tergum, and (3) a swollen posterior part of the male penis. Oenomaus moseri differs from the sympatric Oenomaus geba by lacking a white spot on the basal side of VHW cell Rs-M1 (Figs 10-12). The lack of geographical variation in the characters distinguishing Oenomaus moseri and Oenomaus cyanovenata argues against the hypothesis that the former is a geographical variant of the latter.

Preliminary data on divergence of “barcode” DNA sequence data is consistent with morphology. The divergence among three individuals of Oenomaus moseri (CF-LYC-012 & CF-LYC-063) is 0%, among four individuals of Oenomaus cyanovenata (CF-LYC-047, CF-LYC-048, & CF-LYC-049) is 0%. In contrast, the divergence between Oenomaus moseri and Oenomaus cyanovenata is more than 4% and between two Oenomaus moseri and a paratype of Oenomaus morroensis (CF-LYC-015) is more than 5%.

Etymology.

It is with great pleasure that we name this distinctive species for our good friend and collaborator Alfred Moser. Alfred lives in Rio Grande do Sul and has made prodigious contributions to the knowledge of Lepidoptera from southern Brazil, including co-authoring papers on the taxonomy of Oenomaus and Porthecla ( Faynel and Moser 2008, Faynel et al. 2011).

Biology.

Robbins observed two males of Oenomaus moseri exhibiting territorial behavior on a hill top from 14:23 hours to 14:48 hours at Serra do Japi (SP, Brazil) on 12 April 1991 (vouchers in USNM). A male of Oenomaus moseri was reared by Hipólito Ferreira Paulino Neto in Itirapina , SP, Brazil on Duguetia furfuracea (A. St. Hil) Benth. and Hook. f. ( Annonaceae ), a plant of frequent occurrence in the cerrado. We identified the male from a digital image and from the locality where it was reared. However, it is possible that it is a male of Oenomaus morroensis , even though this species is not known to occur as far north as São Paulo.

Habitat and distribution.

Oenomaus moseri occurs in lowland and lower montane forest in southern Brazil (Fig. 46).