Zaphanta fraterna Schausi 1912
Creators: name: St Laurent, Ryan A.
name: Giusti, Alessandro
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Mimallonidae
Zaphanta
Zaphanta fraterna

description: Zaphanta fraterna Schaus, 1912
(Figures 1, 5–7, 10, 27, 40, 41)
Zaphanta fraterna Schaus, 1912: 48. Original description; Zaphanta fraterna: Schaus 1928, treated as a synonym of Z. infantilis; Zaphanta infantilis: Forbes 1942, but Panama records actually refer to Z. fraterna; Zaphanta fraterna: Becker 1996, treated as a synonym of Z. infantilis; Zaphanta fraterna: St Laurent and Kawahara 2019, revived status as valid species.
Diagnosis
As in the preceding species, Z. fraterna is not readily distinguishable from other Zaphanta by external characters. This species is recognisable by the genitalia which in males display an elongated, narrow tegumen, truncated uncus, a well-sclerotised singular subuncus projection of variable width but which is always pointed mesally; a mostly smooth, simple phallus with the typical ventral distal sharpened extension which is more heavily sclerotised than the remainder of the phallus. The phallus lacks spines along its lateral side. These characters, combined with the absence of modified costal valvae apodemes, are unique to this species. The most similar species, Z. rawlinsi sp. nov., has a wider, blunter subuncus mesal projection, narrower valvae than any dissected Z. fraterna, and a shorter, broader phallus. As mentioned in the diagnosis of Z. infantilis, tergite VIII in the female genitalia is not deeply concave in Z. fraterna, and has a broad posteriorly directed lobe instead of a narrow posteriorly directed protrusion as seen in Z. infantilis.
Description
Male. Head: As for genus. Thorax: As for genus. Legs: As for genus. Fore wing dorsum: As for genus. Fore wing length: 7.5–11.0 mm, avg.: 9.6 mm, wingspan: 19–22 mm, n = 7. Fore wing ventrum: As for genus. Hind wing dorsum: As for genus. Hind wing ventrum: As for genus. Abdomen: As for genus. Genitalia: (Figure 27) n = 6. Vinculum ovoid, basally narrowed, squared. Tegumen elongate, narrower than vinculum. Uncus triangular and heavily sclerotised apically, apex truncated with squared tip. Subuncus projection forming a closed ring with lateral margins of tegumen, mesally more heavily sclerotised, forming triangular point; uncus-tegumen complex narrower relative to remainder of genitalia. Transtilla triangular, variable in width. Valvae variable in width but always narrowed distally and angled upward (when spread) with middle of saccular edge forming an elbow-like angle or curve; bases of valvae meet mesally, touching or nearly touching. Costal base of valvae (valva apodeme) not modified. Caecum of phallus shorter than half length of phallus, rounded. Phallus stout, cylindrical, ventrally extended as well-sclerotised, sharp point; phallus smooth or nearly smooth laterally.
Female. Head: As for genus. Thorax: As for genus. Legs: As for genus. Fore wing dorsum: Fore wing length: 11.0–11.5 mm, avg.: 11.3 mm, wingspan: 21 mm, n = 2. As for male but wings slightly broader overall, marginal area in particular darker purple in two specimens examined than in most males. Fore wing ventrum: As for male, but antemedial shading and antemedial line less developed. Hind wing dorsum: As for male but with more darkly defined marginal area. Hind wing ventrum: As for genus. Abdomen: As for genus. Genitalia: (Figure 40) n = 1. As for genus, but tergite VIII concave with posteriorly directed mesal lobe which is part of more heavily sclerotised mesal region of tergite VIII, region of VIII tergite proximal to base of papillae anales, covered in short setae; sternite VIII broadened and squared. Ostium bursae globular, bowl-like, more heavily sclerotised than surrounding VIII, width of sclerotised ostium region roughly half that of segment VIII. Ductus bursae and corpus bursae narrow, corpus bursae wider than ductus bursae, bag-like.
Type material
Lectotype ♂. Costa Rica: Limón: Sixola [Sixaola] Riv, CR /March/ Zaphanta fraterna type Schaus/ Type No. 17497/USNM-Mimal: 1104/St Laurent diss.: 5-16-18:6 / LECTOTYPE Zaphanta fraterna designated by St Laurent and Giusti 2019/(USNM, examined).
Additional material examined
Belize. Toledo: 1 ♂, no additional locality information [photo examined only] (CMNH). 1 ♂, Punta Gorda [photo examined only] (CMNH).
Guatemala. Izabal: 1 ♂, Quiriguá: February, Schaus and Barnes coll., USNM-Mimal: 2555, St Laurent diss.: 5-16-18:5 (USNM). 2 ♂, Cayuga: March, April, Schaus and Barnes coll., Dognin Collection, USNM-Mimal: 2553, 2556 (USNM).
