Generic Revision Of The Dioptinae (Lepidoptera: Noctuoidea: Notodontidae) Part 2: Josiini
Author
Miller, James S
text
Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History
2009
2009-06-30
2009
321
675
1022
http://dx.doi.org/10.1206/321.1-1
journal article
10.1206/321.1-1
0003-0090
13126000
Phintia podarce
Walker
,
revised status
Figures 329F, 329G
,
330
; plate 31 [EX]
Phintia podarce
Walker, 1854: 306
.
TYPE
LOCALITY
:
Brazil
, Pará.
TYPE
:
Syntype
♀
(
BMNH
).
Phintia cercostis
Walker, 1854: 307
.
New synonymy
.
TYPE
LOCALITY
:
Brazil
, Pará.
TYPE
:
Syntype
♀
, Bates Collection
(BMNH).
DISCUSSION
: This species is here taken from
Josia
, where it had most recently been placed (
Bryk, 1930
), and reassigned to
Phintia
following its original author (
Walker, 1854
). Specimens of
P. podarce
are widely distributed across the world’s collections, but the moth rarely occurs in larges series. The holdings of the BMNH (
23 specimens
) and ZMH (
13 specimens
) are by far the largest. Males are much less common than females. The bulk of
P. podarce
material was collected in
Brazil
.
My examination of Walker’s
P. cercostis
and
P. podarce
types
suggests that these are conspecific. Not only do they show identical wing patterns, but also both possess exactly the same (sparse) label data—‘‘
Pará
’’. In placing one of the names in synonymy, I have chosen
podarce
to take precedence over
cercostis
on the basis of page priority. At first it seems remarkable that Walker described these as distinct species, rather than treating them as a single entity. However, two factors were at work: First, this attests to the remarkable speed at which he was naming species. Second, since Walker was paid piecework for each genus and species described, there was little incentive to proceed with care. Within the
Dioptinae
, there are numerous species that he described more than once.
An AMNH female from
Mexico
exhibits genitalia differing from those of other
Phintia
species.
This specimen not only represents a third species, but is also the first record of the genus for Central America. Its description will await the discovery of Central American males. Label data are as follows:
Mexico
,
Veracruz
, Presídio,
Aug 1939
, leg. C.C. Hoffmann, AMNH (genitalia slide no. JSM-1510).
DISTRIBUTION
:
Brazil
(BMNH, CAS, CUIC, CMNH, OUMNH, USNM, ZMC, ZMH);
Peru
(AMNH, CUIC, ZMH);
French Guiana
(AMNH, BMNH).
DISSECTED
: ³,
Brazil
,
Pará
,
Benevides
,
Oct 1918
, leg.
S.M. Klages
,
CMNH
(genitalia slide no.
JSM-313
)
;
³,
Peru
,
Madre de Dios
,
12
°
51
9
S
,
69
°
18
9
W
,
200 m
,
Tambopata Reserve
, day coll.,
6 Dec 1996
, leg. A.
V
.
Z. Brower
,
AMNH
(genitalia slide no.
JSM-1746
)
;
³,
Peru
,
Achinamiza
,
30 Aug 1927
,
AMNH
(genitalia slide no.
JSM-1466
)
;
♀
,
Brazil
,
Santarém
,
May 1919
, leg.
S.M. Klages
,
CMNH
(genitalia slide no.
JSM-314
)
;
♀
,
Peru
,
Achinamiza
,
24 Aug 1929
, ‘‘F6001’’,
H. Bassler Collection
,
AMNH
(genitalia slide no.
JSM-1511
)
.
NOTASCEA
MILLER
,
new genus