Á. L. Viloria
28
ANARTIA
Publicación del Museo de Biología de la Universidad del Zulia
ISSN 1315-642X (impresa) / ISSN 2665-0347 (digital)
Anartia, 34 (junio 2022): 28-42
http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:0D754F2B-056C-4EE3-82B5-4F5AF752E4E4
Two new satyrine butteries from Venezuela
(Insecta: Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)
Dos nuevas mariposas satíridas de Venezuela
(Insecta: Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)
Ángel L. Viloria
Centro de Ecología, Instituto Venezolano de Inestigaciones Cientícas (IVIC), km 11 carretera Panamericana, Altos de Pipe,
estado Miranda 1204, Venezuela.
Correspondence: sebastianiloriacarrizo@gmail.com; aviloria@ivic.gob.ve
(Received: 02-11-2021 / Accepted: 15-05-2022 / On line: 30-09-2022)
ABSTRACT
Two new satyrine butteries known so far only from the Venezuelan territory are diagnosed, described, illustrated and
compared: Rudyphthimoides iseai gen. nov. et sp. nov. (Cordillera de la Costa, northern Venezuela) and Stephenympha
pauliana gen. nov. et sp. nov. (Serranía del Cuao, Amazonas, southern Venezuela). Seven new combinations, two new
synonymies are established, and the specic status of two taxa are revised: Rudyphthimoides anis (Butler, 1867) comb.
nov., R. erigone (Butler, 1867) sp. restit., stat. rev. et comb. nov., R. guenzeli (Anken, 1994) stat. rev. et comb. nov., R.
maepius (Godart, [1824]) comb. nov. (= Euptychia argyrospila Butler, 1867 syn. nov., = Euptychia perfuscata Butler, 1867
syn. nov.), R. mythra (Weymer, 1911) comb. nov., Stephenympha arius (Weymer, 1911) comb. nov. and S. eriphule (But-
ler, 1867) comb. nov.
Keywords: Amazon, Aragua, Coastal range, Cuao Mountains, nomenclature, new combinations, Satyrini, synonymy.
RESUMEN
Se diagnostican, describen, ilustran y comparan dos nuevas mariposas satíridas conocidas hasta ahora únicamente del terri-
torio venezolano: Rudyphthimoides iseai gen. nov. et sp. nov. (Cordillera de la Costa, norte de Venezuela) y Stephenympha
pauliana gen. nov. et sp. nov. (Serranía del Cuao, Amazonas, sur de Venezuela). Se establecen siete nuevas combinaciones,
dos nuevas sinonimias y se revisa el status de dos especies: Rudyphthimoides anis (Butler, 1867) comb. nov., R. erigone
(Butler, 1867) sp. restit., stat. rev. et comb. nov., R. guenzeli (Anken, 1994) stat. rev. et comb. nov., R. maepius (Godart,
[1824]) comb. nov. (= Euptychia argyrospila Butler, 1867 syn. nov., = Euptychia perfuscata Butler, 1867 syn. nov.), R.
mythra (Weymer, 1911) comb. nov., Stephenympha arius (Weymer, 1911) comb. nov. y S. eriphule (Butler, 1867) comb.
nov.
Palabras clave: Amazonas, Aragua, Cordillera de la Costa, nomenclatura, nuevas combinaciones, Satyrini, Serranía del
Cuao, sinonimia.
