Considerations on the Taxonomy of the Genus Arhuaco Adams and Bernard 1977, and its Relationships with the Genus Pronophila Doubleday [1849] (Nymphalidae, Satyrinae)

T W Pyrcz,B Wacławik,J Lorenc-Brudecka,P Boyer,D Lachowska-Cierlik,A Zubek,K Florczyk,C Prieto

doi:10.1007/s13744-018-0641-4

Abstract

Arhuaco Adams & Bernard (1977) is one of the least known genera of Neotropical Satyrinae. It comprises two species and presents an unusual disjunct distribution, with A. ica Adams & Bernard (1977), endemic to the isolated Colombian Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and A. dryadina (Schaus 1913) found in the mountains of Costa Rica and Panama. Here, the female of A. dryadina is described, and a new generic diagnosis is presented. Affinities with other genera of the subtribe Pronophilina, in particular the potential closest relatives, such as Pronophila Doubleday (1849), are investigated based on morphological, molecular, ecological, and behavioral data. Results from molecular and morphological sources are incongruent. Molecular data indicate that Arhuaco is paraphyletic, with A. dryadina segregating within the Pronophila clade. Morphological data, by contrast, indicate a closer affinity between the two species currently placed in Arhuaco, favoring the monophyly of the genus, and show no consistent synapomorphies for Arhuaco + Pronophila. A vicariance biogeographical scenario is evaluated.

Highlights

Research on Neotropical satyrines (Nymphalidae, Satyrinae) has intensified during the last decade, and a number of valuable contributions have been published on their relationships and taxonomy, using molecular, morphological, early-stage, and ecological data, vastly expanding our knowledge on the evolution of this group of butterflies, and in particular of the montane genera (e.g., Peña et al 2011, Pyrcz et al 2009, Casner & Pyrcz 2010, Marín et al 2017, Pyrcz et al 2017)
The genetic distance between Arhuaco and Pronophila was below 7% (Tables 1, 2)
Analysis of COI resulted in two sister clades, with one grouping three species of Pronophila, A. ica, A. dryadina, and Junea dorinda (Felder & Felder, 1862), and the second clade consisting of other four genera of Pronophilina (Fig 1)

Summary

Introduction

Research on Neotropical satyrines (Nymphalidae, Satyrinae) has intensified during the last decade, and a number of valuable contributions have been published on their relationships and taxonomy, using molecular, morphological, early-stage, and ecological data, vastly expanding our knowledge on the evolution of this group of butterflies, and in particular of the montane genera (e.g., Peña et al 2011, Pyrcz et al 2009, Casner & Pyrcz 2010, Marín et al 2017, Pyrcz et al 2017). One of these is Arhuaco Adams & Bernard 1977, arguably one of the least studied and most intriguing genera within the subtribe Pronophilina It contains, as currently recognized, two species: A. ica Adams & Bernard 1977, endemic to the isolated northern Colombian Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and A. dryadina (Schaus 1913) confined to the Mesoamerican ranges of Talamanca and Meseta Central in Costa Rica and western Panama. As currently recognized, two species: A. ica Adams & Bernard 1977, endemic to the isolated northern Colombian Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and A. dryadina (Schaus 1913) confined to the Mesoamerican ranges of Talamanca and Meseta Central in Costa Rica and western Panama The latter species was described originally in the catch-all genus Catargynnis Röber, 1892, later synonymized as a junior synonym of Pseudomaniola Röber, [1889] (Adams 1986). The only comment on the behavior and ecology of this species was by De Vries (1987). Pyrcz (2004) transferred C. dryadina to the genus Arhuaco based on similarities in the male adult morphology in comparison with A. ica

Methods

Results

Conclusion