Salatis salatis (Stoll, 1782)

Austin, George T., 2008, Hesperiidae of Rondônia, Brazil: Taxonomic comments on “ night ” skippers, with descriptions of new genera and species (Lepidoptera: Eudaminae), Insecta Mundi 2008 (29), pp. 1-36 : 11

Salatis salatis (Stoll, 1782)

( Fig. 26-28, 31 , 111 , 128 )

The wing markings of male S. salatis from Rondônia (mean FW length = 27.4 mm [26.8-27.8, n = 4]) are variable, including one individual with several large discal macules ( Fig. 26-27 ) as that illustrated as Salatis sebrus (C. and R. Felder, 1867) in Seitz (1907-1924) and three with only two small discal macules ( Fig. 28, 31 ) as illustrated for S. salatis in Seitz (1907-1924). Evans (1952) and Cock and Alston-Smith (1990) noted the variability of the species. The illustrated male genitalia of S. salatis by Godman and Salvin (1879 -1901), Williams and Bell (1934, as S. sebrus ), Hayward (1948, as S. sebrus ), and Evans (1952) show an apparent variety of morphologies, especially in the form of the valva. Particularly if these reflect reality, the types of the several names listed as synonyms of S. salatis by Evans (1952) need to be examined for their conspecificity. One, Salatis sapucayae (Jörgensen, 1935) , has already been raised from synonymy (Mielke 2004, but see Mielke 2005). The genitalia of the four males from Rondônia ( Fig. 111 ) are identical and these match the illustration in Williams and Bell (1934).

Salatis salatis is rare at Cacaulândia, with single records for April and August and two records for June. The known distribution of the species extends from Nicaragua to Peru and southern Brazil (Williams and Bell 1934, Evans 1952, Cock and Alston-Smith 1990, Brown 1992, Lamas 1994, Vieira 2004).

Figures

Figure 26-37. Salatis, Sarmientoia, and Dyscophellus (from BRAZIL: Rondônia, unless noted otherwise; dorsum and venter of same specimens). 26-27) Salatis salatis male, 3 km E of Fazenda Rancho Grande, 15 Jun 1993. 28, 31) Salatis salatis male, 5 km S of Cacaulândia, 18 Apr 1995. 29-30) Sarmientoia similis male, Fazenda Rancho Grande, 20 Apr 1991. 32, 35) Sarmientoia similis female, 5 km S of Cacaulândia, 27 Mar 1994. 33, 36) Dyscophellus sp. (D. sebaldus?) female, COSTA RICA: Heredia Prov.; Chilamate, 22 Mar 1989. 34, 37) D. diaphorus male, Fazenda Rancho Grande, 9 Jun 1993.

Figure 111-114. Male genitalia of Salatis, Euriphellus, Sarmientoia, and Nicephellus (from BRAZIL: Rondônia). Structures shown are lateral, dorsal, and ventral views of tegumen, uncus, gnathos, and associated structures; lateral internal view of right valva; lateral view of aedeagus and associated structures; and ventral view of transtilla and juxta. 111) Salatis salatis (GTA #3487). 112) E. euribates euribates (GTA #1801), including flattened view of caudal end of valva. 113) Sarmientoia similis (GTA #7226), including flattened view of caudal end of valva, lateral view of juxta, and dorsal view of cephalad end of aedeagus. 114) N. nicephorus (GTA #3137), including dorsal and flattened views of caudal end of valva and lateral view of juxta.

Figure 125-130. Phenology of some night skippers from central Rondônia, Brazil. 125-126) Bungalotis species. 127) Dyscophellus species. 128) Salatis salatisand Sarmientoia similis. 129) Nicephellus nicephorus and Euriphellus euribates. 130) Pseudonascus paulliniae and Nascus species.