Pryteria costata Möschler, 1883

Cock, Matthew J. W. & Laguerre, Michel, 2021, Taxonomic changes in the Neotropical Arctiinae, Arctiini (Lepidoptera, Erebidae) relating to the fauna of Trinidad and Tobago, Zootaxa 5071 (2), pp. 253-270 : 257-261

Pryteria costata Möschler, 1883

Figs. 4 , 5 . BIN: BOLD:AAH7679 (dx.doi.org/10.5883/BOLD:AAH7679)

Möschler (1883) described the genus Pryteria for his new species P. costata Möschler, 1883 . The genus then fell out of use until Watson (1975) used it for a group of eight species (and three additional subspecies) resembling P. costata , which had mostly been including in the catch-all genus Automolis . Vincent and Laguerre (2014) list nine species and three additional subspecies ( Table 1 ). This is the same as Watson’s (1975) treatment, except that Watson treated P. nigroapicalis as a form of P. costata . We investigated what name to apply to the species in Trinidad that appeared to be P. alboatra , and realised that most of the named species of Pryteria are synonyms of a single variable, sexually dimorphic species as follows.

It has long been suspected that this group of species now brought together in Pryteria ( Fig. 4 ), contains multiple synonyms. Thus, Seitz (1920–1925) treated the male taxa borussica , alboatra , hamifera and apicata as forms of P. unifasciata , and Rothschild (1935) agreed this was likely to prove correct when more material was available. In French Guiana, several forms can be collected together (specimens resembling P. costata , P. nigroapicalis , P. semicostata , P. alboatra , P. unifascia , P. hamifera and P. apicata in MNHN, plus un-named forms in Fig. 5 ). In Trinidad, the male form normally found is P. alboatra , but one male is close to, but not the same as P. unifascia ( Fig. 5D ), while females resemble P. semicostalis . Dissections revealed the male genitalia of these two male forms from Trinidad to be identical. Published figures ( Watson 1971) and new images (P. Goldstein pers. comm. 2019) of the male type dissections of P. hamifera and P. apicata were compared and are also identical, as are the genitalia of the male type of P. unifascia in OUNMH and a male paralectotype of P. alboatra in NHMUK. The types of other species have not been dissected.

The evidence from barcodes is also revealing; a single species level cluster (BIN BOLD:AAH7679; dx.doi. org/10.5883/BOLD:AAH7679) of ten samples identified as four species encompasses material identified based on habitus as follows: P. alboatra , French Guiana (x3), Peru (Cuzco); P. semicostalis , French Guiana (x3), Peru (Huanuco); P. nigroapicalis , French Guiana; P. borussica (a subspecies of alboatra in Vincent and Laguerre (2014)), Paraguay. The p distance to the nearest neighbour BIN BOLD:AAF2409 ( Cratoplastis sp. ) is 4.33%. Thus, we have good evidence based on genitalia or DNA barcodes that six of the nine taxa of Pryteria listed by Vincent and Laguerre (2014) are synonyms of a single, widespread, variable species, found from Paraguay, through the Amazon Basin, the Guianas and Trinidad.

Males of Pryteria (BOLD:AAH7679) are cream-coloured with dark markings: on the forewing, the apical dark patch may be present or absent; the dark bar along the dorsum may be entire, interrupted or split in the basal third, or stop short of the tornus; the dark bar across the wing may be absent, represented by markings on the costa and at tornus, almost complete, narrow or broad; on the hindwing, the dark shading on dorsum is variable, and the shading on the margin may be absent, present near the tornus, or present for the entire margin. Females of Pryteria (BOLD: AAH7679) are dark with cream markings: on the forewing, the subapical bar may be present or absent, or represented by a cream patch on costa only; the apical area distal to this bar may be cream or dark; the basal hindwings are variable in the extent of cream colouring.

Of the remaining species of Pryteria , P. costata is the oldest name in the genus as well as the type species; it was described and illustrated from a female specimen from Suriname that has not been located ( Vincent and Laguerre 2014). It closely resembles P. semicostalis , but the white discal band of the dorsal forewing is slightly sinuous and there is no pale costal area on the dorsal hindwing ( Fig. 4 ). We conclude that P. costata is the senior name for this group of named forms. Therefore, mostly based on habitus, supporting genitalia or DNA barcode evidence, we make the following syn. nov. of P. costata Möschler, 1883 : P. nigroapicalis Gaede, 1923 , P. semicostalis Rothschild, 1909 , P. alboatra ( Rothschild, 1909) , P. alboatra borussica (Seitz, 1921) , P. unifascia ( Druce, 1899) , P. hamifera Dognin, 1907 , and P. apicata Schaus, 1905 .

Pryteria unifascia tenuis was described from Belize and Pryteria alboatra intensa from Costa Rica ( Fig. 4 ) ( Rothschild, 1935, Vincent and Laguerre 2014). Because we have not examined genitalia or barcodes of any Central American material of Pryteria , we are unwilling to treat these taxa as synonyms of P. costata at this time. Other studies have shown that what appears to be a widespread species in Central and South America may be two species readily separated by barcodes and genitalia, e.g. the Phaegopterina Rhodorhipha flammans ( Hampson, 1901) ( Laguerre 2018) , and Castrica spp. ( Vincent and Laguerre 2013, and treatment above). Hence, as tenuis and intensa are subspecies of species which we do treat as a synonyms of P. costata , it is necessary to treat P. tenuis stat. nov. and P. intensa stat. nov. as full species until this can be investigated.

