Necyria larunda Godman & Salvin, 1885

Callaghan, Curtis J., Llorente-Bousquets, Jorge & Luis-Martinez, Armando, 2007, Descriptions of four new Mexican riodinids (Lepidoptera: Riodinidae), Zootaxa 1660, pp. 33-43 : 37-39

Necyria larunda Godman & Salvin, 1885 , Reinstated Status

Figures 8, 9 , 12 , 15

Biol C. Americana. Insecta Lepidoptera-Rhopalocera. p. 397, pl. 43 figs. 11,12.

Necyria larunda was described and illustrated from a male in poor condition received by Godman and Salvin in a box of material from Guatemala. Later publications referred only to the original description. The next record of this species was a male specimen from Santa Rosa, Municipality Las Margaritas, Chiapas cited and illustrated by J. & R. de la Maza (1980). In the Atlas of Neotropical Lepidoptera –Checklist, Callaghan and Lamas (2004) placed this taxon as a subspecies of N. duellona Westwood, 1851 . The discovery of a short series of N. larunda in the collection of the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, University of Florida (Gainsville), from the Escalante collection, provided the senior author with the opportunity to examine the genitalia of this species and compare it with other Necyria taxa. The result suggests that N. larunda is indeed distinct and should be maintained as a species-level taxon.

Diagnosis. Male ( Fig. 8 ): Dorsal wing ground color black, crossed by long white lines from margin to discal area between the veins; hind wing with two red spots, one on the costa above the cell and the other at the inner margin; ventral surface same with red spots on inner margins of both wings. Genitalia (fig. 12): Uncus slightly bifurcated, tegument straight with slight extension basad; vinculum narrow, curved in the middle, joining at a small saccus; valvae in form of two long narrow processes with long, thick setae on tip; transtilla long, pointed with two lateral processes tipped with long setae extending vertically. Aedeagus long, narrow. Female ( Fig. 9 ) Dorsad identical to male; ventrad with a variable elongated red band crossing discal area, continuing to costa of hind wing; elongated red spot on inner margin. Genitalia with ostium bursae wide, platelike with slit in center leading to ductus bursae; signae small, flattened.

Discussion. Necyria larunda differs from N. duellona beltiana from Nicaragua and Costa Rica in the absence of the bright blue distal markings on the ventral surface and the elongated white lines between the veins (see DeVries, 1997). The male genitalia of N. duellona have much shorter valvae; the lateral processes on transtilla are curved dorsad and transtilla is beaked; the vinculum is straight. These differences, as well as the lack of any intermediate material, suggest that N. larunda is a species-level taxon.

Range: ( Fig. 15 ) Known only from Chiapas State, Mexico and “ Guatemala ”.

Material examined. 3 males and 3 females from Santa Rosa Comitán, Chiapas, in MGCL, leg. T. Escalante.

Figures

FIGURE 15. Distribution map of new taxa.

FIGURES 1 – 9. 1. Euselasia pontasis, sp. nov., male Holotype. Chincultic, Chiapas, México. 2. Exoplisia azuleja sp. nov., male Holotype. La Calera, Casimiro Castillo, Jalisco, México. 3. Exoplisia azuleja sp. nov., female. 4. Synargis nymphidioides septentrionalis, ssp. nov. male Holotype. Popoctépetl, Veracruz, México. 5. Synargis nymphidioides septentrionalis, ssp. nov. female. 6. Euselasia aurantiaca aurum, ssp. nov., male Holotype. Cueva del Borrego, Omiltemi, Chilpancingo de los Bravos, Guerrero, México. 7. Euselasia aurantiaca aurum, ssp. nov., female. 8. Necyria larunda, reinst. Status, male. 9. Necyria larunda, reinst. Status, female.

FIGURES 10 – 14. 10. Euselasia pontasis, sp. nov., male genitalia. 11. Euselasia aurantiacus aurum, sp. nov., male genitalia. 12. Necyria larunda, reinst. Status, male genitalia. 13. Exoplisia azuleja sp. nov., male genitalia. 14. Exoplisia azuleja sp. nov., female genitalia.