Perisama humboldtii comnena (Hewitson, 1868), 2025

Zubek, Anna, Wahlberg, Niklas, Boyer, Pierre, Lorenc-Brudecka, Jadwiga, Mahecha-J, Oscar & Pyrcz, Tomasz, 2025, Integrative taxonomy, phylogeny and distribution patterns of the diverse Neotropical cloud forest butterfly genus Perisama Doubleday (Nymphalidae, Biblidinae, Callicorini), Zootaxa 5636 (1), pp. 1-34 : 15

Perisama humboldtii comnena (Hewitson, 1868) stat. rev.

This taxon was described originally as Catagramma comnena (Hewitson, 1868) from Bolivia. and was included in the genus Perisama by Oberthür (1916). Its specific status was maintained by Attal & Crosson-du-Cormier who, however, at the same time report and illustrate intermediate morphotypes, between P. comnena and P. humboldti from central Peru. Lamas (2004) regarded six subspecies of P. humboldtii as subspecies of P. comnena , which were all later considered to be subspecies of P. humboldtii by Attal & Crosson du Cormier (2010). Perisama comnena is morphologically similar to P. humboldtii , and differs mostly in the shape of median and submarginal lines on the HWV, and the absence of dots in between. P. comnena has a continuous green band on the FWR, while P. humboldtii has a green inverted pipe. Comparative morphological analysis confirmed that intermediate forms occur in Peru, which, when examined separately are difficult to assign to either species. An extensive comparative investigation of male genitalia reveals that the differences between P. comnena and P. humboldtii pointed out by Attal & Crosson-du-Cormier (1996) are consistent with the spectrum of individual variation ( Fig. 9 ). Moreover, genetic distances between the P. humboldtii and P. comnena are very low (0.5%–0.8%). Therefore, P. comnena should be presently considered a subspecies of P. humboldtii . However, the large sympatry of these two taxa is somewhat puzzling, and the fact that all along the distribution of P. humboldtii , only P. comnena has a continuous green band on FWR, can suggest that they are possibly different species, close enough to hybridize regularly. Detailed molecular and morphological studies should be carried out in order to verify the taxonomical status of the subspecies of Perisama humboldtii .

Figures

FIGURE 9. Male genitalia of Perisama with detached hypandrium. A) P.humboldtii humboldtii (Topo, Tungurahua, Ecuador); B) P. h. occidentalis (Balzapamba, Bolivar, Ecuador); C) P. h. comnena stat. nov. (Rio Limatambo, Cochabamba, Bolivia); D) P. h. comnena stat. nov. (Quebrada La Lora, Junin, Peru).