Porphyrogenes stupa Evans, 1952

Austin, George T. & Mielke, Olaf H. H., 2008, Hesperiidae of Rondônia, Brazil: Porphyrogenes Watson (Lepidoptera: Pyrginae: Eudamini), with descriptions of new species from Central and South America, Insecta Mundi 2008 (44), pp. 1-56 : 20-21

Porphyrogenes stupa Evans, 1952

( Fig. 41, 42 )

Porphyrogenes stupa Evans, 1952 . Type locality: unknown; male [holo] type ( Fig. 41, 42 ) in BM(NH).

Description. Male (measured and described from photographs of [holo] type, Fig. 41, 42 ) - forewing length = 24.0 mm; wings stubby; forewing with costal fold, apex pointed, not produced, termen and anal margin prominently convex; hindwing termen convex, tornus produced to a barely discernible lobe, vein Rs arising nearer end of discal cell than to its base and distad to CuA 2; dorsum very dark brown, blackish distad with purplish sheen, unmarked; hindwing colored as forewing, no indication of discal macules; specular area not obvious, tufts red-brown; erect brownish tuft along vein 2A; fringes on both wings contrastingly whitish.

Venter darker than dorsum, purplish sheen more prominent; forewing vein 2A moderately sinuate, bare and swollen in 2nd 1/4 from base, no distinct groove; shining gray-brown speculum in proximal 1/4 of CuA 2 -2A (continued towards tornus in anal cell by modified brown scales); hindwing with no discal macules; cell 2A-3A with contrastingly pale brown deep groove just caudad of vein 2A.

Dorsal head and thorax brownish ( Evans 1952 reported dorsal head as orange), palpi orange on venter, eyes red, antennae black on dorsum, yellowish on venter and beneath apiculus, ventral thorax and pectus orange, legs orange, dorsal abdomen brownish, ventral abdomen grayish.

Genitalia - not examined. Evans’ (1952) figure indicates that the valva bends dorsad just caudad of its middle and has a broadened and spiculose caudal end.

Female - unknown.

Distribution. This species is known only from the [holo] type of unknown provenance.

Diagnosis and discussion. Porphyrogenes stupa was described from a single male without data in the BM (NH) ( Evans 1952), the [holo] type ( Fig. 41, 42 ). Its combination of very dark color, pattern of venation, and the harpe bending and then expanding caudad are distinctive and should facilitate the identification of other specimens of the species .

Figures

Figure 37-50. Types and associated specimens of Porphyrogenes (ds = dorsal surface, vs = ventral surface). 37) Porphyrogenes sparta, female associated with [holo]type male, ds. 38) same, vs. 39) Porphyrogenes spoda Evans, 1952, [holo]type male, ds. 40) same, vs. 41) Porphyrogenes stupa Evans, 1952, [holo]type male, ds. 42) same, vs. 43) Eudamus passalus Herrich-Schäffer, 1869, lectotype female, ds. 44) same, vs. 45) Thymele virgatus Mabille, 1888, lectotype female, ds. 46) same, vs. 47) Thymele eudemus Mabille, 1888, lectotype female, ds. 48) same, vs. 49) Porphyrogenes sp., female considered to be female of Telegonus probus in its original description (see text), ds. 50) same, vs.