Corades medeba pittieri Pyrcz & Viloria

Viloria, Angel L., Pyrcz, Tomasz W. & Orellana, Andrés, 2010, A survey of the Neotropical montane butterflies of the subtribe Pronophilina (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae) in the Venezuelan Cordillera de la Costa, Zootaxa 2622, pp. 1-41 : 7-8

Corades medeba pittieri Pyrcz & Viloria n. ssp.

( Figs. 39, 40 , 57)

Corades medeba Hewitson, 1850: 439 , pl. 10, fig. 4. Syntypes (2 males), in BMNH [examined].

Diagnosis: More than 300 individuals of C. medeba from the entire range of the species were examined, demonstrating that this subspecies is recognized from the individuals of other subspecies of C. medeba first of all by the almost uniform silver beige HWV in the male and light beige in the female. FWV median orange dots of pittieri are considerably smaller than in the nominate subspecies and most populations of columbina Staudinger, except for the specimens occurring the CM.

Description: MALE ( Fig. 39 ): Head, thorax and abdomen as in other subspecies. FW triangular with a blunt apex, length: 33–34 mm, mean: 33.6 mm, n=14. HW oval with slightly scalloped outer margin and a short tail-like extension along vein Cu2. FWD: dark chocolate brown, very slightly lighter than in C. medeba columbina ; a large blackish androconial scale covering two-thirds of wing surface. HWD: uniform dark chocolate brown, lustrous. FWV: dark brown; two faint orange spots in the middle of the discal cell, and in the postdical area in cell M2-M3; a faint whitish costal patch in postdiscal area; subapical and apical area beige dusted with some magenta scales. HWV: ground color silver beige, as compared to olive dark brown in other subspecies of C. medeba ; a slightly darker median band with a yellowish discal cell spot at bese of vein Cu1; a row of faint submarginal dark brown dots, not apparent in cell M3-Cu1. Male genitalia (Fig. 57): In the nominate subspecies the valvae are wide and of the same width throughout their length, whereas in pittieri and columbina they are consistently slender and gradually narrow towards apex; the difference between pittieri and columbina are mostly quantitative, and consist in the thinner subunci, shallower saccus and shorter valvae. All the subspecies of C. medeba have serrate subunci on dorsal surface near the tip, a character not found in other Corades .

FEMALE ( Fig. 40 ): FW length: 34.5– 35 mm, mean: 34.7 mm, n=3. FWD: medium brown, glossy; a small median orange patch in M3-Cu1; two whitish postdiscal costal patches; two diffused whitish subapical patches, dusted with brown; a row of four submarginal small orange patches in M2-M3 to Cu1-Cu2 (FWD pattern variable as in all subspecies of C. medeba ). HWD: medium brown, lustrous; faint, diffused orange markings in postdiscal area. FWV: dark brown; costa, apex and outer margin very light beige; a short orange discal streak; a roughly rounded orange postdiscal patch in M3-Cu1; a row of four oval postdiscal orange patches in M2-M3 to Cu1-Cu2. HWV: very light beige with some brown ripple-like pattern on the entire wing surface without any noticeable concentration; a very slightly darker median band. Female genitalia: not illustrated.

Types: Holotype (male): Venezuela, Aragua State, Colonia Tovar, La Entrada, 22.V.1993, P. Rouche leg., MIZA; Allotype (female): 1 female: Colonia Tovar, Los Colonos, 2100–2150 m, 06.VIII.2003, T. Pyrcz leg., TWP; Paratypes (37 males and 4 females): ARAGUA: 1 male: Colonia Tovar, 1900–2100m, 11.XI.1997, P. Boyer leg., PBF; 2 males: same data but 01.X.1997, PBF; 1 male: same data but 03.XII.1994, PBF; 2 males: Colonia Tovar, 2200 m, 4.XII.1950, F. Fernández Y. leg., MIZA; 2 males: Colonia Tovar, vía Cuesta Maya, 2100 m, 14.V.1996, J. DeMarmels leg., MIZA; 3 males: Colonia Tovar, vía Naranjal, 2100 m, 7.III.2004, M. Costa leg., MCC; 3 males: same data but 20.III.2004, MCC; 1 males and 1 female: same data but 28.II.2004, MCC; 2 males: Colonia Tovar, 2200 m, 27.II.1984, M. Costa leg., MCC; 5 males: Colonia Tovar, vía Naranjal, 1900 m, 01.XI.2004, T. Pyrcz leg., TWP; 5 males: Colonia Tovar, Los Colonos, 2100 m, 06.VIII.2003, T. Pyrcz leg., 1 MZUJ, 1 BMNH, 3 TWP; 1 male: Colonia Tovar, 2100 m, III.1995, F. Romero leg., FRR; 2 males and 1 female: same data but 2100, IV.1993, FRR; 1 male: same data but 2200 m, FRR; 2 males and 2 females: same data but 2300 m, FRR; 2 males: sama data but 2200 m, IV.1982, FRR; 1 male: same data but 2200 m, IV.1983, FRR; 1 male: same data but 2200 m, X.1995, FRR.

Etymology: Named after Henri Pittier, a Swiss-American botanist and naturalist, promoter of the creation of a research station in Rancho Grande and a protected area of cloud forest in the Cordillera de la Costa currently known as Henri Pittier National Park.

Geographic range: Species: CC, CM, throughout Colombia, Ecuador, eastern slopes in Peru and Bolivia; Subspecies: CC.

Altitudinal range: 2300–2850 m ( Adams, 1986); 2300–2400 m ( Pyrcz & Wojtusiak, 2002) ssp. columbina Thieme; 2000–2400 m (Pyrcz, 2004) ssp. medeba Hewitson ; 1800–> 2400 m in CC.

Remarks: Polytypic, and as widespread as C. pannonia . It is less common than C. enyo in the CC, still frequently encountered along forest trails, usually perching and patrolling in the subcanopy, engaging in aerial fights with the congeners, and occasionally coming to the ground to feed on organic matter.

Figures

FIGURES 37 – 44. Adult satyrine butterflies from the Cordillera de La Costa, Venezuela (left: dorsal, right: ventral); 37. Corades enyo enyo Hewitson (male, Los Colonos); 38. C. enyo enyo Hewitson (Los Colonos); 39. Corades medeba pittieri Pyrcz & Viloria n. ssp., HOLOTYPE (male, vía Naranjal); 40. C. medeba pittieri Pyrcz & Viloria n. ssp., PARATYPE (female, vía Naranjal); 41. Corades pannonia pannonia Hewitson (male, vía Naranjal); 42. C. pannonia pannonia Hewitson (female, Colonia Tovar); 43. Manerebia mycalesoides (C. & R. Felder) (male, Sector El Tigre); 44. M. mycalesoides (C. & R. Felder) (female, Sector El Tigre).