Austin, Austin, 2008

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 : 27

GENUS Nascus E. Y. Watson, 1893

Six species of these mostly large butterflies were recognized by Evans (1952) and Mielke (2004, 2005); they occur from Mexico to Argentina, Paraguay, and southern Brazil ( Godman and Salvin 1879 -1901; Draudt 1921 -1924; Williams and Bell 1934; Hoffmann 1941; Evans 1952; Mielke 1968, 1973; Biezanko and Mielke 1973; Steinhauser 1975; Freeman 1976; de Jong 1983; de la Maza and de la Maza 1985; Cock and Alston-Smith 1990; de la Maza and White 1990; de la Maza et al. 1991; Brown 1992; de la Maza and Gutiérrez 1992; Lamas 1994; Austin et al. 1996; Robbins et al. 1996; Mielke and Casagrande 1997; Warren 2000; Pozo et al. 2003; Luis et al. 2004; Nuñez Bustos 2006; Anderson 2007). Evans (1952) stated that Nascus was a compact group, but based his observations on superficial characters and apparently did not give much or any weight to their genital morphology. With the removal of Papilio paulliniae , Nascus becomes even more compact and probably monophyletic (but Nascus prax Evans, 1952 , has not been critically examined and may also belong elsewhere). The male genitalia of Nascus as currently conceived have a slender (lateral view) and oval (dorsal view) tegumen with a pair of lateral caudal processes that more or less parallel the tapering uncus; an entire and weakly developed or an undeveloped gnathos; valvae with a small lobe at the caudal end of the ampulla; harpes with serrated edges, no dorsal processes, but often caudal processes; a robust aedeagus as long as or longer than the valvae; and cornuti as three bundles of spikes. Species-level differences include the length of the tegumen processes and the configuration of the harpe. Female genitalia are characterized by a notched lamella postvaginalis, a lamella antevaginalis with a variously notched central portion overlaying the ostium bursae, a membranous tube joining the side of a broad ductus bursae as a cup-like rosette of sclerotization, and a globular or oval corpus bursae. Species differ in the structure of the lamellae, especially the shape of the central portion of the lamella antevaginalis.

Three species of Nascus were found near Cacaulândia.