Taxonomy of Rufocumbre gen. nov., a new Moncini skipper genus (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae: Hesperiinae)
Author
Dolibaina, Diego Rodrigo
Author
Mielke, Olaf Hermann Hendrik
Author
Casagrande, Mirna Martins
text
Zootaxa
2017
2017-12-18
4365
2
196
216
journal article
31145
10.11646/zootaxa.4365.2.5
f910478a-92a3-4de6-8d96-d8d37ce28163
1175-5326
1117608
D9EA4014-FE5B-4F23-86F8-9E2853A312C2
Rufocumbre lucasi
sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:ADF19B01-2D4F-4C1D-8E20-9AD0410159AF
Figs 17–20
,
25
,
37
,
42
,
47
,
56
Diagnosis.
Rufocumbre lucasi
sp. nov.
is distinguished from all the other species of
Rufocumbre
by the yellow costal area of the ventral forewing and basal and postdiscal bands of the ventral hind wing (
Figs 18, 20
); uncus widely bifid, with the arms thick, divergent and with a rounded tip; distal spine of the harpe short and pointed, never extending beyond the distal margin of ampulla (
Fig. 37
); lamella antevaginalis widely bifid, with broad and convergent projections, having the tips abruptly narrowed (
Fig. 42
).
Description.
Forewing length
: Male 14.8-16.8 mm, female 15.5-18 mm.
Forewing dorsal
(
Figs 17, 19
,
25
): brand with smooth margins; superior and inferior projections narrowed.
Forewing ventral
(
Figs 18, 20
): subapical hyaline spots partially covered by yellow scales.
Hind wing ventral
(
Figs 18, 20
): basal and postdiscal bands yellow, without gray to purple scales on the basal band; discal band narrow, proximally inclined near to costal margin.
FIGURE 55.
Geographical distribution of
Rufocumbre emeryi
sp. nov.
and
R. eberti
stat. nov., comb. nov.
Male genitalia
(
Fig. 37
): Fenestra semicircular; uncus widely bifid, arms thick and divergent, tips rounded; ampulla largely projected distally, proximal margin with a broad and rounded projection, and a short dorsal concavity close to the distal margin; distal spine of harpe short and pointed, never exceeding the distal margin of ampulla; aedeagus distal end with unequal projections, cornutus present.
Female genitalia
(
Figs 42
,
47
): Lamella antevaginalis widely bifid from base, with broad and convergent projections, tips abruptly narrowed; lamella postvaginalis with the distal margin bifid, having two long, large, pointed and convergent projections; ductus bursae smooth at the insertion with the corpus bursae; corpus bursae with two long and large lines of signa, extending for almost all its extension.
Comments.
Rufocumbre lucasi
sp. nov.
was never included in previous studies. The typical yellow basal and postdiscal bands of the hind wing of
R. lucasi
sp. nov.
is unique among the species of
Rufocumbre
gen. nov.
This color pattern, however, is shared with a single female of
R. eberti
from Serra da Maravilha, Senhor do Bonfim, Bahia (
Zacca & Bravo 2012
). Thus, the analysis of the genitalia for both sexes of these species is required to ensure their identity. While dissection of the females of these species is necessary to distinguish them properly, dissection is not required to distinguish males of
R. lucasi
sp. nov.
from those of
R. eberti
, since removing scales of the tip of the abdomen is sufficient to see whether the distal projection of the harpe exceeds the distal margin of the ampulla (
R. eberti
,
Fig. 35
) or not (
R. lucasi
sp. nov.
,
Fig. 37
).
Geographical distribution and phenology.
Rufocumbre lucasi
sp. nov.
is only known from areas throughout Serra do Espinhaço, in the states of Minas Gerais and Bahia, between 850 and 1600 m. Specimens were collected in January, March, August and September.
FIGURE 56.
Geographical distribution of
Rufocumbre schneideri
sp. nov.
and
R. lucasi
sp. nov.
Etymology.
This species is dedicated in memory of the late Lucas Caminha Beltrami, a student and friend who started the work with the genus
Cumbre
.
Examined material.
The holotype male has the following labels: /
HOLOTYPUS
/
12-III-1999
[MORRO DO] PAI INÁCIO[,] PALMEIRAS
,
BAHIA
[,
BRAZIL
,]
850m
,
MIELKE
LEG. /
OM 50.193
/ HOLOTYPUS
Rufocumbre lucasi
Dolibaina
,
Mielke
&
Casagrande
det. 2017/.
DZUP
.
The allotype female has the following labels: / ALLOTYPUS / BRASIL, MINAS GERAIS, CATAS ALTAS, CARAÇA, 16-18-IX-2006, 1300 m MIELKE & CASAGRANDE LEG. / DZ 15.584 / BC-DZ / ALLOTYPUS
Rufocumbre lucasi
Dolibaina, Mielke & Casagrande
det. 2017/. DZUP.
