Ptychotrichos elongata Schaus, 1905

Duarte, Marcelo, 2017, Revision of the Neotropical moth genus Ptychotrichos Schaus (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Arctiinae, Arctiini, Ctenuchina), Zootaxa 4312 (2), pp. 246-258 : 252-254

Ptychotrichos elongata Schaus, 1905

( Figs. 4–5 , 16–23 )

Ptychotrichos elongata Schaus, 1905: 190 . Holotype ♂, by monotypy. BRAZIL, Rio de Janeiro, cat. n°8506, with six labels: "Type No. 8506 U.S.N.M."; " Ptychotrichos elongata type Schs"; "Rio Janeiro."; "Collection WmSchaus"; "Kb–Dia–Nr. 1544 B. Kreusel dok."; and "USNMENT 00913968". (USNM) [examined]; Hampson, 1914: 291; Hampson, 1915: pl. 16, fig. 20.

Ptychotrichus [sic] elongata ; Zerny, 1912: 135; Draudt, 1915: 164, pl. 29, row m; Draudt, 1919: 211.

Diagnosis ♂ and ♀. Head predominantly brown, with orange scales surrounding vertex and on two spots on dorsal margin of frontoclypeous. Labial palpi and antennae brown and light yellow. Forewing with complex color pattern, involving brown, yellowish-brown, and gray scales, the latter rendering a hyaline appearance to the surface where they occur. Hindwing partially semihyaline, all margins brown. Abdominal tergites predominantly brown, most segments with either light or dark yellow scales laterally. Abdominal sternites almost entirely white. Aedeagus lacking tubercles, vesica with one spine. Valvae slightly asymmetrical. Female pheromone glands long, swollen distally. Lamella postvaginalis strongly sclerotized, lacking setae or spines, with a shallow medial indentation. Ductus bursae slightly sclerotized, and bursa copulatrix copiously covered by tiny signa.

