Hesperiidae of Rondônia, Brazil: Porphyrogenes Watson (Lepidoptera: Pyrginae: Eudamini), with descriptions of new species from Central and South America
Author
Austin, George T.
McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida P. O. Box 112710, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA
Author
Mielke, Olaf H. H.
Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Caixa Postal 19020, 81531 - 980, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil Fellow CNPq.
text
Insecta Mundi
2008
2008-09-26
2008
44
1
56
journal article
10.5281/zenodo.5169696
1942-1354
5169696
Porphyrogenes passalus
(
Herrich-Schäffer, 1869
)
(
Fig. 43, 44
)
Eudamus passalus
Herrich-Schäffer, 1869
. Type locality: unknown; female type (herein designated the
lectotype
,
Fig. 43, 44
) in MNHU.
Description.
Female (described from photographs of the
type
and one from Rio Songo,
Bolivia
,
Fig. 43, 44
) - forewing length = 29.0 mm (from
Bolivia
), forewing apex rounded, not produced, termen convex, anal margin straight; hindwing termen convex, slightly concave just anterior to very short tornal lobe, vein Rs arising nearer to end of discal cell than to its base and distad of CuA
2
; dorsum blackish brown; forewing overscaled with dull blue-green basad, white band (prominently divided by blackish veins) from costa (where a single quadrate macule) through discal cell (this macule offset somewhat proximad from remainder of band), base of M
3
-CuA
1
, mid-CuA
1
-CuA
2
, and terminating in a tapering macule almost at termen in CuA
2
-2A; hindwing overscaled with dull blue-green, no indication of discal macules; erect brownish tuft on dorsum of vein 2A; fringes on both wings brown.
Venter similar to dorsum but duller, overscaling less extensive, forewing vein 2A prominently sinuate, modified tan scales in proximal 1/4 of CuA
2
-2A and in entire anal cell; hindwing with no discal macules; cell 2A-3A with groove just caudad of vein 2A.
Dorsal head and thorax dull blue-green, eyes apparently dark, palpi gray-brown, antennae missing, ventral thorax and pectus brownish with dull blue-green scales, legs and abdomen not examined (missing on
type
).
Genitalia - not examined.
Distribution and phenology.
The distribution of
P. passalus
cannot be fully elaborated until all known specimens are re-examined, as some reported records are actually
P. omphale
. Females identified as
P. passalus
are known from
Colombia
,
Bolivia
(Rio Songo), and
Brazil
(Amazonas).
Diagnosis and discussion.
Porphyrogenes passalus
was described from a female from an unknown locale (
Herrich-Schäffer 1869
). The very worn specimen at MNHU here designated as the
lectotype
(
Fig. 43, 44
), lacks an abdomen. It bears five labels as follows: / Origin. /, / Coll. H.-Sch. /, /
passalus HS
/, / Thym.
Passalus HS
. /, and / Passalus H.S. /. The existence of three similar taxa, yet to be associated with a conspecific male, justifies the need for the undoubted identity of
Eudamus passalus
through a designated
lectotype
.
The association of
P. passalus
with the phenotype of
P. omphale
(as its female) by
Evans (1952)
and the continued use of this synonymy (
Mielke 2005
) were not justified and have proven incorrect with the identification of the actual female of
P. omphale
(see above). Material assigned to
P. passalus
is distinguished from similar phenotypes by the irregular appearance of the white band on the forewing where the macule in the discal cell is offset somewhat basad from the other macules of the series and it is prominently divided by dark veins. In addition, the costal macule is not divided and the wings are prominently convex with a short tornal lobe on the hindwing.