Paratypes: BRAZIL –
Bahia
:
Lençóis
(Morro do Pai Inácio), 850 m, 10.III.1999, Mielke
leg
. 2 males (OM 50.009, OM 50.016*) (OM), 11.III.1999, Mielke
leg
. 1 male (OM 50.186) (OM), 12.III.1999, Mielke
leg
. 1 male and 1 female (OM 50.200*, OM 50.179*) (OM);
Rio de Contas
, 1400-1600 m, 28.I.2005, Mielke & Casagrande
leg
. 1 female (DZ 15.346*) (DZUP), (Mato Grosso), 1500 m, 29.I.2005, Mielke & Casagrande
leg
. 1 female (DZ 16.311) (DZUP), (Pico das Almas), 1450-1600 m, 30.I.2007, Mielke & Casagrande
leg
. 1 female (DZ 8.750*) (DZUP).
Minas Gerais
:
Congonhas
(Rio de Janeiro – Belo Horizonte Road, Km 344), 10-12.IV.1973, Callaghan
leg.
3 males (MGCL);
Nova Lima
(Rio de Janeiro – Belo Horizonte Road, Km 432), 1400 m, 1.IV.1975, Callaghan
leg
. 1 male (MGCL).
Discussion
Two previously recognized taxa included in
Rufocumbre
were not seen by
Evans (1955)
as belonging to a distinct genus. In their revision of
Cumbre
,
Dolibaina
et al.
(2014)
pointed out that the subspecific taxon
eberti
belonged neither to
Cumbre
nor to any other known genus, and therefore required a new one. The reasons used by
Evans (1955)
to include
R. celioi
(misinterpreted by him as
C. belli belli
) and
R. eberti
with the remaining species of
Cumbre
are not clear. One of the characters he used to circumscribe
Cumbre
was “uncus not divided” (
Evans 1955, p. 169
). However, contrary to his written description of the genus, his schematic and partial illustration of the male genitalia of
R. celioi
(
Evans 1955, plate 65, J.41 CUMBRE 3.
belli
) shows the uncus clearly bifid. In addition, in the synoptic collection of Evans deposited in the NHMUK, there is a schematic illustration of the male genitalia of
R. eberti
(not included in his monograph of 1955), with the uncus even more bifid than in
R. celioi
. Just the evident differences in the uncus could be used to place
R. celioi
and
R. eberti
in a genus apart from
Cumbre
. Moreover, the differences in the morphology of the uncus between
R. celioi
(
Fig. 33
) and
R. eberti
(
Fig. 35
) could have been used by
Evans (1955)
to consider the latter a distinct species, rather than a subspecies of the former.
The position of
Rufocumbre
among the
Moncini
genera is uncertain. The first systematic hypothesis involving two species of what is now
Rufocumbre
was the classification of
Evans (1955)
, which included them (
R. celioi
and
R. eberti
) in the “
Lerema
subgroup” of the “
Apaustus
group” with nine other genera. However, the “
Apaustus
group” and all its subgroups are not monophyletic (
Warren
et al.
2008
,
2009
,
Carneiro
et al.
2015a
).
Recent phylogenies using molecular and morphological characters recovered
Rufocumbre celioi
as sister to
Ginungagapus ranesus
(Schaus, 1902)
(
Warren
et al.
2008
,
2009
), to
Cumbre cumbre
Schaus, 1902
(
Carneiro
et al.
2015a
), and to
Pheraeus odilia argus
(Draudt, 1923)
(
Sahoo
et al.
2016
). Such disparity calls for more phylogenetic studies addressing specifically
Moncini
, including a broader sampling of genera.
The morphology of the male genitalia has historically been used in the establishment of genera in
Hesperiidae
(
Godman 1900
,
Evans 1955
,
Mielke 1968
,
1980
,
Carneiro
et al.
2015a
). On the other hand, characters of the female genitalia are poorly explored in the systematics of the group.
Turland
et al.
(2012)
stated that the presence and length of the sclerotized area of the ductus bursae of the female genitalia (antrum
auct.
) is a character indicative of higher relationships among
Moncini
genera. The ductus bursae found in
Rufocumbre
, which is sclerotized, cylindrical and as long as the sterigma is similar to that of
Troyus turneri
Warren & Turland, 2012
. Also, the ostium bursae at the base of the sterigma, and the absence of the lamella antevaginalis are features found in
R. celioi
,
R. emeryi
and
T. turneri
, suggesting the latter as a lineage potentially related to
Rufocumbre
. Several other genera representing all subgroups of the “
Apaustus
group” have sclerotized ductus bursae, but, with a usually flattened aspect, and with the length of the sclerotized portion of the ductus more than twice the length of the sterigma (see discussion in
Turland
et al.
2012
), thus being different greatly from
Rufocumbre
and
Troyus
. However, aspects of the wing color pattern, male forewing androconia and the remaining structures of the genitalia of both sexes suggest that
Troyus
Warren & Turland, 2012
is a distinct genus, though related to
Rufocumbre
.
Finally, more attention should be directed to redefining the
Moncini
genera, especially since a significant number of them have been found to be para or polyphyletic (
Burns 1990
,
Dolibaina
et al.
2014
,
2015
,
Carneiro
et al.
2015a
). It is essential to recognize independent lineages and to establish monophyletic units in an effort to resolve the
Moncini
phylogeny.