Pryteria unifascia ilicis ( Jörgensen, 1932) was described as a form of P. unifascia from Paraguay, within the range of P. costata . Given the variability now known for P. costata , we consider it fully justified to treat P. unifascia ilicis as a syn. nov. of P. costata . Pryteria apicella ( Strand, 1919) is a replacement name for Automalis apicalis Rothschild, 1909 , which was described from a single female from Bolivia ( Fig. 4 ) ( Vincent and Laguerre 2014). Because the range of P. costata extends as far south as Paraguay, and the habitus of this taxon is compatible with the variation already documented for P. costata , we propose to treat P. apicella (and its synonyms apicalis Rothschild and albiapicalis Hampson ) as syn. nov. of P. costata .

This leaves only one other species of Pryteria to consider. Pryteria columbiana ( Rothschild, 1933) was described from Bella Vista, Colombia (between the Andes cordillera), the type series is in NHMUK ( Rothschild 1933, Vincent and Laguerre 2014), and Watson (1975) designated a male lectotype ( Fig. 4 ). We have no DNA barcodes for this species and no specimens were available for dissection. Nevertheless, we note that the male resembles a female form of P. costata (Rothschild compared it to P. semicostalis ), and this is a larger species (forewing ♂ 18 mm, ♀ 21 mm, compared to ♂ 13–17 mm, ♀ 19 mm for P. costata ), so we consider it to be a valid species.

Material examined. BOLIVIA: 2♂ La Paz, environs la Cascada , 5.xi. 2000, 800 m [ ML] . ♂ La Paz, 10 km avant Coroico , 4.xi. 2000, 1065 m [ ML] . FRENCH GUIANA: ♂ Piste du Dégrad Florian , 29.vii.2001 [ ML, sequenced Sample ID MILA 1504—BOLD Process ID ARCTC1042-11] . 2♂ Piste Patagaï, PK 10, 47 m, 23.ix.2013 and 2.x.2015 [ ML]. Piste Paul Isnard, PK 57, 13.ii.1999. Piste de Kaw , PK 28, 10.ii.2013 [ ML] . 2♂ Piste de Kaw , PK 38, 21.i.1996 [ ML] . 2♂ Rte Apatou , layon PK 26, 1.x. 2013, 126 m [ ML] . ♂, 2♀ Savane de Trou Poissons , 15.x. 2015, 9 m [ ML] . 2♀ Piste de Kaw , PK 40, 1.iii.2006 [ ML, sequenced Sample ID MILA 0102—BOLD Process ID ARCTA102-07 & Sample ID MILA 0101—BOLD Process ID ARCTA101-07] . 1♀ Montagne des Singes , 1.i.1992 [ ML] . 1 ♀ Piste de Kaw , PK 38, 10.ii.1999 [ ML] . ♀ Piste de Kaw , PK 11, 23.i.1996 [ ML] . ♀ Rte de Kaw , PK 28, 27.x. 2013, 286 m [ ML] . PERU: ♂ Cusco, Asuncion, x.2006, 1800 m [ ML, sequenced Sample ID MILA 1505—BOLD Process ID ARCTC1043-11] . PARAGUAY: 2♂ Alto Parana, Estancia Dimas , 200 m, 4.xi.2011 and 6.v.2011 [ ML] . ♂ Kanindeyu, Agr. Amiticio , 23.viii.2008 [ ML, sequenced Sample ID MILA 1503—BOLD Process ID ARCTC1041-11] . ♂ Caazapa, Tavaï , 26.ix.2008 [ ML] . TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, TRINIDAD: Arima Valley, Simla, MVL : ♂ 1.ii.1981 (M.J.W. Cock) [ MJWC, dissection 1103]. Cumaca Road, 4.6 miles, MVL : ♀ 21.x.1982 (M.J.W. Cock) [ MJWC]. Curepe, MVL : ♂ i.1968 (R.E. Cruttwell) [ UWIZM CABI.1143] ; ♂ xi.1968 (R.E. Cruttwell) [ NHMUK] ; ♂ i.1969 (R.E. Cruttwell) [ UWIZM CABI.1142] ; ♂ ii.1969 (R.E. Cruttwell) [ NHMUK] ; ♂ 8–14.xii.1981 (M.J.W. Cock) [ MJWC]. North Coast Road , 6 miles, Carisal Trace, MVL : ♀ 5.iv.1979 (M.J.W. Cock) [ MJWC]. St. Augustine , MVL : ♂ iv.1976 (D.J. Stradling) [ UWIZM.2014.9.94]. St Benedict’s, at light : ♂ 30.ix.1978 (M.J.W. Cock) [ MJWC, dissection 1104] .

Figures

FIGURE 4. Holotypes, lectotypes and an original illustration of Pryteria spp. (see Table 1 for details). Seven types are in NH- MUK (©The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London, made available under Creative Commons License 4.0 https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), two types are in USNM, one in OUNHM, and one in ZHMB (with permission). The image of P. costata was edited from Möschler (1883) downloaded from ZOBODAT (https://www.zobodat.at/publikation_volumes.php?id=28027).

FIGURE 5. Additional un-named male forms of Pryteria costata. A, French Guiana, Apatou, PK 26, 1.x.2013, 126 m, [ML] 26 mm. B, French Guiana, Kaw Road, PK 38, 21.i.1996 [ML] 30 mm. C, Paraguay, Kanindeyu, Agr. Amiticio, 23.viii.2008 [ML] 31 mm. D, Trinidad, Arima Valley, Simla, MVL, 1.ii.1981 [MJWC] 37 mm. Not to scale; wingspans in legend.