Gonogramma faguai Prada & St Laurent, 2021

Prada-Lara, Liliana & St Laurent, Ryan A., 2021, Hidden treasures: Mimallonidae (Lepidoptera) from the Museo Javeriano de Historia Natural, with descriptions of the female of Bedosiallo moengus (Schaus, 1928), and a new species of Gonogramma Boisduval, 1872, Revista Chilena de Entomología (Rev. Chil. Entomol.) 47 (3), pp. 501-511 : 505-506

Gonogramma faguai Prada & St Laurent , nov. sp.

( Figs. 3 , 4 )

Type material. Holotype male. COLOMBIA: Amazonas : Leticia, Tarapacá, Resguardo Ticuna-Uitoto Monilla Amena. X-2003. N 4°06’46”, W 69°55’52”. Col. José Weisz. Light trap. MPUJ _ ENT0052320 / HOLOTYPE male Gonogramma faguai Prada & St Laurent, 2021 [red label]/ ( MPUJ). No paratypes .

Additional material examined. COLOMBIA: 1 male Tolima: Cunday, Cave Eden. 450 m . 20 mar 1999. X. Cardona. N 4°00’26”, W 74°45’02”. MPUJ _ ENT0052321 . Light trap .

Diagnosis. Similar to G. despecta (Walker, 1855) and G. conlani (Herbin & Mielke, 2014) , but G. faguai is smaller and lighter gray in color with a slightly larger forewing hyaline patch relative to wing size. The genitalia are typical of Gonogramma , which do not vary much across the genus, the shape of the uncus, the base of the phallus which is smooth and cylindrical, and the shape of the sclerotized vincular arms curling upward, are all like those figured for G. despecta in St Laurent et al. (2020), however we note that the vincular arms are somewhat longer in G. faguai . The recently described G. giustii St Laurent, 2017 from Colombia, Valle del Cauca, Buenaventura is also quite similar and belongs to this complex group of Gonogramma . However, this coastal species is recognizable by its more uniform brown-gray coloration and wavy postmedial line, as well as by the thicker phallus and more expanded juxtal processes than those observed in G. faguai .

Description. Male. Head: Small relative to thorax. Colored pinkish cream. Antennae pale yellow, bipectinate to tip, distal half of pectinations dramatically shorter. Eyes very large, comprising more than two-thirds area of the head. Labial palpus three-segmented, short, coloration as for head though with darker pink scales. Thorax: Dorsally pinkish cream with profuse speckling of dark brown petiolate scales, prothorax pinker, ventrally thorax as above. Legs: Colored light pink. Brown tibial spurs. Forewing: Length (base to apex): 20 mm; wingspan: 35 mm. Triangular with a falcate apex. Outer margin mostly convex except for concavity below the apex. Inner ground color pinkish to gray, speckled with dark brown petiolate scales. Outer margin color gray with light patches of pink to orange scales. Postmedial line well defined, nearly straight, dark brown, perpendicularly angled toward costa with an orange outer margin. Discal spot hyaline, B-shaped. Ventral ground color similar to dorsum but there is a subapical bright patch of orangepink scales. Outer margin color darker than the medial area. A dark patch of orangepink scales surrounding the discal spot is present. Postmedial line absent. Hindwing: Distally rounded, coloration and patterning as for forewing dorsum, postmedial line outwardly convex, discal spot absent. Ventrally ground color pinkish to gray, speckled with dark brown petiolate scales. Postmedial line and discal spot absent. Abdomen: Robust, extending beyond the anal angle of the hindwing, coloration mostly as for thorax. Genitalia: ( Fig. 4 ) Valvae rectangular in shape with a membranous distal lobe, more heavily sclerotized and projected mesally. Vinculum arms present and extending to sclerotized mesal portion of valvae. Gnathos without mesal projections. Uncus simple, triangular, extending beyond saccular edge of valvae. Juxtal structure complex, fused to phallus and inner ring of the vinculum. Phallus cylindrical, sclerotized basally, vesica membranous, with attached juxtal complex, and present a pair of sclerotized projections curling upward. Female. Unknown.

Distribution. Only known from southern Colombia in the Amazon but see remarks below.

Etymology. faguai is a latinized noun in genitive singular. This new species is named after Dr. Giovanny Fagua, who has dedicated himself to the study of Colombian butterflies and moths.

Remarks. A second specimen from Tolima, Colombia, is very similar to the holotype in all respects, including genitalia morphology. This specimen is in poor condition, however, and given the significant distance from the type locality, we exclude it from the type series. Furthermore, we are aware of yet another somewhat similar Gonogramma from Colombia, Cundinamarca, Anapoima, 14.IV.1975; deposited in the Natural History Museum of Geneva, Switzerland (MHNG). Though unlike the specimen from Tolima, this specimen bears a wavy postmedial line and in this respect is more similar to coastal G. giustii . Gonogramma is in need of thorough revision, however, the uniqueness of G. faguai and the lack of other similar Gonogramma from the Amazon rainforest aids in our confidence in the novelty of G. faguai .

Figures

Figure 3. Gonogramma faguai Prada & St Laurent, nov. sp. Holotype male.A. Dorsal habitus. B. Ventral habitus. Scale: 1 cm. / Gonogramma faguai Prada y St Laurent, sp. nov. Holotipo macho. A. Hábito dorsal B. Hábito ventral. Escala: 1 cm.

Figure 4. Male genitalia of Gonogramma faguai Prada & St Laurent, nov. sp. holotype. A. Ventral natural position. Phallus not removed, B. Dorsal, phallus not removed, C. Ventral opened genitalia. Part of the juxta and vinculum arms broke when removing the complex phallus, D. Lateral natural position. Phallus not removed, E-G. Phallus with dorsal juxtal component. E. Ventral, F. Dorsal, G. Lateral, H. Close-up of one of the dorsal phallus-juxtal projections. Scale: 1 mm (4H not to scale with rest of figures). / Genitalia macho de Gonogramma faguai Prada y St Laurent, sp. nov. holotipo. A. Posición ventral natural. Phallus no removido, B. Dorsal, phallus no removido, C. Genitalia ventral abierta. Parte de la juxta y los brazos del vinculum se rompieron al retirar el phallus, D. Posición natural lateral. Phallus no removido, E-G. Phallus con componente dorsal juxtal. E. Ventral, F. Dorsal, G. Lateral, H. Primer plano de una de las proyecciones falo-yuxtal dorsal. Escala: 1 mm (4H no a escala con el resto de las figuras).