Hidden in plain sight: a morphological study revealing three new species of the skipper genus Drephalys Watson, 1893 (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) from Brazil
Author
Siewert, Ricardo Russo
Author
Madruga, Janaína
Author
Dolibaina, Diego Rodrigo
Author
Mielke, Olaf Hermann Hendrik
Author
Casagrande, Mirna Martins
text
Zootaxa
2018
2018-09-11
4472
3
573
580
journal article
29442
10.11646/zootaxa.4472.3.9
e7a395e6-38d8-4cbc-8365-6e883cd0d060
1175-5326
1440349
DE17EA66-E8B8-4B64-9DDF-40D262A88CFB
Drephalys (Drephalys) electrinus
Siewert, Madruga, Mielke & Dolibaina
,
sp. n.
(
Figs 3–4
,
8
,
13
)
Diagnosis.
Drephalys electrinus
sp. n.
is similar to
D. phoenicoides
(Mabille & Boullet, 1919)
and
Drephalys dracarys
sp. n.
in wing markings and in the width of the white transversal band on ventral hind wings but it can be distinguished by the following male genitalia characters: costa of valva without a projection (
Fig. 8
) and aedeagus with the third distal margin serrated and without a spine-like process (
Fig. 8
).
Description, male
.
Head
: antenna with yellow scales at the base of each segment ventrally; basal half of the ventral club yellow, nudum of 36 segments (n=2).
Thorax
: as in
D. dracarys
sp. n.
Forewing, upper side
: length
21 mm
; costal fold short; dark yellow patch covers the basal third of the costal margin; one small circular yellow spot in CuA2-2A, aligned to the proximal hyaline spot of discal cell; three apical hyaline spots in R3-R4, R4-R5, and R5-M1 more aligned with each other than in
D. dracarys
sp. n.
and
D. citrinus
Madruga, Siewert, Mielke & Casagrande
sp. n.
.
Forewing, underside
: similar to the upper side, except for lighter colors.
Hind wing, upper side
: ground color dark brown; all yellow spots with a greenish aspect; large yellow spot on the end of discal cell extending proximally over M; yellow spot in the inferior half of CuA2-2A extending proximally over 2A; fringes yellow.
Hind wing, underside
: tornus with a dark brown patch; anal margin cream with a short white patch in 3A-anal margin.
Genitalia
(
Fig. 8
): tegumen rectangular, extended laterally near the insertion with uncus. Uncus bifid, “U”-shaped; arms as long as the half length of uncus. Valva rectangular, little longer than tegumen+uncus; costa without projection; ampulla with a smooth hook-like process, strongly curved inward and anteriorly; harpe not projected distally. Aedeagus as in
D. dracarys
sp. n.
but with the third distal margin narrow, curved and serrated; vesica with three needle-like cornuti.
Female
: unknown.
Type
material.
Holotype
male with the following labels: /
HOLOTYPUS
/ Reserva Duque, Manaus, AM[azonas] [
Brazil
]
3-IX-1987
Mielke & Casagrande / Gen. Prep. Mielke 1992 / OM 28.976 /
Holotypus
Drephalys (Drephalys) electrinus
Siewert, Madruga, Dolibaina & Mielke
/. Deposited at
DZUP
.
Paratype
.
BRAZIL
:
Acre—
Mâncio
Lima
,
Parque Nacional da Serra do Divisor
(
7° 26’ 52’’ S
,
73° 39’ 55’’ W
),
23-30.VIII.2014
,
1 male
,
Mielke
,
Casagrande
,
Carneiro
,
Dias
,
Dolibaina
,
Siewert
&
Salik
leg.
, DZ 31.103.
Deposited
at
DZUP
.
Etymology.
The specific epithet is from the Latin
electrinus
,
amber-yellow, in reference to the yellow patches on the wings.
Distribution.
Drephalys electrinus
sp. n.
is known from southwestern Amazonia, with records in the Brazilian states of
Acre
and
Amazonas
. The
paratype
was collected in the northern region of the Parque Nacional da Serra do Divisor, Mâncio
Lima
,
Acre
, close to the border between
Brazil
and
Peru
.
Comments.
This new species is an additional yellow-checkered species of the subgenus
Drephalys
. Among these,
D. electrinus
sp. n.
is the only one that has a valva without the lateral projection of the costa. The long and slender aedeagus of
D. electrinus
sp. n.
is similar to that of
D. dracarys
sp. n.
, differing from the latter by the twisted and serrated tip. These two species are sympatric in the Parque Nacional da Serra do Divisor,
Acre
, and although captured in different events, they were attracted by the Ahrenholz technique (
Lamas
et al
. 1993
) without the presence of ants (Austin
et al
. 1993).