Cautethia simoni Miller, Matthews, and Gott 2022, new species
Creators: name: Miller, Jacqueline Y.
name: Matthews, Deborah L.
name: Gott, Riley J.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Sphingidae
Cautethia
Cautethia simoni

description: Cautethia simoni Miller, Matthews, and Gott, new species   
Fig. 18–21, 30, 41, 48, 49, 61, 62, 75  
 Diagnosis. Wing patterns similar to C. geraceorum and C. grotei, except males with narrower black line forming tornal dash. Ground color of forewing tending to be paler than in C. grotei. Hindwings of males and females more ferruginous or ochraceous (raw sienna) as opposed to orange or orange yellow. Distinguished from C. gossi by characters of the antemedial lines, postmedial, area and characters of male and female genitalia. Male genitalia distinguished from C. exuma, C. grotei, and C. geraceorum by the absence of basal lobes on the gnathos and the presence of a sclerotized terminal process on the sacculus. Distinguished from C. gossi by the shape of the terminal saccular process and gnathos apex. Female genitalia distinguished from other Bahamas congeners by the large rectangular antrum.   
 Description (male). Based on the holotype and seven male paratypes. Head. Dorsum of front drab with scale tips (teeth) edged in white. Palpi as in C. geraceorum, third (distal) segment variable, solid drab, or drab with white tips. Antennae with only a few white or white-tipped scales at base, dorsally buffy brown with cream ventrolateral stripe. Thorax. Dorsum drab to gray with distinct transverse fuscous line near anterior margin. Dorsal markings variable, with a thin fuscous middorsal line flanked by weak or broken subdorsal dashes. Tegulae drab to gray, strongly marked with fuscous patch near base that diverges into traces along tegulae margins. Metascutum posterior margin with lateral patch of fuscous scales. Venter mixed white and pale drab, fuscous patch near eye reduced or absent. Legs as in C. geraceorum, with fuscous and white to buff banded tarsomeres. Forewing. Length 13.0–15.0 mm, x= 14.06 ± 0.73 mm, holotype 14.5 mm. Ground color mottled drab or drab gray. Antemedial, medial, and postmedial lines fuscous. Basal area similar to C. geraceorum except with more suffused white scaling adjacent to basal antemedial line. Basal antemedial line with costal section distinctly offset and disjunct from discal cell section. Antemedial lines evenly spaced apart from discal cell to anal margin. Subbasal area mottled gray, similar or just slightly darker than medial area. Medial area white with scattered drab scales; area distad of discal spot only slightly darker. Discal spot pure white, irregular, or elliptic, with partial fuscous margin anterad. Postmedial area white except entirely fuscous in cell Cu 1 –Cu 2 and merging with tornal dash. Postmedial line narrowly zig-zagged or formed from series of fuscous crescents from costa to Cu 1. Tornal dash with fuscous part formed from postmedial line, bolder and wider than adjacent median line, submarginal part solid gray without distinct fuscous distal margin. Submarginal area with fuscous to drab subapical triangle contiguous with irregularly scalloped drab band adjacent to postmedial line. Distal part of subterminal (terminal area) white with scattered drab scales. Subterminal line indistinct. Fringes like C. geraceorum but with scales of fuscous patches not extending as far as subtending layer of drab scales. Ventral forewing buffy brown to fawn color as in C. geraceorum, with variable trace of medial and postmedial lines. Hindwing. Costa cream buff to white; basal two-thirds ochraceous tawny to clay color in faded specimens; submarginal area russet to cinnamon brown. Fringes alternating patches of cream buff to white with patches of russet and drab. As in forewing, the darker (russet) scales not as long as in C. geraceorum and do not extend as far distally as the white and drab scales. Ventral hindwing buffy brown to fawn color as in C. geraceorum but with hindwing medial and postmedial lines more strongly marked and postmedial line roughly zigzagged. Basal half of cells Cu 2 A 2 and A 2 –A 3 ochraceous tawny to clay color. Abdomen. Dorsum mottled with white-tipped drab scales and scattered fuscous scales; a fuscous middorsal patch on A4– A6 or A4–A5 preceded by cinnamon buff and/or white scales. Posterior margin of A1–A6 with narrow band of fuscous scales laterally, cinnamon buff and drab middorsally. Segments A4–A6 with fuscous scales denser but not forming a distinct rectangular patch on A4. Venter white with scattered cinnamon buff and buffy brown scales; A7 buffy brown and fuscous.   
