Pachythone bicolor ( Godman & Salvin, 1886 ) Godman & Salvin, 1886

Dias, Fernando Maia Silva, Dolibaina, Diego Rodrigo, Mielke, Carlos Guilherme Costa, Mielke, Olaf Hermann Hendrik & Casagrande, Mirna Martins, 2015, Description of two new species of Pheles Herrich – Schäffer, [1853] and notes on the taxonomic position of two species hitherto included in the genus (Riodinidae: Riodininae), Zootaxa 3981 (2), pp. 275-283 : 280-282

Pachythone bicolor ( Godman & Salvin, 1886) comb. nov.

( Figs 15–16 , 29–30 , 35 )

This species was described in Lepricornis based on the thickness of the antennae (which is ultimately caused by the presence of dense and long scales) and wing venation; the description was based on a single male holotype from Bugaba, Panamá, the only specimen known until recently ( DeVries 1997), was not dissected ( Godman & Salvin 1886: 406). DeVries (1997) previously noted that the generic placement of this taxon was doubtful, and the proper placement would be only ascertained with the dissection of the genitalia and additional specimens. The examination of the male genitalia (apparently females are as yet unknown) confirms that it should not only be removed from Pheles , but from the Riodinini as well. The absence of the scobinated patch and of a strongly indented anterior margin of the tegumen remove this species from the Riodinini ; and, since this species lacks any of the synapomorphies supporting the other tribes of Riodininae ( Harvey 1987; Hall & Harvey 2002), it should be included for the moment among the unplaced genera with four FRV in the paraphyletic incertae sedis section established by Harvey (1987).

Morphological comparison between the species of the genera of the four FRV incertae sedis section indicates that this species is closely related to Pachythone Bates, 1868 , as defined by Stichel (1911) and Machaya Hall & Willmott, 1995. In P. b i c o l o r comb. nov. and species belonging to these two genera, the uncus is ventrally strongly lobed in lateral view; the saccus reduced and rounded; and the valva roughly triangular and posteriorly tapering to a point, dorsally with a membranous semicircular indentation and a narrow transtilla; the aedeagus is curved ventrally and the fultura inferior is anteriorly displaced to the left side. Nevertheless, the condition of the vein M1 and R3+4 branching after the discal cell, referred as unique to Machaya by Hall & Willmott (1995), was observed in all species of Pachythone available to us for examination (see below the species of the dissected specimens deposited at the DZUP), including P. b i c ol o r comb. nov. Some degree of variation of the distance of this branching from the end of the discal cell was observed (including P. gigas Godman & Salvin, 1878 , Stichel 1911: Fig. 72b), being considerably farther away from the discal cell in M. obstinata Hall & Willmott, 1995 ( Hall & Willmott, 1995: Fig. 10 c). Nevertheless, the bulky abdomen, short antenna and the morphology of the labial palpus, legs and wing venation reinforce the combination with Pachythone ( Bates 1868, Stichel 1911; Hall & Willmott 1995; Hall & Furtado 1999), and relationship with similarly-colored species of Pachythone such as P. xanthe Bates, 1868 , P. mimula Bates, 1868 , P. gigas and P. thaumaria Stichel, 1911 is indicated. The following taxa were compared: P. gigas ( Stichel 1911: pl. 17, Fig. 72c), P. robusta Lathy, 1932 (dissected, male DZ 23.447), P. lateritia Bates, 1868 (dissected, male DZ 21.623), P. conspersa Stichel, 1926 (dissected, male DZ 32.026), P. analuciae Hall, Furtado & DeVries, 1999 ( Hall & Furtado 1999: Figs 5 a and 5b), P. sumare Callaghan, 1999 ( Callaghan 1999: Fig. 54), M.

obstinata ( Hall & Willmott 1995: Figs 10 a and 10b) and M. aenigmatica Rodriguez, Salazar & Constantino, 2011 ( Rodriguez, Salazar & Constantino 2011: Figs 49–50). The similarity between characters of Pachythone and Machaya and the homogeneity of the male genitalia of Pachythone were previously acknowledged by Hall & Willmott (1995) and Hall & Furtado (1999), respectively. In consequence, the generic position of P. bicolor comb. nov. is still tentative and the species could in fact belong to a closed related genus or to a still unrecognized taxon belonging to the “ Pachythone cluster of genera” established by Hall (2007).

