Roelofa monzoni St Laurent, Herbin and Kawahara, 2020

St Laurent, Ryan A., Herbin, Daniel & Kawahara, Akito Y., 2020, Revision of Roelofa Schaus, 1928 (Lepidoptera, Mimallonidae, Roelofinae) with a description of a new species, Zootaxa 4877 (3), pp. 505-538 : 535-536

Roelofa monzoni St Laurent, Herbin and Kawahara , sp. n.

( Figs 47–49 , 58 )

Type material: HOLOYPE ♂. GUATEMALA: Izabal: GUATEMALA. Izabal, Morales. Finca Firmeza del Banco. Sierra de Caral , 600 m. 10 DICIEM. 2010, 15.407148 – 88.696255, Col. José Monzón Sierra / St Laurent dissection: 8-17-17:11/ HOLOTYPE ♂ Roelofa monzoni St Laurent, Herbin and Kawahara, 2020 ( UVGC) .

Paratypes: (5 ♂ total) GUATEMALA: Izabal: 3 ♂, Morales, Finca Firmeza del Banco, Sierra de Caral, 15.407148°, -88.696255°, 600 m: 7.V.2008 (BC-Her 3685), Monzón & Camposeco leg., genitalia prep. D. Herbin ref H. 813 (2 ♂, CDH); 23.VII.2008 (BC-Her4186), J. Monzón & O’briens (1 ♂, CDH). 1 ♂, Environs de Morales, Sierra de Caral, Finca Firmeza, N15°24’25.6’’, W88°41’46.1’’, 524 m: 7.IX.2010, B. Vincent leg. (CDH). 1 ♂, Firmeza, Rio Bobos, nr. Morales, 950 m: 29–31.V.2007, J.B. Heppner [leg.] (MGCL). Paratypes with the following yellow label: PARATYPE ♂ Roelofa monzoni St Laurent, Herbin and Kawahara, 2020 .

Diagnosis. Roelofa monzoni can only be confused with the other Central American species, R. hegewischi . Roelofa monzoni is usually smaller in overall size, a different, lighter, purple shade of pink, with less contrast in ground color between the medial and submarginal areas, and completely or nearly lacks the secondary outer postmedial line observed in R. hegewischi . The forewings of R. monzoni are narrower and more sharply falcate, with reduced apical shading, a postmedial line that usually curves less abruptly apically than in R. hegewischi . Ventrally the wings of R. monzoni are paler, more cream colored rather than the pink ventral coloration of R. hegewischi , which is not unlike the dorsal coloration in that species. Genitalia of R. monzoni are not particularly different from those of R. hegewischi , although the phallus is generally narrower in this new species.

Description. Male. Head: Coloration grayish pink, structure as for genus; antenna coloration as for genus, slightly more than basal third of antenna bipectinate, pectinations becoming longer then dramatically shortening near halfway point along antenna, after which antenna finely serrate appearing nearly filiform. Thorax: Coloration purple-pink but with grayish overtone. Legs: Vestiture pale purplish gray. Forewing dorsum: Forewing length: 18 mm, avg.: 18 mm, n = 2, wingspan: ~34–36 mm. Triangular, outer margin smooth and weakly concave below apex, becoming more convex mesally; apex falcate. Antemedial and medial ground color grayish purple-pink, overall lightly speckled with dark brown petiolate scales; postmedially grayish in color, not overly contrasting with medial area. Antemedial line essentially absent, singular postmedial line well-defined though may be outwardly lined with gray suffusion tornally, postmedial line deep brown in color, line meets apical streak forming smooth continuous arc, without abrupt curve apically. Discal mark a pale pink band along outer margin of discal cell, though this is almost entirely absent. Forewing ventrum: Coloration paler and grayer than forewing dorsum, only marking present are postmedial line and faint discal spot. Hindwing dorsum: Following similar patterning to forewing dorsum, antemedial line and discal spot absent. Hindwing ventrum: Following same pattern as forewing ventrum, markings may be almost nonexistent. Abdomen: Extending beyond anal hindwing margin, coloration as for thorax. Vestiture thick, compact, distal tip of abdomen with pair of elongated, dark-brown scale tufts that heavily contrast against remainder of abdomen and may contribute to about one quarter overall length of abdomen in living and well-preserved specimens. Genitalia: ( Fig. 58 ) n = 2. As for R. hegewischi . Female. Unknown.

