''Macrosoma bahiata'' is a moth-like butterfly

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

described by

Cajetan von Felder Baron Cajetan von Felder (; 19 September 1814 – 30 November 1894) was an Austrian lawyer, entomologist and liberal politician. He served as mayor of Vienna from 1868 to 1878. Life and career Felder was born in Wieden, today the fourth di ...

and

Alois Friedrich Rogenhofer Alois Friedrich Rogenhofer (22 December 1831, in Vienna – 15 January 1897, in Vienna) was an Austrian entomologist. He was a curator at the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna, where he was the first keeper of the Lepidoptera. Rogenhofer was main ...

in 1875. It belongs to the family

Hedylidae Hedylidae, the "American moth-butterflies", is a Family (biology), family of insects in the order Lepidoptera, formerly representing the superfamily Hedyloidea. They have traditionally been viewed as an Extant taxon, extant sister group of the bu ...

. Originally it belonged to the genus '' Phellinodes''.

Malcolm J. Scoble Malcolm, Malcom, Máel Coluim, or Maol Choluim may refer to: People * Malcolm (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Malcom (footballer) (born 1997), Brazilian football forward * Clan Malcolm * Maol Choluim de Innerpef ...

combined it with ''Macrosoma'' in 1986.

Distribution

The species is found in East

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, Quintana Roo Territory through Central America to

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. East to

Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará), often called Belém of Pará, is the capital and largest city of the state of Pará in the north of B ...

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

at the mouth of the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

Description

Wings

''M. bahiata'' has wings of greyish brown ground colour. The apex of the forewing is dark brown and very weakly emarginate. Small white marks are usually merged at proximal edge of dark apical patch. And prominent, dark, postmedial spot towards middle of wing is found.
The length of the forewing is 19–24 mm.

Genitalia

Male

Following are the characteristics of the male genitalia: * The medial component of Gnathos is lateral not downcurved nor denticulate. * Valva is subtriangular, broad at base.

Female

The female genitalia has the following features: * Anal papillae is relatively long. * Ductus bursae broadens suddenly into Corpus bursae. * Signum is denticulate.

Antenna

The antenna is not bipectinate in both sexes.

Diagnosis

The prominent postmedial spot on the forewing enables ''M. bahiata'' to be get distinguished from '' M. uniformis'', '' M. albistria'', and '' M. coscoja'', the species to which it looks most similar. The shape of the Gnathos is a usefully a distinguishing feature.

References

Macrosoma bahiata - Overview - Encyclopedia of Life

Catalogue of Life

A catalogue of the Hedylidae (Lepidoptera: Hedyloidea), with descriptions of two new species

An identification guide to the Hedylidae (Lepidoptera: Hedyloidea)

Sources

Macrosoma bahiata - Overview - Encyclopedia of Life
Scoble, M.J. (1990). A catalogue of the Hedylidae (Lepidoptera: Hedyloidea), with descriptions of two new species. ''Insect Systematics & Evolution, Volume 21, Number 2, 1990, Page: 113-119''. Scoble, M.J. (1990). An identification guide to the Hedylidae (Lepidoptera: Hedyloidea). '' Insect Systematics & Evolution, Volume 21, Number 2, 1990, Page: 121-158''. {{Taxonbar, from=Q16448736 Hedylidae Butterflies described in 1875 Hedylidae of South America Taxa named by Cajetan von Felder Taxa named by Alois Friedrich Rogenhofer Butterflies of Central America