A remarkable new species of Phocides (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) from Bolivia and taxonomic considerations on Phocides charon

Ricardo R Siewert,Mirna M Casagrande,Gabriela L Leviski,Olaf H H Mielke

doi:10.1590/1678-4766e2018023

Ricardo R Siewert, Mirna M Casagrande + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-4766e2018023

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Abstract

A new skipper butterfly, Phocides petroleum Siewert, Leviski, Mielke & Casagrande n. sp. is described and illustrated from Caranavi, La Paz Department, Bolivia. The new species seems closely related to Phocides charon (C. Felder & R. Felder, 1859) but could be easily distinguished by a set of external characteristics. Lectotypes are designated for Erycides charon C. Felder & R. Felder, 1859 and Erycides scython Godman & Salvin, 1879.

Highlights

A new skipper butterfly, Phocides petroleum Siewert, Leviski, Mielke & Casagrande sp. nov. is described and illustrated from Caranavi, La Paz Department, Bolivia
With the aim to contribute to the knowledge of the Neotropical biodiversity of Hesperiidae, this paper describes a new species of Phocides from Caranavi, La Paz, Bolivia, and provides taxonomic considerations on P. charon and on its associated synonyms
Phocides petroleum sp. nov. is distinguished from P. charon by its external morphology

Summary

Introduction

A new skipper butterfly, Phocides petroleum Siewert, Leviski, Mielke & Casagrande sp. nov. is described and illustrated from Caranavi, La Paz Department, Bolivia. A new skipper butterfly, Phocides petroleum Siewert, Leviski, Mielke & Casagrande sp. The new species seems closely related to Phocides charon 1859 and Erycides scython Godman & Salvin, 1879. Among the seven subfamilies recognized in Hesperiidae, Eudaminae stands out with over 110 species allocated in 17 genera distributed on Neotropics (with exception of the Asian genus Lobocla Moore, 1884) (Warren et al, 2009, 2017). No morphological synapomorphy has been recognized yet, Eudaminae was recently treated as a subfamily separated from Pyrginae (Warren et al, 2009; Sahoo et al, 2016, 2017). Phocides Hübner, [1819] is a notorious genus of Eudaminae with 18 described species characterized mostly by the blue, white and black wing pattern (Mielke, 2005). The genus is part of a large and complex mimicry system together with Tarsoctenus Watson, 1893 (Eudaminae) and the pyrrhopygines Elbella Evans, 1951, Granila Mabille, 1903, Jemadia Watson, 1893, Parelbella Mielke, 1995, Protelbella Mielke, 1995, and Zonia Evans, 1951

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