N. S. Obraztsov.
Species of the Amata (Syntomis) pfeifferae Group (Lepidoptera: Ctenuchidea).
Psyche 62:29-34, 1955.

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SPECIES OF THE AMATA (SYNTOMIS)
PFEIFFERAE GROUP
(LEPIDOPTERA : CTENUCHIDAE)
BY NICHOLAS S. OBRAZTSOV
Sea Cliff, New York
This paper deals with a small group of moths, closely related to Amta (Syntomis) pfeifferae (Moore) and oc- curring in Borneo, Sumatra and Java.
For this study I
have examined the collections of the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie (Leiden, The Netherlands) and the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College. At first sight, the species of this group give the impression of being merely individual forms of a single species, and this similarity gave Hampson (1898) occasion to consider Amta (Syntomis) acuminata (Snell.) a synonym of pfeifferae. To avoid further misidentification, the present paper describes the most important characters of the three species already known and one new one.
The author acknowledges with thanks the cooperation of Dr. A. N. Diakonoff and Dr. P. J. Darlington, Jr., in placing the materials of the above-mentioned museums at his disposal and thanks to Dr. W. L. Brown, Jr., for read- ing the English text of the manuscript.
Amata (Syntomis) pfeifferae (Moore)
Fig. 1
Syntomis pfeifferae Moore (& 'Horrfield), 1859, Cat. Lep. Ins. East India House, Vol. 2, (1858-59), p. 324; Moore, 1859, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, p. 198, pi. 60, fig. 5; Walker, 1864, List Spec. Lep. Ins. B. M., pars 31, p. 64; Hampson, 1898, Cat. Lep. Phal., Vol. 1, p. 88; Snellen, 1904, Tijdschr. v. Ent., Vol. 47, p. 55; Zerny, 1912, Wag- ner's Lep. Cat., pars 7, p. 55; Seitz, 1913, Gross-Schm. Erde, Vol. 10, p. 78, pi. 11 f [figs. 4-51. 'Published with a grant from the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College.
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30 Psyche [March
Zygaena pfeifferae Kirby, 1892, Synon. Cat. Lep. Het., Vol. 1, p. 96.
The redescription of this species published by Hampson (1898) is quite accurate. The figures given by Moore (1859) and Seitz (1913) are exact except for the number of the yellow abdominal girdles. Actually, there are sev- en such girdles in the male, six in the female. MALE GENITALIA (fig. 1) : Uncus moderately thickened, not too long, slightly curved downward. Tegumen with short, equal lateral appendages. Valvae subtrapezoidal, the right one rather broader; processus basalis of the right valva curved eaudad, that of the left valva directed upward. Aedoeagus moderately long, rather thick, with a row of small cornuti.
SPECIMENS EXAMINED: three males and two females, Java; one male, Tjampea, Java, 1892; one male, Tagal, Java ; one female, Ardj ouno, Neeb leg. ; one female, Padang, Sumatra (Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historic, Leiden). Amata (Syntomis) quadripunctata Rothsch. Fig. 2
Amata quadripunctata Rothschild, 1910, Novit. Zool., Vol. 17, p. 433; 1913, ibid., Vol. 19, (1912), p. 375, pi. 3, fig. 36; Hampson, 1914, Cat. Lep. PhaL, Suppl., Vol. 1, p. 31.
Syntomis quadripunctata Zerny, 1912, Wagner's Lep. Cat., pars 7, p. 25; Seitz, 1913, Gross-Schm. Erde, Vol. 10, p. 78, pi. 11 k, [fig. 31.
The whole appearance of this moth, described as an independent species, is that of an aberration of pfeifferae with reduced spots. The single male specimen examined by the author is very like that of quadripunctata figured by Rothschild (1913) except fior the forewing spots (es- pecially m3, mg and me) which are somewhat larger, and a distal spot occurring in the hind wing. The middle cell of the hind wing orange as in pfeifferae, and the specimen examined otherwise identical to pfeifferae in the markings of the head and body.
MALE GENITALIA (fig. 2) : Uncus somewhat more slender and longer than in pfeifferae. The left lateral appendage



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19551 Obraztsov - Amata pfeifferae Group 31 of the tegumen longer than the right one. The left valva narrow, with a r,ounded tip; the right valva broad, with an irregularly curved upper edge, an acute tip and a very undulate lower edge ; processus basales as in pf eiff erae, but the right one dilated at the base and the left one narrower.
SPECIMEN EXAMINED: one male, Telokbetong, Kali Anda. Sumatra, 1928 (Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie, Leiden).
Amata (Syntomis) acuminata (Snell.)
Fig. 3
Syntomis acknata Snellen, 1881, Veth's Midden Suma- tra, Vol. 4, pars 1, div. 2, p. 31, pi. 3, fig. 5; Van Eeeke, 1920, Zool. Meded. Leiden, Vol. 5, p. 116. Zygaena acuminata Kirby 1892, Synon. Cat. Lep. Het., Vol. 1, p. 96.
Syntomis pfeifferae (part.) Hampson, 1898, Cat. Lep. Phal., Vol. 1, p. 88; Snellen, 1904, Tijdschr. v. Ent., Vol. 47, p. 55; Zerny, 1912, Wagner's Lep. Cat., pars 7, p. 25. Syntomis pfeifferae ab. acuminata Seitz 1913, Gross- Schm. Erde, Vol. 10, p. 78.
This species, relegated by Hampson (1898) to the syn- onymy of pfeiffqrae, was recognized by Van Eecke (1920) as independent, although this latter author did not pub- lish any argument supporting his point of view. The fol- lowing notes are based on an examination of the male holotype of acuminata.
The figure published by Snellen (1881) is excellent. The thorax of acuminata is not spotted by orange at the mid- dle as in pf eifferae, the forewing has no supradorsal orange streak, and the spot ms is narrower and pointed above. In the hind wing there is only a broad basal spot with an external tooth joined to it (= rudiment of a distal spot), but not two spots. Abdomen with six yellow abdominal girdles; Snellen described the female as having five such girdles.
MALE GENITALIA (fig. 3) : Uncus broad at the base, nar- rowed at the tip. The lateral appendages of the tegumen rather long, longer and narrower than in pfeifferae. The



