A review of the South American metalmark genus Alesa Doubleday, 1847 (Lepidoptera: Riodinidae: Eurybiini) with the description of two new species Author Santos, Wildio Ikaro Da Graça 0000-0003-3466-5820 Laboratório de Estudos de Lepidoptera Neotropical, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, PO Box 19020, 81.531 - 980, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil & wildio. ikaro @ gmail. com; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0003 - 3466 - 5820 wildio.ikaro@gmail.com Author Dolibaina, Diego Rodrigo 0000-0001-5258-3787 Laboratório de Estudos de Lepidoptera Neotropical, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, PO Box 19020, 81.531 - 980, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil & Reserva Serra Bonita, PO Box 001, 45.880 - 970, Camacan, Bahia, Brazil & dirodrido @ gmail. com; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0001 - 5258 - 3787 dirodrido@gmail.com Author Dias, Fernando Maia Silva 0000-0002-7198-7792 Laboratório de Estudos de Lepidoptera Neotropical, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, PO Box 19020, 81.531 - 980, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil & Departamento de Biologia Animal e Vegetal, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, PO Box 10011, 86.057 - 970, Londrina, Paraná, Brazil & fernandodias @ uel. br; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0002 - 7198 - 7792 fernandodias@uel.br Author Mielke, Olaf Hermann Hendrik 0000-0003-3655-4606 Laboratório de Estudos de Lepidoptera Neotropical, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, PO Box 19020, 81.531 - 980, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil & omhesp @ ufpr. br; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0003 - 3655 - 4606 omhesp@ufpr.br Author Casagrande, Mirna Martins 0000-0002-6076-8463 Laboratório de Estudos de Lepidoptera Neotropical, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, PO Box 19020, 81.531 - 980, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil & mibras @ ufpr. br; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0002 - 6076 - 8463 mibras@ufpr.br text Zootaxa 2023 2023-05-10 5284 1 77 120 http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5284.1.3 journal article 54237 10.11646/zootaxa.5284.1.3 919ce70b-5bdc-46f5-810a-4ebaf7e54100 1175-5326 7919001 7334FB57-41A0-47CA-BCBF-FA108B13CEC1 Alesa thelydrias Bates, 1867 Figs 38–39 , 52 , 60 , 96 Alesa thelydrias Bates, 1868 . Jour. Linn. Soc. London, Zool., 9: 371, 415; Rio Cupari, Tapajos, Amazons, [Pará, Brazil ].— Herrich-Schäffer, 1868 Corr. Bl. zool.-min. Ver. Regensburg 22: 121.—Kirby, 1871. Syn. Cat. diurn. Lep. , p. 287.— Mengel, 1905. Cat. Erycinidae , p. 55.— Stichel, 1910 , in Wytsman. Gen. Ins. 112A , p. 81.— Seitz, 1916 . Gross-Schmett. Erde 5 , p. 727, 1137; syn : helydrias [ sic ].— Stichel, 1930 . Lep. Cat. 40 , p. 295.—Brown, 1993. Occas. Paper IUCN Sp. Surv. Comm. 8: 151.— d’Abrera, 1994 . Butt. Neotrop. Region 6, Riodinidae , p. 933, fig. (male d).— Callaghan & Lamas, 2004 , Riodinidae , p. 148, in Lamas (ed.). Checklist: Part 4A. Hesperioidea—Papilionoidea , in Heppner (ed.) Atlas of Neotropical Lepidoptera 5A .— Hall & Ahrenholz, 2010 . Trop. Lep. Res. 20 (1): 21. Alesa helydrias [ sic ], Seitz, 1916 . Gross-Schmett. Erde 5 , p. 652. FIGURES 96. Geographic distribution of Alesa lipara , A. hemiurga and A. thelydrias . Question mark indicates uncertain records. Diagnosis. Males of A. thelydrias are most similar to A. mariae sp. nov. and A. hemiurga , and it can be distinguished from A. amesis and A. mariae sp. nov. by the absence of iridescence on the wings upper side, lighter ground color of the wings underside, and by the irregular discal band on the hindwing underside; it can be distinguished from males of A. lipara and A. hemiurga by the absence of purplish sheen on the wings upper side, reddish spots on the wings upper side well marked, and by the discal band, closer to the postdiscal band on the hindwing underside. Female unknown. Type material. Alesa thelydrias was described from an unstated number of male specimens from Rio Cupari, Tapajós, Pará, Brazil . To avoid future uncertainty, a male syntype in NMHUK with the following labels is here designated lectotype of Alesa thelydrias Bates, 1867 : / Type H. T . / Tapajos, Amazons. H. W. Bates. / Type A. thelydrias [verso of the same label:] Tapajos / ♁ / 301 / Alesa thelydrias , Bates. Godman-Salvin Coll. 1913 .-2. / BMNH (E) 1717341 /; the following labels will be added to the specimen: / LECTOTYPUS / Lectotype Alesa thelydrias Bates, 1868 W. Santos, Dolibaina, Dias, O. Mielke & Casagrande des. 2021 /. Distribution. This species is only known from its type locality, in the region of the municipalities of Aveiro and Rurópolis, near Itaituba, Pará, Brazil ( Fig. 96 ). Comments. Alesa thelydrias is one of the three species of Alesa known only from a single male specimen. This species is distinctive in the “ amesis group” due to the spots and bands well marked on both wings upper side, which resembles a typical female of this species group. As already mentioned, characters of the wing pattern support A. thelydrias as being closely related to A. lipara and A. hemiurga , although the purplish sheen is absent in A. thelydrias but present in A. lipara and A. hemiurga . Alesa thelydrias is more similar and potentially can be misidentified with A. mariae sp. nov. , as both species have reddish spots on the wings upper side. However, they can easily be distinguished by the irregular discal band on the hindwing underside in A. thelydrias , which is straight in A. mariae sp. nov. . This band is straight in all males of A. amesis and A. mariae sp. nov. available for examination, while it is irregular in A. thelydrias , A. lipara and A. hemiurga . Nothing is known about the behavior or habitat of A. thelydrias . Considering that males of other species of Alesa perform hilltopping behavior, sampling in low elevation summits in eastern Amazon, mainly in the region of Itaituba, Pará, Brazil , would be advisable to find A. thelydrias . Examined material. BRAZIL — Pará : ( Rio Cupari ), Bates leg. , 1 male ( NHMUK ) (examined from images) .