Calisto israeli Torre, 1973

Aguila, Rayner Nunez, Plasencia, Edelquis Oliva, Maravi, Pavel F. Matos & Wahlberg, Niklas, 2012, Cuban Calisto (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Satyrinae), a review based on morphological and DNA data, ZooKeys 165, pp. 57-105 : 60-66

Calisto israeli Torre, 1973 Figs 1-32532404856, 5760-6266

Calisto israeli Torre 1973: 3, Alayo and Hernández 1987: 41, Núñez 2009: 49

Calisto israel Smith et al. 1994: 57, misspelling

Calisto sibylla smintheus Lamas 2004: 207

Diagnosis.

Calisto israeli can be separated from all its congeners by the large, triangle shaped patch of white scales at the middle portion of the inner margin at UNHW.

Description. FWL: 24-26 mm ♂, 25-27 mm ♀. Male UPFW uniform brown except basal two thirds of costa and androconial patch, dark brown almost black (Fig. 1). Androconial patch extending diagonally between posterior margin of cell and 2A vein to beyond M3 origin, outer and posterior margins rounded, about three fifths the length of FW (Fig. 32). Female UPFW with basal three fifths and outer margin dark brown, outer two fifths pale brown (Fig. 2). Male UPHW uniform dark brown, costa pale brown. Female UPHW dark brown at anterior two thirds, posterior third pale brown. UN of wings brown mixed with ochre and, in less extent, pale yellow scales mostly at basal half (Figs 3, 25); interspace of stl pale brown mixed with pale yellow scales. UN lines of wings without external edge of pale scaling, only white scales on outer edge of pdl at posterior half of wing. UNFW without red on cell and white scaling below cell to posterior margin. Post discal area on UNHW with four white dots at Rs–M 1, M1-M2, M2-M3, dot at M3-Cu1 if present very small; middle of UNHW posterior margin with a large triangular patch of white scales; post discal area heavily suffused with white scales. HW anal lobe entirely black at UN. Male genitalia heavily sclerotized, tegumen approximately 0.7 the length of uncus, with dorsum nearly flat (Fig. 40); uncus stout and slightly arched, tapering gradually to apex, base slightly protruding, subquadrate; digitiform projection of valve straight with ventral margin slightly concave; aedeagus swollen at base in lateral view, near straight with a small left curve at basal half in dorsal view. Female genitalia large (Fig. 48); dorsal crown very tall; corpus bursae broad, approximately 0.8 the length of ductus bursae.

Type material.

Holotype♀: Oriente (currently Guantánamo), Cupeyal 730 m, 20°26'57"N, 75°03'38"W, V/1971, I. García. CZACC, examined. Paratypes 2 ♂, 5 ♀: same data as for holotype except VI/1971, genitalia ♀ in glycerin. CZACC, MFP, examined.

Additional material.

10 ♂, 6 ♀. Holguín: Morones, cerca de La Melba 250 m, 20°26'22"N, 74°49'14"W, 22/V/2007, N. Fernández, genitalia in glycerin, DNA voucher PM07-02 (M002) (1 ♂); antiguo campamento minero Meseta de El Toldo 800 m, 20°27'20"N, 74°54'02"W, IV/2008, E. Pérez, genitalia in glycerin, DNA voucher PM07-27 (M046) (3 ♂). Guantánamo: Baracoa, Monte Iberia, campamento ladera norte 600 m, 20°29'25.5"N, 74°43'51.3"W, 18/V/2007, R. Núñez, slide RNA162(wings), DNA voucher PM07-01 (M001) (1 ♂); Baracoa, Monte Iberia, ladera sur cerca de la cima 675 m, 20°27'23.9"N, 74°44'27.9"W, 20/V/2007, R. Núñez, genitalia in glycerin, slides RNA170 (legs & labial palpus)/171(wings) (2 ♂); Baracoa, Monte Iberia, Tetas de Julia 650 m, 20°27'47"N, 74°45'13.3"W, 20/V/2007, R. Núñez, genitalia ♂ in glycerin, slides RNA160/164 (wings)/172/173 (legs & labial palpus)/176(androconial scales) (2 ♂, 2 ♀); Baracoa, Monte Iberia, al sur de las Tetas de Julia 430 m, 20°27'47"N, 74°45'13.3"W, 20/V/2007, R. Núñez, slides RNA168(legs & labial palpus) (1 ♂, 1 ♀); Baracoa, Monte Iberia, ladera norte 385 m, 20°29'53"N, 74°43'48"W, 1/V/2011, R. Núñez (3 ♀). CZACC.

Distribution.

Collected specimens of Calisto israeli come from several localities in the middle and western parts of the NSB mountains, from Monte Iberia plateau 25 km west to Cupeyal (Figs 56, 57). The species has also been recorded from Sierra de Cristal, 1230 m, during the last management plan of Pico Cristal National Park ( ENPFF 2010), extending its known distribution almost 50 km west compared to previous records. Species is probably present on the eastern half of NSB whenever its habitat is preserved.

Immature stages.

Eggs are laid loose, are near spherical in shape and ivory white in color.

Habitat and biology.

The species inhabits several variants of evergreen and rainforests and, to a lesser extent, scrub forests (charrascales) of the NSB Mountains at altitudes between 250 and 1230 m (Figs 60-62). Individuals can be found mainly on forest paths and clearings both sunny and shady. Núñez (2009) recorded 28 individuals along 1.5 km of old mining roads. At Pico Cristal, during an ascent from the foothills to the top, 356 individuals of this species were recorded ( ENPFF 2010). Althoughits life story is unknown, the species seems to be associated with climbing grasses like some of its Hispaniolan congeners ( Smith et al. 1994; Schawrtz and Wetherbee 1996). In different visits to Monte Iberia plateau, the senior author found the species abundant only at sites where two climbing grass species, Arthrostylidium pinifolia and Chusquea sp., dominated the lower strata of the rainforest (Fig. 61). The only mating pair observed was found on May 2011, 3:30 pm, at one of the sites covered by grasses mentioned above.

Remarks.

The distinctive pattern of Calisto israeli permits a straightforward separation of the species from all its congeners, mostly based on a white triangular patch on the middle posterior margin at UNHW and the lack of red in cell at UNFW. Nuclear DNA analysis grouped Calisto israeli alongwith Calisto smintheus and Calisto brochei in a branch separated from the remainder of the Cuban taxa (Fig. 66), although the mitochondrial COI dataset suggests an earlier branching event of the Calisto israeli lineage in the phylogeny, placing it as sister to the rest of Cuban Calisto . Moreover, the genetic distances regarding the COI sequence support the recognition of Calisto israeli as a valid species since the minimum distance to the closely related Calisto smintheus is 9.01% while the average divergence percentages from other congeneric species is higher than 5%.