  Male genitalia (n = 4).  Uncus just exceeding gnathos in lateral aspect, width similar across length, apex tapered to a small darkly sclerotized point (Fig. 48). Gnathos without protruding basal lobes, basal arms, without setae or spines. Gnathos apex fused, not upturned, with darkly sclerotized tip bearing minute teeth, ventral aspect with median notch and central pale area (Fig. 49). Valvae distinctly wider at base, weakly curved toward dorsum, distal ends rounded. Sacculus (Fig. 61, 62) short, stout, with a lightly sclerotized bulbous terminal process containing a small compact darkly sclerotized flange overlapping a multi-toothed process. Juxta lightly sclerotized along distal margin. Saccus short (compared to congeners), apex rounded. Phallus (Fig. 41) with dorsal part of apex more darkly sclerotized than base, margin sharp but not forming a distinctly separate projecting process. Vesica with broad shapeless membranous area followed distally by a spiculate lateral lobe and gradually narrowing tubular terminal part.   
 Description (female). Based on one female paratype. Forewing length 16 mm. Similar to male except forewing with certain areas darker. Basal area with costa and middle of cell Cu 2 –A 2+3 with small patch of fuscous scales. Median area distad of discal spot dark gray. Postmedial area from costa to tornal dash mottled with fuscous and drab as opposed to white in males. Submarginal area with part adjacent to postmedial line fuscous and incorporating subapical triangle and tornal dash; margined distally by white band followed by mottled drab terminal area/line.   
  Female genitalia (n = 1).  Papillae anales moderately setose. longest setae about 0.75× length of papillae anales. Apophyses posteriores length about 3× that of papillae anales. Free part of apophyses anteriores length about 2× that of papillae anales. Ostium a broad pocket-like opening into large sclerotized rectangular antrum. Antrum length at least 2× width. Lamina postvaginalis sclerotized across posterior margin with sclerite extending medially to a point aimed toward antrum. Inception of ductus seminalis near juncture of antrum with ductus bursae. Corpus bursae obovate (irregularly shaped with spermatophores left in situ in specimen examined). Membranous appendix bursae attached anterolaterad on right side of corpus bursae, and of similar size. Ductus bursae length less than that of corpus bursae.   
 Types. HOLOTYPE. ♂ - with the following labels: ‘ BAHAMAS: Mayaguana Is. │ 3.4 mi. NW of airport │22.410411°, −73.056102° │ 28.vii.2014 │ M.J. Simon & G. Goss’ [white printed]; ‘ Bahamas Survey │ MGCL Accession │ No. 2014-21’ [white printed]; ‘HOLOYPE ♂ │ Cautethia simoni │J.Y. Miller │ D.L. Matthews │ R.J.   
 Gott’ [red printed]; ‘ MGCL 236856 │ McGuire Center for Lepidoptera │& Biodiversity, FLMNH, UF’ [green printed with barcode]. The holotype is deposited at MGCL. PARATYPES. 7 ♂, 1 ♀ - BAHAMAS: Mayaguana Island: 3.5 mi. NW of airport, 22.413611°, −73.052500°, 30.vii.2014, MAJ & GJG, MGCL Acc. 2014-21 (1 ♂) MGCL 236915; Pirates Well, Baycaner Beach, 22.435833°, −73.102222°, 31.vii–1.viii.2014, MJS & GJG, MGCL Acc. 2014-21 (1 ♂, prep. DM 2138) MGCL 242491 (LEP-65157), (1 ♀, prep. DM 2242) MGCL 247894; TURKS & CAICOS ISLS.: Grand Turk: E ridge NE of Cockburn Town, 21°29’N, 71°07’45”W, 6.ii.2001, W.E. Steiner & J.M. Swearingen, at black light in mixed scrub near salt pond (2 ♂, prep. DM 2176) [USNM]; Providenciales: Erebus Hotel area ca 21°48’N, 72°15’W, Sta. 467, 28-30.i.1978, H. & M. Clench, at hotel lights, C. M. Acc. 29717, Cautethia noctuiformis bredini Cary, Det. T.L. McCabe (3 ♂, prep. DM 2229) CMNH-IZ 720409–720411.   
 Life history. Unknown.   
 Distribution. Mayaguana Island, Bahamas, and Providenciales and Grand Turk of the Turks and Caicos Islands.   
 Etymology. This species is named in honor of one of the collectors of the holotype, Mark Jay Simon, who has played a key role in surveys of the Bahamas Lepidoptera fauna starting with initial island butterfly surveys in the 1980s and continuing to the present with comprehensive all-Lepidoptera inventories.
description: Published as part of Miller, Jacqueline Y., Matthews, Deborah L. & Gott, Riley J., 2022, Three new species of Cautethia Grote (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) from the Lucayan Archipelago and keys to West Indies species, pp. 1-28 in Insecta Mundi 2022 (937) on pages 14-18, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7167978