Lophomyra santista (Jones, [1915] 1914)

Goldstein, Paul Z., Janzen, Daniel H., Proshek, Benjamin, Dapkey, Tanya & Hallwachs, Winnie, 2018, Review of Lophomyra Schaus, 1911 (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae): a new combination and re-descriptions of species newly associated with ferns (Polypodiaceae), ZooKeys 788, pp. 135-165 : 147-151

Lophomyra santista (Jones, [1915] 1914) Figs 41-48; Male genitalia: Figs 70, 80; Female genitalia: Fig. 87

Iheringia santista Jones, (1915) 1914 Type locality: Brazil.

Material examined.

Type material (2♂). SYNTYPES: [Brazil] Type, Iheringia santista type ♂ Jones, Alto da Serra Santos 800m. 25 Feb. 1913 E.D. Jones, NHMUK01606195; Alto da Serra Santos 800m. 9 Mar. 1913, E.D. Jones coll., Brit. Mus. 1919-295., NHMUK01606197. Types at NMHUK.

Other material examined

(3♂, 1♀). BRAZIL (2♂): BRAZIL: Santa Catharina. Blumenau. Neu Bremen. 28 VIII. 1932, Fritz Hoffmann. B.M. 1934-63, NHMUK01606196; Alto de Serra, Sao Paulo February, 1933. (R. Spitz), Rothschild Bequest B.M. 1939-1., NHMUK01606198. FRENCH GUIANA (1♂, 1♀): Juin, Guyane Francse Nouveau Chantier Collection Le Moult, Lophomyra tacita Schs [illeg.] 6-2-13, Dognin Collection, USNMENT01438868; St. Jean, Maroni, F. Guiana. Collection Wm Schaus, Lophomyra tacita Schs, USNM Dissection 148082, USNMENT01370318.

Diagnosis.

Two elongate chocolate brown patches towards base of forewing; apical spot less pronouned than in L. tacita ; ventral hind wing with postmedial line less pronounced than in tacita ; male genitalia nearly indistinguishable from those of L. tacita but quite distinct from L. commixta ; unlike L. tacita , female genitalia bear the appendicular lobe at caudal end of ductus bursae.

Re-description.

Head. Antennae filiform, dorsally with fine white scales; eyes naked; scaling on vertex, frons and palpi much like that of L. tacita but greenish scaling faded in available material so direct comparisions difficult except to Costa Rican L. tacita .

Thorax. Vestiture similar to that of head. Wings. Forewing length 14.4 mm (holotype, male), average 14.3 mm (males, n = 4), 13.9 mm (female, n = 1). Underside of forewing variably frosted along costal and outer margins, whitish along inner margin, uniformly pale gray throughout outer part of wing; hind wing underside pale inward, gray-brown and white dusting along costal margin; discal spot faint. Legs. Scaling, tibial spurs, and rows of tibial spines as for genus.

Abdomen. Although Jones (1915: 440) describes both the thorax and abdomen as "without crests" in the generic description of the monotypic Iheringia , of which L. santista is the type, there are concolorous dorsal tufts on the first 8 abdominal segments of males of this species and L. tacita .

Male gentialia. Structures, including vesica, not readily distinguishable from those of L. tacita .

Female genitalia. Based on a single French Guiana specimen (Fig. 87), comparable to L. tacita except for the presence of ventral appendicular lobe on the caudal end of the ductus bursae. This specimen appears particularly distended because it contains three spermatophores.

Immature stages. Unknown.

Biology.

Unknown.

Distribution.

Brazil and French Guiana.

Remarks.

Available barcode data were supplemented by a partial sequence of the holotype of L. santista , but were not, in our estimation, sufficient for unambiguous diagnosis or synonymy with L. tacita , particularly given that the primary types of L. santista are male, and that of L. tacita female.