Xeniades pteras Godman, 1900

Zhang, Jing, Cong, Qian, Shen, Jinhui & Grishin, Nick V., 2022, Taxonomic changes suggested by the genomic analysis of Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera), Insecta Mundi 2022 (921), pp. 1-135 : 49-50

Xeniades pteras Godman, 1900 , reinstated status

Proposed as a species, Xeniades pteras Godman, 1900 (type locality Panama, Colombia and Venezuela) was treated as a subspecies of Xeniades chalestra (Hewitson, 1866) (type locality Brazil: Minas Gerais) by Evans (1955), who gave diagnostic phenotypic characters for X. pteras , such as more extensive iridescent green-blue scaling on body above and no hindwing cell spot. In the genomic tree, Xeniades chalestra corna Evans, 1955 ( Fig. 11 ) clusters closely with Xeniades chalestra , but X. pteras does not, revealing profound genetic differentiation and possibly not monophyletic with chalestra . COI barcode difference between X. pteras and X. chalestra is 3.2% (21

bp, specimens NVG-18119B02 and NVG-15035B01). Therefore we reinstate it as the species level taxon: Xeniades pteras Godman, 1900 , reinstated status.

Figures

Figure 11. Genomic tree of Hesperiina and relatives. See Fig. 1 legend for notations.