The phylogeny of Opoptera butterflies, and an assessment of the systematic position of O. staudingeri (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae)
Author
Penz, Carla M.
text
Zootaxa
2009
1985
1
20
journal article
10.5281/zenodo.185409
1e8adb1d-85ac-48e8-98ba-42355c1d777a
1175-5326
185409
syme
-group
The name of this group is maintained from the original classification by
Stichel (1902)
.
Opoptera syme
(typespecies of the genus),
O. sulcius
and
O. fruhstorferi
form a monophyletic group supported by the following unambiguous character changes (
Fig. 3
C): presence of a thin hairpencil inside HW discal cell (character 12:1, also present in
O. bracteolata
;
Fig.
1
I); mid- and hindlegs, color of the distal edge of each segment and subsegment similar to the color of the segments themselves (17:0, unique); setose portion of valva tip flattened, palmate (26:1, unique;
Fig. 4
A).
Male genitalia are very similar within the syme-group. All species have long, narrow valvae that extend nearly to, or beyond the uncus tip in lateral view (
Fig. 4
A–C).
Opoptera syme
and
O. sulcius
share the presence of a spine-like expansion on the proximal region of the gnathos (30:1,
Fig. 4
A), and the palmate valva tip is more strongly projected ventrally in lateral view than in
O. fruhstorferi
(27:0;
Fig. 4
A–C). Although
O. sulcius
and
O. fruhstorferi
share a broad proximal arm of the FW postmedial band, the grouping of these two species as sister taxa increases tree length by one step.