Redescription ♂ and ♀. Proboscis dark brown. Labial palpi predominantly brown, exceeding vertex in length. First palpomere with light yellow scales ventrally. Third palpomere approximately twice longer than wide. Frontoclypeus longer than wide, dark brown, except for two spots immediately anterior to the antennae, with light yellow scales. Vertex and ocular ring dark brown. Post-occiput with two yellow spots. Cervical scales also yellow. Scales immediately behind antennal sockets white. Scape and pedicel dark brown, except for the anterior margin, yellow. Flagellomeres predominantly brown. Proximal flagellomeres with yellow scales on inner margin. Distal flagellomeres with white scales on dorsal margin. Thorax. Dorsal surface of mesothorax predominantly dark brown, except for anterior and posterior margins, light yellow. Metascutellum yellow. Patagia dark brown, junction of anterior and outer margins brownish-yellow. Tegulae predominantly dark brown, with a brownish-yellow longitudinal medial stripe near inner margin, and a brownish-yellow area near insertion of forewings. Epimera and episterna dark brown. Metathoracic subalar sclerites covered by orange scales. Anterior surface of prothoracic coxae predominantly white in males, and predominantly brown in females. Outer surface brown in both sexes. Posterior surface yellow. Anterior surface of mesothoracic and metathoracic coxae white. Outer margin of mesothoracic coxae brown and yellow, and of metathoracic coxae white. Prothoracic femora predominantly brown, with white scales at proximal end, and yellow scales on both sides, in longitudinal stripes. Prothoracic tibia brown with stripes similar to those of prothoracic femora, besides a spot of yellow scales at distal end. Prothoracic tarsi brown with a yellow spot at distal end of the first segment. Mesothoracic femora similar to prothoracic femora, but with the inner surface white. Mesothoracic brown with a spot of yellow scales at discal end. Mesothoracic tarsi as prothoracic tarsi. Metathoracic femora, tibia, and tarsi as in mesothoracic legs. Forewings. Entirely scaled. Dorsal surface: complex pattern formed by dark brown, yellowish-brown and gray scales. Areas covered by gray scales semihyaline. Ventral surface covered by dark brown scales, except for the semihyaline areas, which are equivalent to those on dorsal surface. Venation as in figure 5: R1 arising after discal cell. R2 arising closer to R5 than to R2. M2 and M3 varying among individuals, either with a long or a short common stalk. Hindwings. Predominantly semihyaline, with transparent scales. Margins brown. Cell 1A–2A with long brown scales interspersed with the short white scales. Females with 2 to 3 frenular bristles. Venation as in figure 5. Sc present. M3 fused with CuA1. Abdomen. Males with T1–3 dark brown dorsally and light yellow laterally. Light yellow scales on T2–3 androconial. T4 as the former tergites, but the yellow patches of a darker hue. T5–7 brown with dark yellow patches wider than those of T4. T8 brown with white posterior margin. Females with T1–4 predominantly brown, with lateral yellow patches. T5–6 as T5–7 of males. T7 entirely brown. Males with S2–4 white, S5–7 predominantly white, with brown ventral margin, and S8 almost completely brown. Ventral intersegmental membrane 7–8 lacking coremata. Intersegmental membrane 7–8 of males lacking androconia, but anterior margin of T8 expanded. T7 and S7 of females more heavily sclerotized than all other abdominal segments. Male genitalia. Aedeagus much longer than wide, smooth, posterior region turned downwards. Ejaculatory duct inserted dorsally. Caecum long, straight. Vesica short, with one large cornutus. Saccus undeveloped. Tegumen glabrous, slightly wider than vinculum, posterior margin heavily sclerotized. Anterior margin almost straight. Uncus flattened dorsalventrally, 4-lobed, with ventral lobes slightly longer than the dorsal lobes, striated dorsally. Uncus glabrous. Transtilla membranous. Juxta glabrous, slightly sclerotized. Right valva longer than left valva, both turned dorsally and exceeding uncus in length. Insertion of valvae slightly asymmetrical, turned to the left. Ventral surface of both valvae densely covered by long setae, thicker and more densely distributed proximally than distally. Outer surface of valvae glabrous. Both valvae with two finger-like heavily sclerotized projections, one proximal and one medial. Female genitalia. T9 uniformly sclerotized. Papilla anales with short setae, more densely concentrated at the dorsal surface. Pseudopapilla anales conspicuous, finger-like. Anterior apophyses approximately the same length as posterior apophyses. Pheromone glands developed, swollen distally. Intersegmental membrane 8–9 entirely membranous. Lamella antevaginalis membranous. Lamella postvaginalis strongly sclerotized, lacking setae or spines, with a shallow medial indentation. Ductus bursae slightly sclerotized, cylindrical, centralized. Corpus bursae approximately round, entirely covered by small signa. Ductus seminalis arising from ductus bursae.

Biology. None of the specimens examined had biological information on the labels. We have seen P. elongata only from light traps.

Distribution. This species is known from east Brazil, occurring in the Atlantic forest and Cerrado (Brazilian savannah), from sea level to 1,400m. At present, the known northern limit is Alagoas, Northeast Brazil, while its southern limit is the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil ( Ferro & Teston 2009). The absence of specimens from between the Atlantic forest and the Cerrado, and between the northernmost locality and the others (figure 29) is very likely due to insufficient sampling.