Distribution. ( Fig. 59 ) This species is only known from the type locality in Izabal, Guatemala.

Etymology. This species is named in honor of the collector of the holotype, José Monzón Sierra of Guatemala. José has assisted the authors over the years in accessing Guatemalan Mimallonidae specimens for research.

Remarks. Roelofa monzoni is most similar to the only other Central American Roelofa , R. hegewischi , but can be distinguished using the above diagnosis. Since verified records of R. monzoni are only from the type locality, from where R. hegewischi has not been collected, we do not know whether these two species are sympatric. Furthermore, R. monzoni inhabits a lower elevation than what is most often reported for R. hegewischi , a mountain dwelling species typically found above 800 m.

We first became aware of the potential novelty of R. monzoni as a separate taxon distinct from R. hegewischi based on the subtle, but consistent morphological differences. Our suspicions were confirmed by COI barcoding, such that R. monzoni reliably forms a well-supported clade sister to, and distinct from, R. hegewischi . Although R. monzoni was not included in St Laurent et al. (2020), it is exceedingly similar to R. hegewischi , and our barcoding results support this. They are therefore here considered sister taxa.

Figures

FIGURE 59. Map of collecting localities for Roelofa hegewischi and R. monzoni examined in this work.

FIGURES 44–52. Roelofa specimens, a = dorsal, b = ventral. 44. R. hegewischi, male, Guatemala, Zacapa, 3 km SE La Union, Finca los Chorros, 1443 m (MGCL). 45. R. hegewischi, male, Costa Rica, Cartago Orosi, Irazú Volcano, 1200 m, photo courtesy A. Giusti (NHMUK). 46. R. hegewischi male, México, Chiapas, Hwy 190, 5 km E. Rizo del Oro, 820 m [low elevation population] (MGCL). 47. R. monzoni holotype, male, Guatemala, Izabal, Morales, Finca Firmeza del Banco, Sierra de Caral, 600 m (UVGC). 48. R. monzoni paratype, male, Guatemala, Izabal, Firmeza, Rio Bobos, near Morales, 950 m (MGCL). 49. R. monzoni paratype, male, Guatemala, Izabal, Morales, Finca Firmeza del Banco, Sierra de Caral, 600 m (CDH). 50. R. hegewischi female, México, Querétaro, Jalpan de Serra (MGCL). 51. R. hegewischi, female, Guatemala, Zacapa, 5 km SE La Union, Finca los Chorros, 1474 m (CDH). 52. R. hegewischi holotype, female, México (MNHU). Scale bar = 1 cm.

FIGURES 53–58. Roelofa male genitalia. 53. R. hegewischi, México, Chiapas, Hwy 195, Jitotol – Rayon, Cabañas Siempre Verde, 1695 m, St Laurent dissection: 8-17-17:3 (MGCL). 54. R. hegewischi, Guatemala, Zacapa, Sierra de las Minas, San Lorenzo, Cerro Monos, 2250 m, St Laurent dissection: 8-17-17:6 (CJM). 55. R. hegewischi, Costa Rica, Cartago Orosi, Irazú Volcano, 1200 m, genitalia prep. NHMUK010402324 (NHMUK). 56. R. hegewischi, México, Veracruz, Huatusco, genitalia prep. NHMUK010402322 [low elevation population] (NHMUK). 57. R. hegewischi, México, Chiapas, Hwy 190, 5 km E. Rizo del Oro, 820 m, St Laurent dissection: 8-17-17 [low elevation population] (MGCL). 58. R. monzoni holotype, Guatemala, Izabal, Morales, Finca Firmeza del Banco, Sierra de Caral, 600 m, St Laurent dissection: 8-17-17:11 (UVGC). Scale bar = 1 mm.