Costa Rica. Alajuela: 1 ♂, Bijagua, 750 m: 3–4. November 2000, V.O. Becker col., Col. Becker 129398 (VOB). 1 ♂, Vochysia [note: this is the name of the ‘site’ in Área de Conservación Guanacaste where the specimen was collected, not the host plant genus], 10.86666° N, 85.24528° W, 320 m: larva collected 13 March 2009, adult emerged 26 April 2009, food plant: Terminalia ivorensis (introduced plant), 09-SRNP-40335, DNA and genital prep. USNMENT 01373360 (USNM). 1 ♂, 2 ♀ Potrero Argentina, 10.89,021° N, −85.38,803° W, 520 m: 1 ♂, larva collected 5 June 2012, adult emerged 25 June 2012, food plant: Terminalia oblonga, 12-SRNP-2306 (USNM); 1 ♀, larva collected 5 June 2012, adult emerged 22 June 2012, food plant: Terminalia oblonga, 12-SRNP-2304 [abdomen missing, no genital preparation] (USNM); 1 ♀, larva collected 5 June 2012, adult emerged 1 July 2012, food plant: Terminalia oblonga, 12-SRNP- 2303, DNA and genital prep. USNMENT 01373361 (USNM). 1 ♂, No collecting data: 06-SRNP-108831 (USNM). Cartago: 2 ♂, Turrialba, 600 m: 20 May 1972, 25 June 1972, V.O. Becker col., Col. Becker 55965 (VOB). Limón: 1 ♂, Sixola [Sixaola] River: 3 March, W. Schaus, 1911–32, NHMUK 010890497 (NHMUK). 1 ♂, Sixola [Sixaola] River: March, Collection Wm Schaus, USNM-Mimal: 2552 (USNM). 1 ♀, Sixola [Sixaola] River [photo examined only, sex not confirmed] (CMNH). Unknown province: 1 ♂, Esperanza: May, Rothschild Bequest BM 1939–1, NHMUK 010890496, genitalia vial NHMUK 010402344 (NHMUK).
Panama. 2 ♂, No specific locality, December 1935 –January 1936, L.M. Smith, Franclemont dissection 1771 (CUIC). Panamá Oeste: 6 ♂, Barro Colorado Island (4 ♂, CUIC; 2 ♂ CNC) [an additional 20+ specimens from Barro Colorado Island are in the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, USA, although we did not examine them].
Colombia. Magdalena: 1 ♂, Don Amo, 2000 ft: July, H.H. Smith [leg.], genitalia vial NHMUK 010402343, NHMUK 010890495 (NHMUK).
Photo of living specimen examined
1 ♂, Costa Rica: Heredia: La Selva Biological Station: 16 March 2015 (Figure 10, photo courtesy of Lena Struwe).
Distribution
This species is distributed from Guatemala and Belize, to the south apparently throughout Central America, although records are lacking between Guatemala / Belize and Costa Rica / Panama. Zaphanta fraterna is also found in northern Colombia.
Remarks
Since Schaus (1928) and until St Laurent and Kawahara (2019), this species was regarded as a synonym of Z. infantilis. However, these two species occupy different regions, with Z. fraterna in north-western South America and Central America and Z. infantilis in the Guianas and Trinidad. The genitalia differ markedly between these two species, particularly by the presence of spined valvae apodemes in Z. infantilis and unmodified valvae apodemes in Z. fraterna. The Peruvian and Ecuadorian Z. rawlinsi sp. nov. has genitalia very similar to Z. fraterna but differs in subuncus and phallus structure and occupies a distant biogeographic region.
Zaphanta fraterna was described by Schaus (1912) from an indeterminate number of specimens, although we presume the specimen labelled as the ‘type’ in the USNM is in fact the sole type. Regardless, we designate a lectotype for this specimen.
Janzen and Hallwachs (2017) reared Z. fraterna from Terminalia ivorensis A. Chev (Combretaceae) (voucher 09-SRNP-40335) and T. oblonga (Ruiz and Pav.) Steud. (voucher numbers 12-SRNP- 2303, 12 -SRNP- 2304, 12 -SRNP-2306) in Costa Rica. The former Terminalia species is introduced in Costa Rica as per Janzen and Hallwachs (2017). St Laurent et al. (2018) mentioned that another Costa Rican specimen of Z. fraterna was reared from Myrcia splendens (Sw.) DC. (Myrtaceae) (11-SRNP-32214), but we believe this identification was in error and therefore only know Zaphanta to feed on Terminalia. Unfortunately, images of the larvae are not available of any of these specimens, although the following description was offered for 09-SRNP-40335: ‘crema con puntitos cafes’ which translates to ‘cream with brown dots’. It is not known whether Zaphanta larvae are case builders as is typical for Mimallonidae. Such life history traits would be extremely useful in understanding the evolutionary history and ancestral natural history of Mimallonidae, considering the sister relationship of Zaphanta to the remainder of the family.
description: Published as part of St Laurent, Ryan A. & Giusti, Alessandro, 2019, Revision of Zaphanta Dyarı 1910 (Lepidoptera: Mimallonidae: Zaphantinae) ı with descriptions of nine new species, pp. 1209-1246 in Journal of Natural History 53 (19) on pages 1222-1224, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2019.1634772, http://zenodo.org/record/3673463