INTRODUCTION
e objective of this work is to describe two new spe-
cies of butteries of the family Nymphalidae, subfamily
Satyrinae, coming respectively from two distant localities
of the Venezuelan territory. e rst case corresponds to a
series of individuals of a previously unnoticed taxon, cap-
tured 70 years ago by Francisco Fernández-Yépez in the
surroundings of the town of El Limón, currently part of
the city of Maracay, in the foothills of the Cordillera de La
New Satyrinae from Venezuela
29
Costa (450–500 m a.s.l.), Aragua state. is series of eight
specimens, preserved in the collection of the Museo del
Instituto de Zoología Agrícola of the Universidad Central
de Venezuela, was rediscovered in 2014 and studied by the
present author while making taxonomic identications to
update the inventory of satyrine butteries in Venezuela.
e second case concerns the unexpected nding made in
2016 by Mauro Costa on his rst expedition to the Ser-
ranía del Cuao, Amazonas state (Costa et al. 2019) of a
hitherto undescribed species of Satyrinae, related to Eup-
tychia eriphule Butler, 1867. As a result of this expedition
we had a single specimen from the slopes of Cerro Woroi
at 500 m above sea level. In 2020, two additional individu-
als were obtained at the base of Cerro Paraka (600 m), not
far from the type locality, whose study conrmed the pe-
culiar characteristics and identity of this taxon.
It was not possible to classify the new species within
the known genera of Neotropical Satyrinae. e peculiar
combinations of their morphological characteristics mer-
ited the proposal and diagnoses of two new genera for the
respective allocation of each of these taxa. e generic
traits diagnosed in each case are shared with a few butter-
y species formerly assigned to genera such as Erichthodes
Forster, 1964 or Yphthimoides Forster, 1964. ese species
have been consequently transferred to the new genera.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
A comparative study has been carried out on the mor-
phology of the venation and the design pattern and col-
oration of the wings, particularly the ocellar formula, as
well as the male genital chitinous structures of the genera
and species of papilionoid Lepidoptera (Nymphalidae:
Satyrinae) described here and some of the taxa that are
apparently related to them. Once the peculiarities of each
taxon were detected, the unique combinations of charac-
ters were used as criteria for the denition of the new gen-
era and new species. For the establishment of taxonomic
hierarchies, the congruence of the localities of origin or
geographic distribution areas of the dierent species was
also considered.
Descriptions follow the nomenclature of wing vena-
tion (and cells) of the Comstock-Needham system (Miller
1970), and the modied terminology of Klots (1970)
was used for the description of male genital structures.
A system of homological equivalences of the ocelli in the
wings was used based on the basic concepts of the ground
plan developed by Schwanwitsch (1924). Dry-preserved,
pinned, and displayed specimens were examined. e ob-
servations, photographs and drawings were made with
and without magnication (in the rst case with manual
magnifying glasses and stereoscopic microscopes of dier-
ent models and brands, natural and articial lighting and
accessories such as the camera lucida and photographic
camera), the lengths were taken with a drawing compass
and ruler, manual and ocular microscales. Wing diaphani-
zations were performed using diluted commercial chlorine
and immediate washing with distilled water, dehydration
with ethanol and preservation by immersion in euparal be-
tween glass slides and covers. e soening and digestion
of eshy tissues and abdominal fat for the microdissection
of the chitinous structures of the male genitalia of but-
teries was carried out by controlled immersion in caus-
tic solution and subsequent washing in water. Once these
preparations were examined, they were stored in a solution
of ethanol and glycerin. ese technical procedures have
been described in more detail by Viloria & Costa (2022).
Abbreviations and acronyms: FW: Forewing; FWL:
Forewing length; HW: Hindwing; IVIC: Centro de
Ecología, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Cientí-
cas, Altos de Pipe, Venezuela; MC: Mauro Costa collec-
tion, Caracas, Venezuela; MIZA: Museo del Instituto de
Zoología Agrícola, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad
Central de Venezuela, Maracay, Venezuela; NHMUK:
e Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom;
SNSB: Zoologische Staatssammlung München, Germany.
RESULTS
Rudyphthimoides Viloria, gen. nov.
(Figs. 1a [type species, wing venation], b [type species,
male genitalia], 2a [type species male, dorsal], b [type
species, male, ventral], c [type species, female, dorsal,
d [type species, female, ventral], 3a–f [male genitalia of
dierent species])
http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:775EEC39-D43A-4065-
9DD4-39B5BB20595F
Type species: Rudyphthimoides iseai Viloria, sp. nov.,
herein designated.
