Oenomaus mancha Busby & Faynel

Faynel, Christophe, Busby, Robert C. & Robbins, Robert K., 2012, Review of the species level taxonomy of the neotropical butterfly genus Oenomaus (Lycaenidae, Theclinae, Eumaeini), ZooKeys 222, pp. 11-45 : 14-16

Oenomaus mancha Busby & Faynel sp. n. Figs 1, 2, 20, 26, 38, 46

Type-locality.

Ecuador: Sucumbíos, 5 km Puerto Libre-La Bonita Road, 0°13.0'N, 77°29.3'W, 700 m. The road going west from Puerto Libre increases in elevation as the terrain becomes hillier. The collecting spot was in wet forest and was easily accessed by a muddy logging trail. Since 2005, logging has continued, leaving very few tall trees in the once beautiful forest.

Type-specimen.

Holotype ♂ (Fig. 1) labeled as "ECUADOR: Sucumbios / 5 km Puerto Libre-La Bonita Road / 0°13.0'N, 77°29.3'W, 700 m / 23 February 2005 / Robert C. Busby, leg." [rectangular, white, printed], "11:00 hrs / 5 m" [rectangular, white, handwritten, blue ink], "GENITALIA No. / 2011: 419♂ / C. FAYNEL" [rectangular, green, printed] "Holotype ♂ / Oenomaus mancha / Busby & Faynel, 2012" [rectangular, red, printed]. Deposited in USNM.

Paratypes: Ecuador. 2 ♂: Napo, 14 km Tena-Puyo Road, 1°06.7'S, 77°46.9' W, 600 m, 24.IX.2011, (Apuya) Robert C. Busby leg. (RCB); Napo, Pimpilala, [GPS data: 1° 04.6 S, 77°56.2'W], 600-700 m, Euclides Aldaz leg., XII.2003, gen. prep. CF n°290 (PB); 10♀: Napo, 28 km Tena-Puyo Road, 1°11.3'S, 77°49.9'W, 800 m, VIII.2006 (El Capricho) I. Aldas & R. C. Busby leg. (RCB); Napo, 12 km Tena-Puyo Road, 1°05.3'S, 77°47.4' W, 600 m, 28.VIII.2009, (Finca San Carlo) D. H. Ahrenholz, R. C. Busby, leg. (RCB); Napo, 14 km Tena-Puyo Road, 1°06.7'S, 77°46.9'W 600 m, VIII.2005, (Apuya) I. Aldas & R. C. Busby leg. (RCB); Napo, 14 km Tena-Puyo Road, 1°06.7'S, 77°46.9'W, 600 m, 17.X.2010, (Apuya) I. Aldas & R. C. Busby leg. (RCB); Napo, 14 km Tena-Puyo Road, 1°06.7'S, 77°46.9'W, 600 m, 22.X.2010, (Apuya) I. Aldas & R. C. Busby leg. (RCB); Pastaza Province, 32 km S. of Puyo, 1000 m, 21-23.X.1995 Robert C. Busby leg. (RCB); Pastaza Province, 45 km Puyo-Arajuno Rd, 1000 m, 15.IX.1999, Robert C. Busby leg., gen. prep. CF n°420 (RCB); Pastaza Province, 45 km Puyo-Arajuno Rd, 1000 m, 26.IX.1999, Robert C. Busby leg., gen. prep. CF n°421 (RCB); Pastaza Province, 45 km Puyo-Arajuno Rd, 1000 m, 26.IX.1999, Robert C. Busby leg. (RCB); Pastaza, Puyo, 1000 m, 14.X.1989, D.H. Ahrenholz leg., gen. prep. CF n°407 (USNM ENT 00180037) (Fig. 2).

Description, diagnosis and recognition as a distinct species.

Male FW length: 20.8 mm (SD = 1.9, N = 2). Female FW length: 19.4 mm (SD = 0.5, N = 3). Wing pattern (Figs 1, 2) and genitalia (Figs 20, 26) illustrated. Oenomaus mancha , Oenomaus ortygnus , and Oenomaus gwenish (named below) share a unique ventral wing pattern in which the VFW postmedian line (displaced basally, but by tradition still called the postmedian line) is composed of “disjointed” large black spots on a gray ground color (Fig. 3 for Oenomaus gwenish and Figs 2, 4 for Oenomaus ortygnus in Faynel 2006). Oenomaus mancha differs from Oenomaus ortygnus by (1) a black patch in the distal part of the VHW cell Sc+R1-Rs, elongated basally, (2) no black mark in VFW cell Costa-Sc, and (3) a black band crossing the VFW discal cell. In addition, females of Oenomaus mancha are a brighter blue dorsally, while the blue on the DFW of males is somewhat less expansive with the scent pad not completely encircled by blue scales as in Oenomaus ortygnus . Male and female genitalia of Oenomaus mancha and Oenomaus ortygnus also differ (Figs 25, 28 for Oenomaus ortygnus in Faynel 2006). In particular, the dorsal part of the valvae of the male genitalia in lateral aspect is shorter and has a more sharply tapered posterior end in ventral view. In the female, the bifid posterior end of the lamella postvaginalis is less marked and the anterior end of the ductus bursae is curved more sharply. One paratype from Ecuador has been barcoded (CF-LYC-190), and its sequence is 3.5% divergent from the sequences of two males of Oenomaus ortygnus (CF-LYC-147 from Peru and CF-LYC-146 from Mexico, see Table 1) while the two Oenomaus ortygnus sequences differ by only 1.5%. Oenomaus ortygnus and Oenomaus mancha are sympatric in eastern Ecuador in Napo Province at approximately 450 m.

Etymology.

The name of this species is derived from the Spanish word “mancha”, which means spot, referring to the very distinctive, elongated black spot in VHW cell Sc+R1-Rs. The name is a feminine noun in apposition.

Habitat and distribution.

Oenomaus mancha occurs widely in wet forest in eastern Ecuador at elevations ranging from 400 to 1100 m (Fig. 46). Although it is sympatric with Oenomaus ortygnus in wet forest, it does not occur in the highly disturbed habitats in which Oenomaus ortygnus sometimes occurs. It is yet an open question whether Oenomaus mancha is a lowland or lower montane species.

Behavior.

The holotype male was landed on a leaf about 5 m above the ground at 11:00 hours. Males and females are attracted to traps baited with rotting fish (vouchers in RCB).