Eryphanis bubocula
Creators: name: Penz, Carla M.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2008
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Nymphalidae
Eryphanis
Eryphanis bubocula

description: Eryphanis bubocula (Butler, 1872), status revised   (Fig. 1D, 2D, 4D, 5D, 6D)  
 Type locality. Costa Rica.   
 Diagnosis. Males similar to E. aesacus, but distinguished from this species by the larger size, the larger dorsal FW iridescent patch, and by the reduced size of the dorsal HW iridescent patch, which usually does not extend toward the medial area. Males have rounded gnathos, and wider valva in ventral view. Females distinguished from E. aesacus by their larger size, pale grayish blue dorsal iridescent sheen from basal to medial areas of both wings, and sterigma with a broader posterior ridge and larger midline keel.   
 Annotated redescription. Male. FW length 60 mm (n=1). Dorsal FW and HW with conspicuous and localized mid-night blue to purple iridescent patches extended from medial to postmedial areas of the FW, occupying half the length of the FW discal cell. Iridescent patches restricted to the postmedial area of the HW. Dorsal FW submarginal line faint, diffuse, continuous. HW edge rounded with a vestigial marginal outline dorsally. Dorsal HW with a large broad patch of black androconial scales above tornus. Androconial patch usually occupying a larger space of cell M2 than E. aesacus, taking up approximately one-third of the length of the cell. Ventral FW and HW main color brown. Ventral HW white postmedial transverse band well developed. HW ventral eyespot in cell Cu1 large, expanding to cell Cu2. Uncus elongate and slender, valva narrow, and gnathos rounded.   
 Female. FW length 67 mm (n=2). Dorsal FW and HW with pale grayish blue iridescent sheen extended from basal to postmedial areas of the FW, stronger below Cu2, and from basal to medial areas of the HW, slightly more intense than in the FW. Dorsal FW orange submarginal line well developed, continuous, fading in cell Cu2. Submarginal branch of FW submarginal line starts above M1, and postmedial branch starts at wing margin or below the R stem. Dorsal HW marginal outline absent. HW edge rounded and slightly undulated. Ventral FW and HW as in male. Sterigma with a broad posterior ridge and narrow projections.   
 Distribution. Costa Rica to Colombia and the Amazon basin (Godman and Salvin 1879, Frühstorfer 1912, Appendix 1). In Costa Rica it is reported from 500 to 1,800 m on both slopes (Cubero 1985, DeVries 1987).   
 Species status. Eryphanis bubocula differs from E. aesacus in wing pattern and genitalia. Godman and Salvin (1879) considered these taxa separate species, and pointed to diagnostic differences in wing length and color for both sexes. Their characters were confirmed here, and additional diagnostic characters are also provided for both taxa (see diagnoses). It is worth noting that E. bubocula females resemble Caligo illioneus oberon Butler, 1870 (see DeVries 1987 for illustrations) while those of E. aesacus assume a more ordinary Eryphanis female pattern (compare Fig. 2D and E). In concert, differences in both wing characters and genitalia support the reinstatement of species status of E. bubocula.   
 Remarks. It would be interesting to compare specimens from higher elevations with those from the Amazon Basin (possibly from the subspecies juruana Frühstorfer, 1912), which were unavailable to me for examination. The life history of E. bubocula was described and illustrated by Cubero (1985) from Costa Rica, including observations on adult behavior.
description: Published as part of Penz, Carla M., 2008, Phylogenetic Revision of Eryphanis Boisduval, with a Description of a New Species from Ecuador (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae), pp. 1-25 in Insecta Mundi 2008 (35) on pages 12-13, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.4532981