Diagnosis: Similar in size and habitus to Emeryus
Zacca, Casagrande & Mielke, 2020, especially on ventral
view, sharing the possession of all postdiscal ocelli with
double pupils. However, it diers from Emeryus in hav-
ing distinctive male genitalia; Emeryus is characterized
by elongate, rectangular and spatulate valvae, while spe-
cies of Rudyphthimoides gen. nov., have a dierent shape
in their valvae, which are triangular, broad at base, with
a distal projection in the shape of a hook, more similar to
those of the species of Malaveria Viloria & Benmesbah,
[2021]; however they dier from the latter, apart from
other characters mentioned below, in a more developed
Á. L. Viloria
30
inner ampullar process at the base of the hooked extrem-
ity. In Rudyphthimoides gen. nov., FW veins R2-R5 and
M1 originate together from anterior angle of the distal
extremity of discal cell (R2-R5 separated from M1 in Ma-
laveria); in Rudyphthimoides gen. nov., the recurrent vein
in FW discal cell emerges as a prolongation of M2, thus
dividing m1-m2 from m2-m3 (emerging approximately
in the middle of m1-m2 in Malaveria); Cissia Doubleday,
1848, Magneuptychia Forster, 1964, Paryphthimoides For-
ster, 1964 and Emeryus, all lack a recurrent vein in FW
discal cell and have well developed humeral vein in HW
(apparently absent or not developed in Rudyphthimoides
gen. nov.). Double pupils are present in all ventral ocelli
(even reduced or vestigial) of all species of Rudyphthimoi-
des (unlike Modestia Viloria & Benmesbah, [2021] and
Malaveria which have monopupilled ventral FW ocelli,
and usually – but not always– single pupils in HW R5 and
M1). Wings of the species of Modestia, Malaveria, Mag-
neuptychia, and Stephenympha gen. nov., have no dorsal
ocelli, the same occurs in Emeryus, in which sometimes
there appears a diuse ocellar dark mark on HW Cu1; in
contrast, members of Rudyphthimoides gen. nov., always
bear at least one HW dorsal ocellus with single pupil in
Cu1 (another one smaller in Cu2 may also appear in some
species or in females, plus dark dots on R5, M1 and M3).
Etymology: Rudyphthimoides is an arbitrary combi-
nation of the existing generic name of satyrine butteries
Yphthimoides, and the name of the outstanding Venezue-
lan singer, composer and musician, Rudy Márquez (b. Ro-
dolfo Márquez van Stenis, Caracas, December 7, 1942).
e author of the present discovery and description wants
to honor Master Rudy Márquez for his remarkable and
long professional career, and for his notable contribution
to the cultural development of rock and pop music in Ven-
ezuela during the last six decades.
Distribution: Tropical lowlands of South America, east
of the Andes.
Taxonomic comments: During the process of the pres-
ent publication, Barbosa et al. (2022, March) produced
a relevant and extensive article on the phylogenetic sys-
tematics of the genus Yphthimoides. ey established
the following new combinations: Malaveria anis (But-
ler), Malaveria maepius (Godart) and Malaveria mythra
(Weymer), while considering Yphthimoides argyrospila
(Butler) a valid taxon in uncertain generic position, and
Euptychia eriphule Butler a representative of a new genus.
e latter hypothesis is herein independently conrmed
(see below), but the author of the present contribution
disagrees with the assignations of the other taxa to Mala-
veria. Several morphological characters pointed out in its
diagnosis discriminate Rudyphthimoides gen. nov., from
Figure 1. Morphological features of Rudyphthimoides iseai gen.
et sp. nov.; a. Wing venation of a male individual; b. male geni-
talia: above, dorsal and lateral view of aedeagus; center, lateral
view of genital armature, le valva detached; below, dorsal view
of tegumen, uncus, subunci, vinculum and saccus.