Cithaerias azurina Penz 2021, STAT. REV.
Creators: name: Penz, Carla M.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Nymphalidae
Cithaerias
Cithaerias azurina

description: Cithaerias azurina (Zikán, 1942) STAT. REV.
(Figs 3h–i, 7c, 9d, 10)
Callitaera azurina Zikán, 1942; Beschreibungen neuer neotropischer Papilionidae, Pieridae, Danaidae und Satyridae. Entomologische Zeitschrift 55(34): 269–272.
Type locality: Rio Papuri (see Remarks, below).
Type material: The male holotype was deposited in Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Brazil, but as of February 2019 it could not be located (Claudia L. Rodrigues, pers. comm.).
Distribution. Possibly endemic to Colombia, Vaupés region. See map (Fig. 10) for localities of examined specimens.
Diagnosis. This species is defined based on the following combination of characters (numbered in Fig. 3h–i): HW membrane melanized; (1) male HW submarginal and marginal bands amalgamated and broad; (2) male HW postmedial band proximal to the ocellus below M 1 broad, complete, and somewhat diffuse; (3) male HW postmedial band markedly broad such that the less pigmented spots below M 3, CuA 1 and CuA 2 are only visible in ventral view, HW membrane more melanized than the FW; (4) male HW scale cover midnight-blue, glossy, dense and limited to the tornus region, one single small white spot below M 2; (5) female similar to male but with wider HW brown bands, particularly the postmedial band outlining the ocellus below M 1, (6) midnight-blue scaling at tornus enclosing uniquely small spots, white to pale pink; (7) a brown band is present across the HW discal cell and it extends towards the wing anal margin, a character that is not found in any other Cithaerias species. The examined specimens are also unique within the genus by having two brown bands on the FW, one of which crosses the discal cell in the female. Male genitalia (Fig. 7c): genitalic capsule markedly large. In lateral view, uncus bent approximately at midlength and somewhat short; in dorsal view, the uncus and short tegument form a dome-shaped outline. In ventral view, valva long, broad at base and progressively narrowing towards the spatulate apex, with an arched indentation at the inner side and near the apex; inner base of valva notably sclerotized and markedly extended towards the sub-anal plate. Phallus straight, comparable in length to the entire genitalic capsule, vesica adorned a small number of minute spines. Sub-anal plate short, shallowly V-shaped; adjacent area broad, mildly sclerotized, and covered with minute microtrichia that surround the elongate base of the valvae. Female genitalia (Fig. 9d): sterigma forming a broad and shallow concave “cup” that is somewhat U-shaped (narrow anteriorly and broadening posteriorly); central area well sclerotized, especially around ostium bursae; ostium bursae narrow. Post-sterigmal area rounded, well sclerotized and bearing large microtrichia posteriorly. Antrum somewhat long and bearing a heavily sclerotized band that fades towards the short ductus bursae. Corpus bursae lacks signa.
Subspecies. None.
Remarks. Both male and female C. azurina show morphological differences from C. andromeda they had been formerly classified as a subspecies by Lamas (1998). First, this is the only Cithaerias species in which the entire HW membrane is somewhat melanized (especially in the male) and where the dense hind wing blue scaling spreads almost to the discal cell (compare Fig. 3h–i to Fig. 2). Cithaerias azurina also has a well-developed brown band across the HW discal cell (pattern element d, Nijhout 1991) that is absent in C. andromeda (this band is also found in some specimens of C. pireta, see Fig. 2 in Penz et al. 2014:546). Under stereomicroscope and with strong light, a small number of pink scales are visible within the glossy midnight-blue scaling on the dorsal hind wing tornus, and they correspond to the pink spots present in other Cithaerias species. Both male and female genitalia are distinct from C. andromeda in the shape of the valva, uncus and tegumen, and the shape of the sterigma (compare Fig. 7c to Fig. 6, Fig. 9d to 9a). Thus, their distinctive wing color pattern and genitalia morphology justify the species status for C. azurina as proposed here.
The ETHZ collection specimens examined here possibly belong to the same collection series as the holotype, given that they were collected at the Papuri River (compare labels in Fig. 3h–i to http://butterfliesofamerica. com/L/ih/n_cithaerias0013_i.htm last accessed December 2020). Although the labels include the word “nova” in Portuguese (indicating an undescribed taxon), it is unclear whether the specimens were collected in the Brazilian or Colombian side of the river. Nonetheless, Constantino & Salazar (1998) examined two male specimens from Colombia, Vaupés, Mitú (50 m, I–IX 1995; D. Acosta leg.; E. Schmidt-Mumm collection), confirming the presence of this species in Colombia. Patrick Botto provided me a photograph of one of these specimens, and also informed me that Paola Triviño has recently seen this species in Mitú (pers. comm.). I am unaware of any authenticated C. azurina specimens that have been collected in Brazil.
Material examined: MALE: 1♂ Rio Papori (sic), 14 Feb 1934, 19-14 Dissected by CM Penz (ETHZ); 1M, Colombia, Vaupés, Mitú, 1 Sep 1995 (examined from a photograph provided by P. Botto). FEMALE: 1♀ Rio Papori (sic), 14 Feb 1934, 19-15 Dissected by CM Penz (ETHZ).
description: Published as part of Penz, Carla M., 2021, Revised species definitions and nomenclature of the blue and purple / rose Cithaerias butterflies (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Satyrinae), pp. 293-316 in Zootaxa 4963 (2) on pages 303-305, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4963.2.3, http://zenodo.org/record/4700886