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| male Sunburst Cerulean-Satyr, Caeruleuptychia helios (Weymer, 1911) |
Abstract
The ‘aegrota species group’ of the Neotropical nymphalid genus Caeruleuptychia Forster, 1964, in addition to three other superficially similar, enigmatic species in the genus, are revised. A lectotype is designated for Euptychia aegrota Butler, 1867, E. aetherialis Butler, 1877 stat. rev., E. helios Weymer, 1911 and E. pilata Butler, 1867, and C. aetherialis is resurrected from its synonymy with C. aegrota. Caeruleuptychia helios caelestissima Brévignon, 2010, syn. nov., and Magneuptychia keltoumae Brévignon & Benmesbah, 2012, syn. nov. are both regarded as junior subjective synonyms of C. helios (Weymer, 1911), as a result of the discovery and first illustration of the female of this taxon. The female of C. aegrota is also described and illustrated for the first time, and three new species, Caeruleuptychia trembathi Willmott, Nakahara, Hall & Neild, sp. nov., C. scripta Nakahara, Zacca & Huertas, sp. nov., and C. maryzenderae Lamas & Nakahara, sp. nov. are described and named. We analyze morphological and molecular data separately, in addition to combining morphological data with molecular data, to provide the first phylogenetic hypothesis for the taxa treated in this revision.
Keywords: eastern Andes; Amazonian forest; DNA barcode; synonym; taxonomy; Euptychiina; lectotype; Magneuptychia
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| The iridescent blue male sunburst cerulean-satyr, Caeruleuptychia helios, top, was not linked with its female counterpart until DNA bar codes showed they were the same species.
photos by Shinichi Nakahara, Florida Museum of Natural History
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| This iridescent blue male sunburst cerulean-satyr, Caeruleuptychia helios, was found at Villa Carmen Biological Station in Peru. Researchers attracted the butterfly with fermented fish and human urine.
Photo: Andrew Neild
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| Caeruleuptychia trembathi Willmott, Nakahara, Hall & Neild, 2017 DNA barcoding also revealed a new species: Trembath’s cerulean-satyr, or Caeruleuptychia trembathi. The male, top, is also strikingly different than the female.
photos of male by Keith Willmott; photos of female by Andrew Neild
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Shinichi Nakahara, Thamara Zacca, Blanca Huertas, Andrew F. E. Neild, Jason P. W. Hall, Gerardo Lamas, Lauren A. Holian, Marianne Espeland and Keith R. Willmott. 2017. Remarkable Sexual Dimorphism, Rarity and Cryptic Species: A Revision of the ‘aegrota species group’ of the Neotropical Butterfly Genus Caeruleuptychia Forster, 1964 with the Description of Three New Species (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Satyrinae). Insect Systematics & Evolution. DOI: 10.1163/1876312x-00002167
A case of mistaken identity: DNA links male, female butterfly thought to be distinct species.
