Pampasatyrus gyrtone ( Berg, 1877b )

Matz, Jess & Brower, Andrew V. Z., 2016, The South Temperate Pronophilina (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae): a phylogenetic hypothesis, redescriptions and revisionary notes, Zootaxa 4125 (1), pp. 1-108 : 53-54

Pampasatyrus gyrtone ( Berg, 1877b) ( Epinephele )

( Figs. 9 A; 18A–C; 28)

Lectotype: (male) MACN (photo examined)

Type location: Tandil, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina

Distribution. Can be found in Argentina from central Cordoba province to southern Santa Fe province to northern Buenos Aires province, south to Tandil in central Buenos Aires province, and as far north as the Serra Da Mantiqueira Mountains between São Paulo and the western border of Rio de Janeiro Province, Brazil, from late January to March at nearly sea level to 2200m ( Fig. 28 ).

Diagnosis. Similar to Pampasatyrus nilesi , but with the ventral side hindwing ocelli black and sometimes unipupillate and the postmedian band and termen edged in white. Dorsal side coppery brown with the M1-M3 ocellus on the forewing appearing as a single, black to dark chocolate bipupillate spot ringed in maize yellow or as two distinct unipupillate ocelli fused at M2. Ventral side tawny with the postmedian band bordered in chocolate to dark chocolate brown on both wings. Forewing ocellus between M1-M3 bipupillate and ringed in maize yellow and another similar ocellus may appear between CuA1-CuA2. Ventral side of the hindwing bears a black, round to oval ocellus ringed in maize yellow in each cell from Rs to 1A+2A. Ventral side hindwing veins highlighted in white. Forelegs extremely reduced in both sexes and shorter than the second palp segment. Aedeagus with winglike projections at the median as in Argyrophorus argenteus .

Redescription. Head: Antennae 8–10mm with tan to dark chocolate scales and terminating in a spatulate club. Eyes oval and naked, length approximately 1.3X the width. Palps cream and tan in the females and in the males chocolate and dark chocolate on the ventral side and cream and chocolate on the dorsal side. Terminal palp segment cylindrical and a little more than one-third the length of the second segment.

Thorax dark amber with iridescent dark grey to brown scales, the females also bearing cream scales interspersed with the iridescent dark grey to brown scales. Abdomen dark chocolate dorsally and tan ventrally. Foreleg extremely reduced in size, measuring in its entirety less than the length of the second palp segment with the tarsi club-like and unsegmented in both sexes. Midlegs and hindlegs with four rows of black spines on the tibia and tarsus.

Forewing ( Fig. 9 A): Wingspan 30–35mm. Termen nearly straight and the distal end of the discal cell deeply sinuous with the distance between M1-M2 about equal to that between M2-M3. Males with no visible androconial patch. Dorsal side coppery brown with fringe scales in the same color. Postmedian band may appear as a barely discernible, slightly lighter patch of scales. Apical ocellus between M1-M3 appearing as a single, black to dark chocolate bipupillate spot ringed in maize yellow or as two distinct unipupillate ocelli fused at M2. Another, smaller ocellus sometimes appears between CuA1-CuA2 and may or may not bear a single white pupil. Ventral side tawny with a postmedian band outlined in dark chocolate brown. Median edge of the postmedian band irregular, edged in maize yellow, and curving sharply toward the M1-M3 ocellus at the costa. Subterminal edge of the postmedian band nearly straight, edged in white over the radials, and curving slightly toward the M1-M3 ocellus at the costa. Terminal band white with a chocolate brown proximal edge. Ocellus between M1-M3 black and bipupillate, ringed in maize yellow. Another, smaller, black ocellus ringed in maize yellow appears between CuA1-CuA2 and may or may not have a single white pupil.

Hindwing ( Fig. 9 A): Wing trapezoidal, termen slightly convex, barely scalloped, almost entire, and the inner margin slightly excavated between the anal vein and 1A+2A. Dorsal side coppery brown with fringe scales of the same color. Postmedian band may appear faintly as a slightly lighter band and/or patches of rust orange in each cell between M2-CuA2. Ocellus usually appearing between CuA1-CuA2 as a dark chocolate brown spot ringed in rust orange to rust red. Other similar ocelli may appear in each cell between Rs-CuA1 and CuA1-1A+2A or are absent. Long piliform scales appear on both sexes at the base and over the discal cell, extending to the median and toward the inner margin. Ventral side tawny dusted with white to cream scales and with chocolate striations in a ripple pattern over most of the wing. Proximal side of the postmedian band nearly straight, bordered in chocolate brown, and edged in white. Distal border deckle-edged and dark chocolate brown, the internal edge maize yellow toward the tornus and white toward the costa, the color changing at M2. Terminal band thin and white. Round to oval ocelli ringed in maize yellow present in each cell from Rs to 1A+2A, those between M1-M2, M2-M3, and CuA1-CuA2 slightly larger and may be unipupillate. Veins highlighted in white.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 18 A–C): Uncus narrow and finger-like, widening slightly just past where it fuses with the tegumen, narrowing to a blunt distal end, and approximately 1.1X the length of the tegumen. Gnathos acute and a little less than half the length of the uncus, pedunculus long and U-shaped, and saccus deltoid and about half the length of the gnathos. Valvae narrow at the proximal one-fourth, then doubling in width and narrowing gradually to an acute distal end. Aedeagus nearly even in width along the distal one-half, wider at the median, bearing wing-like projections on each side, and narrowing abruptly to a thin and blunt proximal end.

Specimens examined. Brazil, Estado Minas Gerais, (MGCL) 1 male, 1 female.

Figures

FIGURE 9. Composite habitus images of Pampasatyrus species. The left side of each specimen is the dorsal surface, the right side is the ventral surface. A: Pampasatyrus gyrtone (Berg, 1877) male (BMNH # 809453); B: Pampasatyrus edmondsii (Butler, 1881) n. comb. male (MZUJ); C: Pampasatyrus glaucope (C. Felder & R. Felder, 1867) male (BMNH # 789978); D: Pampasatryrus gorkyi Pyrcz, Cerdeña and Zacca, 2014 holotype male (scale bar = 1 cm; reproduced from Cerdeña et al., 2014, open access); E: Pampasatyrus nilesi (C. Felder & R. Felder, 1867) male (MZUJ); F: Pampasatyrus quies (Berg, 1877) male (MZUJ).

FIGURE 18. Male genitalia of Pampasatyrus species. See Fig. 2 for labels of parts. All to the same scale. A – C: Pampasatyrus gyrtone (Berg, 1877) (MGCL); D – F: Pampasatyrus edmondsii (Butler, 1881) n. comb. (MZUJ), (E) showing ornamentation on the aedeagus; G – I: Pampasatyrus glaucope (C. Felder & R. Felder, 1867) (MGCL), (H) showing ornamentation on the aedeagus.

FIGURE 28. Distribution of locality records for Pampasatyrus species. Note that the locality for P. glaucope is overlain by a record for P. reticulata.