Lafontaineana thuta Martinez, 2021

Martinez, Jose I., Schmidt, B. Christian & Miller, Jacqueline Y., 2021, A new Andean genus, Lafontaineana, with descriptions of four new species and two new Neotropical species of Panthea (Noctuidae, Pantheinae), ZooKeys 1028, pp. 113-134 : 113

Lafontaineana thuta Martinez sp. nov. Figures 14 , 15 , 24 , 34

Type material.

Holotype: ♂, Ecuador 8 km SE of Loja, Parque Nacional Podocarpus Cajanuma, mont. rainforest, Blacklight 2 × 15W, 2897 m, 26 iii. 2011, 04°06.86'S, 79°10.47'W, coll. Lisa Lehner & Marc Adams / DNA Barcode run 2013, COI-5P marker, University of Guelph / Arcec 32455. deposited in FSU. Paratypes (1 ♂ FSU): Ecuador Zamora-Chinchipe, Cerro Toledo, Elfin forest, Parque Nacional Podocarpus Cajanuma, mont. rainforest, Blacklight 2 × 15W, 2938 m, 6 Feb. 2013, coll. Gunnar Brehm (1 ♂). (1 ♂, 1 ♀ MGCL): Ecuador, Pichincha, Quito/ Chiriboga Km 33, 2650 m, 25 Apr. 1976, coll. N. Venedictoff (1 ♂). Ecuador, Sucumbios, El Playon, 2 km to Minas, 0°37'24"N, 77°39'51"W, 18.-19. II 2013, 3320m, leg. Sinjaev & Romanov / UF, FLMNH, MGCL 1049166 (1 ♀).

Etymology.

The name Lafontaineana thuta means moth in the Quechua language. The specific name is a noun in apposition.

Diagnosis.

Lafontaineana thuta can be differentiated externally from the other species of genus Lafontaineana by the minute yellow dot on the orbicular spot. Internally, L. thuta possesses a prominent diverticulum on vesica similar to L. marmorifera and L. puma , but the line of spines is narrower than L. marmorifera and shorter than L. puma .

Description.

Head. Black palpus with some scattered yellow scales on last segment; frons yellow with few black scales. Thorax. Sulfur-yellow with a horizontal line on the metathorax with the end near to the abdomen black; polygons small and separated by sulfur-yellow lines; abdominal side gray; dark orange setal tufts. Wing. Forewing length male 19-21 mm; female 25-27 mm; sulfur-yellow with black and dark brown patterns; forewing same yellow as thorax; median field dark brown; orbicular spot with a minute yellow dot; reniform spot bean-like with a large dot close to inner margin; hindwing white with orange veins; fringe sulfur-yellow, paler than the forewing; costal margin with black fringe and some yellow scales; posterior margin with white scales; costal and Sc+R1 cells with large black and white patches; small discal spot and tornal lunate marking. Legs. Black with large sulfur-yellow and white patches. Abdomen. Brown dorsally with a huge black line of tufts from A2 extending and expanding through the subsequent tergites making the orange lines narrower; white scales at the ends of the tufts; yellowish white with brown scales on the intersternal membrane ventrally. Male genitalia. Tegumen short; wide cucullus with a square-shaped apex, clothed by setae; costal margin lightly expanded; sacculus wide and process with a small projection on posterior margin; juxta broadly spoon-shaped with slightly concavity on upper area; aedeagus with huge diverticulum; wide line of spines, long spines. Female genitalia. Anal papilla short and squared; sterigma semi-sclerotized, large and widely opened; posterior apophysis 3 × longer than anal papilla; appendix bursae ⅙ × longer than the corpus bursae.

Genetic characterization.

DNA barcoding of Lafontaineana thuta showed it to be closer to L. imama (see L. imama genetic characterization).

Distribution.

This species has been found only in high elevations of deciduous forests of Ecuador (Fig. 35 ).

Remarks.

Both holotype and paratype are in perfect condition (Figs 14 , 15 ). As in L. alexandrae , the voucher number (Arcec 32455) is different from that published at http://barcodinglife.com confusion (Arcec 30239).

Panthea Hübner, 1820

Panthea is a small genus comprising 14 species worldwide, distributed mainly in the Nearctic and Palearctic regions ( Anweiler 2009; Behounek et al. 2013; Schmidt and Anweiler 2020). Only three species are known in the Neotropical region ( Panthea furcilla (Packard, 1864), P. reducta Anweiler, 2009, and P. guatemala Anweiler, 2009) and we describe two additional species from the Neotropics: Panthea hondurensis sp. nov. and Panthea taina sp. nov.

The genus Panthea is characterized externally by bipectinate antennae, small eyes with dense interfacetal setae, a short haustellum, and the forewings presenting five well-defined transverse lines and poorly developed reniform and orbicular spots (sometimes absent). Internally, male genitalia presenting heavily sclerotized valves, well-developed uncus compressed at the tip, and the vesica without diverticula and armed with wide cornuti. Female genitalia with well-developed sterigma and simple corpus bursae lacking appendix bursae.

Figures

Figure 35. Distribution of examined specimens of Lafontaineana.

Figures 6 - 20. Adult habitus of Lichnoptera, Lafontaineana, and Panthea 6 Lichnoptera gulo, ♂, MGCL, Cundinamarca, Colombia 7 L. gulo, ♀, MGCL, Cundinamarca, Colombia 8 Lafontaineana marmorifera, ♂, MGCL, Cundinamarca, Colombia 9 L. marmorifera, ♀, MGCL, Cundinamarca, Colombia 10 L. imama, ♂, MGCL, holotype, Tolima, Colombia 11 L. imama, ♀, MGCL, paratype, Tolima, Colombia 12 L. puma, ♂, CNC, holotype, La Alegria, Ecuador 13 L. puma, ♀, CNC, paratype, La Alegria, Ecuador 14 L. thuta, ♂, MGCL, holotype, Loja, Ecuador 15 L. thuta, ♀, MGCL, paratype, Sucumbios, Ecuador 16 L. alexandrae, ♀, FSU, holotype, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador 17 Panthea guatemala, ♂, CNC, San Lorenzo, Guatemala 18 P. hondurensis, ♂, MGCL, holotype, Francisco Morazan, Honduras 19 P. reducta, CNC, ♂, Pedernales, Dominican Republic 20 P. taina, ♂, La Vega, MGCL, holotype, Dominican Republic.

Figures 21 - 24. Male genitalia of Lichnoptera and Lafontaineana 21 Lichnoptera gulo, MGCL, Cundinamarca, Colombia 22 L. imama, MGCL, holotype, Tolima, Colombia 23 L. puma, CNC, holotype, La Alegria, Ecuador 24 L. thuta, MGCL, holotype, Loja, Ecuador.

Figures 29 - 34. Female genitalia of Lichnoptera and Lafontaineana 29 Lichnoptera gulo, MGCL, Cundinamarca, Colombia 30 Lafontaineana alexandrae, FSU, holotype, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador 31 L. imama, MGCL, paratype, Tolima, Colombia 32 L. marmorifera, MGCL, Cundinamarca, Colombia 33 L. puma, CNC, paratype, La Alegria, Ecuador 34 L. thuta, MGCL, paratype, Sucumbios, Ecuador.