Until now, this species was apparently known only from the holotype. Nielsen and Salazar (2014) cite seven more specimens, in four widely separate localities: one male from Guatemala, Petén, Parque Nacional Tikal, 21.IX.1992, J.V.O. leg. without voucher number, dissected by DRD, deposited at the MGCL; two males from Colombia, Meta, Villavicencio, km 13 via Acacias (04°03’ 43.3N, 73°42’ 04.6W), 9.V.2012, 9.X.2013. G. Nielsen leg., one male from Brazil, Minas Gerais, Paracatu, 0 1.III.1966, in the Curtis Callaghan collection, one male from Brazil, Santa Catarina, Joinville, 25.II.1968 (DZ 28.362), Miers leg. deposited at the DZUP, and two males from the same locality, 7.IX.1968 (OM 40.348*), Miers leg. and 22.XI.1994 (OM 67.616), Miers & Mielke leg. deposited at the OM. The South American specimens are quite similar to those from Central America, however, the yellow markings are generally larger and the subapical band ellipsoidal, somewhat stretched, instead of rounded; the genitalia are identical.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 20. Species belonging to Pheles Herrich – Schäffer, [1853], Pachythone Bates, 1868 and Melanis Hübner, [1819], dorsal and ventral. 1 – 4. Pheles plaumanni sp. nov. 1 – 2. Male holotype, Nova Teutônia, Seara, Santa Catarina, Brazil (DZ 28.363). 3 – 4. Female allotype, Nova Teutônia, Seara, Santa Catarina, Brazil (DZ 28.344). 5 – 12. Pheles atricolor atricolor. 5 – 8. Typical phenotype pattern from Atlantic ombrophilous dense forest and Araucaria moist forest. 5 – 6. Male, Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil (DZ 28.294). 7 – 8. Female, Cedro, Antonina, Paraná, Brazil (DZ 28.312). 9 – 12. Phenotype pattern from Cerrado and Atlantic semideciduous forest. 9 – 10. Male, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil (DZ 26.412). 11 – 12. Female, Fazenda Água Limpa, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil (DZ 28.316). 13 – 14. Pheles obscura sp. nov. female holotype, Piên, Paraná, Brazil (DZ 30.136). 15 – 16. Pachythone bicolor comb. nov. male, Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil (DZ 28.362). 17 – 20. Melanis caatingensis comb. nov. 17 – 18. Male paratype, Brejo Santo, Ceará, Brazil (DZ 31.899). 19 – 20. Female paratype, Brejo Santo, Ceará, Brazil (DZ 31.938).

FIGURES 21 – 32. Male head of some species belonging to Pheles Herrich – Schäffer, [1853], Pachythone Bates, 1868 and Melanis Hübner, [1819], frontal and lateral. 21 – 22. Pheles plaumanni sp. nov. 23 – 26. Pheles atricolor atricolor. 23 – 24. Typical phenotype pattern from Atlantic ombrophilous dense forest and Araucaria moist forest. 25 – 26. Phenotype pattern from Cerrado and Atlantic semideciduous forest. 27 – 28. Pheles obscura sp. nov. 29 – 30. Pachythone bicolor comb. nov. 31 – 32. Melanis caatingensis comb. nov.

FIGURES 33 – 36. Male genitalia of some species belonging to Pheles Herrich – Schäffer, [1853], Pachythone Bates, 1868 and Melanis Hübner, [1819]. 33. Pheles plaumanni sp. nov., paratype (DZ 21.010). 34. Pheles atricolor atricolor. 35. Pachythone bicolor comb. nov. 36. Melanis caatingensis comb. nov., paratype (DZ 21.059).