Stichelia cuneifascia Zikan 1946
Creators: name: Dias, Fernando Maia Silva
name: Dolibaina, Diego Rodrigo
name: Mielke, Olaf Hermann Hendrik
name: Casagrande, Mirna Martins
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2013
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Lycaenidae
Stichelia
Stichelia cuneifascia

description: Stichelia cuneifascia (Zikán, 1946)
(Figs 3–6, 24, 31–32, 39–41)
Phaenochitonia cuneifascia Zikán, 1946. p. 348–349.
Stichelia cuneifascia; Zikán 1949. p. 539.—Mielke & Casagrande 1987b. pp. 414–415, fig. 2.—Hall & Willmott 1996. p. 649.—Hall & Harvey 2002. p. 197—Callaghan & Lamas 2004. p. 165.—Emery, Brown & Pinheiro 2006. p. 89.
Diagnosis. Forewing length, male: 11mm; female: 11.5mm (n=2) (Figs 3–6, 24). The forewing outer margin of the male is distinctively less convex than S. catarinensis; orange band of the forewing strongly reduced on males, but present in both sexes, extending from the same area of the costal margin as S. catarinensis. However, the orange band is wedge-shaped and never reaches the outer margin, even on females. Additionally, the spots along the outer margin of the hind wing are straighter in S. cuneifascia than in S. catarinensis. The male genitalia (Figs 31–32) is similar to S. catarinensis, with the dorsal part of the valva less developed, and the aedeagus longer and cylindrical. The characters of the female genitalia cited for the " cuneifascia " species group are those observed in the female of S. cuneifascia (Figs 39–41), since the female of S. catarinensis remains unknown. However, the genitalia of the females of S. catarinenesis are expected to be similar to its closest ally, S. cuneifascia.
Taxonomic comments. Only few specimens of this species are known. The holotype is a female, illustrated by Warren et al. (2013), with the orange band of the forewing not reaching the outer margin. The orange band is reduced when compared to other species of the genus, but much larger when compared to male specimens. The type locality is part of a protected area in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Itatiaia, Parque Nacional do Itatiaia), where Zikán (1946) collected the specimen visiting flowers of the introduced ornamental shrub Euphorbia pulcherrima (Euphorbiaceae) in the southern slope of the Itatiaia mountain range. Although the surroundings of Itatiaia have been extensively sampled through the years, no additional specimens were ever caught. Interestingly, recent records of S. cuneifascia are specimens collected or observed in the Cerrado biome, from Brasilia, Distrito Federal, Brazil (DZUP, Emery et al. 2006) and the state of São Paulo, Brazil (L. Kaminski, pers. comm.). No male specimens were available by Hall and Willmott (1996) and Hall and Harvey (2002) in their study about CAS and, as far as we know, this is the first time a male specimen of S. cuneifascia is illustrated, although Hall and Harvey (2002: 197) recognize that the male is known.
Distribution. Open environments, in habitats over 700m in Distrito Federal, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, Brazil, occurring in February, May, June and July.
Type material. The holotype of Phaenochitonia cuneifascia Zikán, 1946 has the following labels: / Holotypus / Phaenochitonia cuneifascia Zikán, 1946 Mielke & Casagrande det 1986 Holótipo/ Itatiaya 700m Est[ado]. do Rio[de Janeiro], Brasil 12-VI-1941 E. B. Poins. Blat I. J. F. Zikán/ ♀/ Stichelia cuneifascia Zik. / Coleção J. F. Zikan/ (deposited at IOC) (Mielke & Casagrande 1987a, b).
Examined material. BRAZIL: Distrito Federal, Brasília, Parque do Gama, 1000m, 1♂, 17.VI.1972, Mielke & Brown leg., DZ 23.995* (DZUP); 1♀, 20.IV.1972, Mielke & Brown leg., DZ 23.945* (DZUP); São Paulo, Itirapina, Parque Estadual de Vassununga, Pé de Gigante, 1♀, 24.V.2009, L. Kaminski, pers. comm.
description: Published as part of Dias, Fernando Maia Silva, Dolibaina, Diego Rodrigo, Mielke, Olaf Hermann Hendrik & Casagrande, Mirna Martins, 2013, Revision of the genus Stichelia Zikán (Riodinidae: Riodininae: Symmachiini), with the description of a new species from southern Brazil, pp. 579-593 in Zootaxa 3693 (4) on page 586, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3693.4.10, http://zenodo.org/record/223116