Description of a new genus and species for a common and widespread Amazonian satyrine butterfly (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae: Satyrini)

Shinichi Nakahara, Gerardo Lamas, Keith Willmott, Marianne Espeland

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

We here propose a new monotypic butterfly genus Scriptor Nakahara & Espeland, n. gen. to accommodate a new species, S. sphenophorus Lamas & Nakahara, n. sp., described and named herein. Scriptor sphenophorus n. gen. and n. sp. is a relatively common and widespread butterfly species which is recovered as a member of the so-called ‘‘Splendeuptychia clade’’ in the nymphalid subtribe Euptychiina, based on our molecular phylogenetic analysis using a maximum likelihood approach. Nevertheless, its sister group is not confidently resolved in any analysis, supporting a relatively distant relationship to any described genus as well as our decision to establish a new monotypic genus. We further discuss the proposed taxonomy in the light of frequent criticism of the description of monotypic taxa, as well as emphasize the importance of incorporating multiple evidence when describing new genera, illustrated by reference to several recent generic descriptions in this subtribe.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere10324
JournalPeerJ
Volume8
DOIs
StatePublished - 4 Dec 2020
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
National Science Foundation: #0103746, #0639977, #0639861, #0847582, #1256742. McGuire Center Publication Fund. University of Florida’s Entomology and Nematology Department.

Funding Information:
This study was funded by the Leverhulme Trust, the Darwin Initiative, the FLMNH Museum Associates, the National Geographic Society (Research and Exploration Grant # 5751-96), the National Science Foundation (#0103746, #0639977, #0639861, #0847582, #1256742), and by the McGuire Center Publication Fund. Shinichi Nakahara received financial support from the University of Florida’s Entomology and Nematology Department. There was no additional external funding received for this study. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Keywords

  • Euptychiina
  • Monotypic taxa
  • Systematics
  • Taxonomy

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