Phavaraea rectangularis (Toulgoët and Navatte) Toulgoet and Navatte, 1997

Miller, James S, 2009, Generic Revision Of The Dioptinae (Lepidoptera: Noctuoidea: Notodontidae) Part 2: Josiini, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2009 (321), pp. 675-1022 : 732-733

Phavaraea rectangularis (Toulgoët and Navatte) , new combination Figure 309 ; plate 28

Pseudophaloë rectangularis Toulgoët and Navatte,

1997: 316–317.

TYPE LOCALITY: French Guiana, Relais de Patawa, Piste de Kaw, PK 36, 19.

TYPE: Holotype 3, leg. J. Cerda, Apr 1995 ( MNHN).

DISCUSSION: This species is here transferred from Pseudophaloë ( Arctiidae : Pericopinae ) to Phavaraea as a new combination. Phavaraea rectangularis , endemic to French Guiana, is highly unusual and exceedingly rare. The moth was not discovered until the mid-1990s. As far as I am aware, the world’s holdings comprise three specimens —the male holotype and a female paratype, both at the MNHN in Paris, as well as a male in the Bernard Hermier Collection. Of these, I was able to examine the BHC male firsthand, using that specimen for photographs (pl. 28) and dissection (JSM-1775). After considerable study, I have assigned rectangularis to Phavaraea , but the species remains problematic.

Toulgoët and Navatte (1997) described rectangularis in the arctiid subfamily Pericopinae , but its membership in the Josiini is confirmed by a kettledrum thoracic tympanum and typical josiine male genitalia (fig. 309). Furthermore, the species belongs in the josiine subclade that includes Getta , Polyptychia and Phavaraea (Clade 19; fig. 7). Beyond that, its position is open to debate.

The only androconia in P. rectangularis are found in an elongate pouch, located along the anal margin of the HW (pl. 28). A similar HW system appears in Polyptychia (fig. 298E) as well as in other Phavaraea (fig. 306A, B), but the androconial organ of P. rectangularis —comprised of a relatively narrow fold enclosing a set of long, hairlike scales—is less elaborate than in these others. Furthermore, there are no abdominal androconia in P. rectangularis , either on the venter or pleuron.

Phavaraea rectangularis also exhibits a set of autapomorphies. For example, the abdominal dorsum is unusual in showing broad lateral patches of extremely short, appressed, light gray scales on A2–A4, and the dorsum of Tg8 exhibits a purplish cast. The antennae of P. rectangularis are unlike those of other Josiini , in that the rami along the mesal surface are much shorter than the lateral ones; elsewhere in the tribe, the pectinations on each side of the antennal shaft are roughly equal in length. The wing venation of P. rectangularis is not particularly helpful regarding generic placement; the species does not exhibit apomorphies characteristic of Getta (FW and HW discal cells short) or Polyptychia (FW Rs 4 branching below Rs 1). In the FW, vein M 1 arises from the anterolateral angle of the DC, touching the base of the radial sector, and M 3 is stalked with CuA 1. The HW venation is unremarkable, with Rs and M 1, as well as M 3 and CuA 1, being stalked. In lieu of additional character information, I have chosen Phavaraea as the most appropriate genus in which to place this species.

DISTRIBUTION: French Guiana (BHC, MNHN).

DISSECTED: 3, /464/, Route forestière de Bélizon, Montagne Tortue pk 14.5, spk 2.5+(à droite)2, 1+(à droite)4.4, 20 May 2001, J.-L. Giuglaris, piège lumineux, BHC (JSM-1775).

Figures

Fig. 309. Male genitalia of Phavaraea rectangularis (JSM-1775). A, genitalia; B, aedeagus; C, Tg8; D, St8.