Material examined (37 ♂ and 18 ♀). BRAZIL: Alagoas, Maceió , 9°39'58"S 35°44’07"W, iv.1964, Aldo Cardoso, 1 female ( DZUP) ; Bahia, Camacan, Reserva Serra Bonita, 800m, 15°23'S 39°33'W, vi.2008, V. O. Becker , 140189, 1 female (VOB); idem, i.2009, V. O. Becker, 142244, 1 male (VOB); idem, 5–20.xi. 2011, 800m, Gláucia Marconato, Lívia Pinheiro & Simeão Moraes leg., 1 male and 1 female ( MZSP) ; Goiás, Alto Paraíso, 1400m, 14°07'57"S 47°30'35"W, 4.x.1985, V. O. Becker, 64607, 1 female (VOB); Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro , 22°54'11"S 43°12’27"W, H. H. Smith, 1 male ( CMNH) ; idem, 7.ix.1912, W. J. Holland, 1 male ( CMNH) ; Corcovado , 11.x.1936, Travassos & Oiticica, 50.616, 1 male ( MZSP) ; Nova Friburgo, 600m, 22°16'55"S 42° 31'52"W, 10.iii.1993, V. O. Becker , 86200, 1 male (VOB); idem, 1100m, 8–11.xi.1998, V. O. Becker, 117662, 1 male (VOB); Angra dos Reis, Fazenda Japuhyba, 23°00'24"S 44°19'04"W, 31.xiii.1945, Lauro Travassos Filho, LRP181, 1 male ( MZSP) ; idem, 8.x.1945, Lauro Travassos Filho, 1 male (MZSP); idem, 10.ix.1945, Lauro Travassos Filho, 1 male (MZSP); Santa Catarina, no precise locality, F. Johnson collection, LRP395, 1 female ( USNM) ; São Bento do Sul, Rio Vermelho , 26°15'02"S 49°22'43"W, 850m, 16.ix.1985, Mielke & Casagrande, LRP392, 1 male ( DZUP) ; idem, ii.1955, ex.-coll. Dirings, 1 male (MZSP); idem, xi.1955, ex.-coll. Dirings, 1 female (MZSP); idem, vi.1955, ex.-coll. Dirings, 1 female (MZSP); Hansa Humbolt , 1 male ( USNM) ; São Paulo, Salesópolis, Estação Biológica de Boracéia , 850m, 23°38'36"S 45°54'51"W, 10.ix2008, L. R. Pinheiro, 1 male ( MZSP) ; idem, 4–12.ix.2008, MZ-Entomo campo, MZSP 26274, 1 female (MZSP); idem 4.x.1967, A. Barroso, Travassos Filho & Ricardo Travassos, 1 female (MZSP); idem, 16–17.viii.1969, Bernardi, Kloss & Papavero, 1 male (MZSP); idem, 9.vi.1959, Lauro Travassos Filho, 1 male and 1 female (MZSP); idem, 22–25.viii.1949, Travassos, Travassos Filho & Rabello, 2 males (MZSP); idem, 6–9.ix.1950, M. Peña et. al, 1 male and 1 female (MZSP); idem, 28–31.iii.1957, A. Portugal et al, 1 male (MZSP); idem, 17–19.i.1967, Travassos et. al, 1 male (MZSP); Juquiá, Fazenda Poço Grande, 24°19'15"S 47°38'05"W, 1–5.x.1940, C.D.Z., 6 females (MZSP); idem, LRP 206, 1 female (MZSP); idem, 16 males (MZSP).

Remarks. Ptychotrichos elongata is frequently mistaken in collections for species of the genus Nelphe Herrich-Schäffer, [1858]. However, the similarities are superficial, and P. elongata can be distinguished from other taxa by many characters. For instance, its forewing markings are considerably more diffuse and fewer in number than those of Nelphe. Moreover, the forewing of Nelphe is not as long as that of P. elongata ; the forewing of the latter species is almost twice the length of the hindwing. Males of P. elongata can be further distinguished from species of Nelphe by the presence of the hairbrush on the inner margin of hindwing, absent in all species of Nelphe.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 4. Habitus of Ptychotrichos spp. 1) Ptychotrichos zeus, lectotype male, dorsal (left) and ventral (right) views, plus labels; 2) Idem, female specimen from Rondônia, dorsal (left) and ventral (right); 3) P. zeus male, detail of androconia. 4) P. elongata, holotype male, dorsal (left) and ventral (right) views, plus labels. Scale bars: 10 mm, except for detail of androconia, 2 mm.

FIGURES 5 – 6. Wing venation. 5) Fore- and hindwing venation of a female of P. elongata from Angra dos Reis (identical in males of this species and both sexes of P. zeus); 6) Fore- and hindwing venation of a male of H. fenestrifer comb. nov. from Pan de Azúcar

FIGURES 16 – 23. Abdominal pelt and genitalia of P. elongata. 16) Male abdomen (male from Angra dos Reis, Brazil), showing the androconial patch; 17) Male genitalia, dorsal view; 18) Idem, left view; 19) Idem, right view; 20) Idem, posterior view; 21) Aedeagus; 22) Female genitalia (female from Salesópolis, Brasil), dorsal view; 23) Idem, ventral view. Scales: 1 mm.