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32 Psyche [March
left valva narrow, the right one lancet-shaped. Processus, basales of both valvae shorter, the left one directed caudad but not upward as in pfeifferae. The right valva deeply excavate before the processus basalis.
SPECIMEN EXAMINED: male, holotype, Bedar Alam, Sumatra, December 10, 1877 (Rijksmuseum van Natuur- lijke Historic, Leiden) .
Amata (Syntomis) borneogena, new species Fig. 4
MALE: Antennae simple, black, white at tips. Head black, frons yellow; palpi brown. Patagia orange; tegulae black, orange-edged. Thorax (damaged !) with orange scales at the middle and p~~sterior edge; pectus with two orange patches on each side. Abdomen black; first tergite Text-figures 1 to 4.
Anterior view of the spread male genitalia: 1 - Arnata (Syntomis) pfeifferae (Moore), Java (Rijksmuseum, preparation No. Ct. 7); 2- A. (8.1 quadripunctata Rothsch., Telokbetong, Sumatra (Rijksmuseum, prep. No. Ct. 10) ; 3 -A. (5.) acuminata (Snell.), holo- type, Bedar Alam, Sumatra (Rijksmuseum, prep. No. Ct. 8) ; 4 -A. (8.) borneogena, new species, holotype, Lundu Mt., Borneo (Mus. Comp. Zool., prep. No. 3, Obr.).




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19551 Obraztsov - Amta pf eifferae Group 33 orange, third and fourth tergites with prsesegmental girdles of the same coloring, fifth tergite entirely orange; the cor- responding sternites with somewhat paler, almost yellow girdles; second sternite with yellowish scaling on the whole surface. Legs brown, only the bases of the interior side of the coxae yellow. Wings black-brown, shot with dark violet; spots orange. Length of the forewing : 14 mm. Forewing with six spots: one subtrapezoidal spot (mi) at the wing base supradorsad; a subquadrate spot (m2) at the end of the middle cell; a larger, rhomboidal spot (md below it; an elongate-ovoid spot (m4) between the veins R5 and Mi near their base; the spots (m5 and me,) on both sides of the vein M3 form a common roundish spot divided by the diffusely black-scaled vein. Hind wing with a basal spot stretching band-like from costa to dorsum; this band reaches about to the middle of the wing (in the middle cell about to its middle) and joins the distal spot which looks like an exterior tooth of the basal spot and occupies the small area below the middle cell and between the veins Cui and Cua. The lower vein of the middle cell black-scaled; a diffuse blackish dot in the orange spot, below the middle cell and separate from it. MALE GENITALIA (fig. 4) : Uncus swollen before the pointed tip. Tegumen with the two large lateral appendages curved inward. The left valva with an undulate upper edge, a separate and angled apical part, the right one subtrapezoidal, shorter and much broader; both processus basales curved caudad, the left one much longer. TYPE: male, holotype, Lundu Mt., Kuching, Sarawak, Borneo, July 15, 1920, H. W. Smith leg. (Museum of Com- parative Zoology).
From all known species of the pfeifferae group, borneo- gena differs in number of abdominal girdles, and also in genitalia. The forewing spots mi and ms of the new species are more widely separated than in pfeifferae, and the orange supradorsal streak is absent. The hind wing spots of borneogena are like those of acuminata, but not like those of pfeifferae, which latter has two distinct spots. The truncate tooth formed by the distal spot of the hind wing of borneogena differs from the more acute tooth in



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34 Psyche [March
acuminata, and the forewing spots mi, ms and m4 of the new species are shorter. From quadripunctata the new species differs in having all wing spots better developed. BREPHIDIUM BARBOURI CLENCH A SYNONYM OF BREPHIDIUM EXILIS ISOPHTHALMA (HERRICH-'SCHAFFER) (LEPIDOPTERA : LYCAENIDAE) .
Lycaena isophthalma herr rich-Schaff er, 1862, Corresp.- Blatt. zoo1.-min. Ver. Regensburg, 16:141, sex not stated. Type locality : Cuba.
Brephidium barbowi Clench, "1942" [I9431 Psyche, 49 :58, two males. Type locality: Great Inagua Island, Bahamas. NEW SYNONYMY.
An examination of the holotype and paratype males of Brephzdium barbouri reveals that they are identical with isophthalma for the following reasons. In the first place, microscopic examination of the anal angle of the forewing fringe reveals that the wlhite patch supposedly differ- entiating isophthalma from the dark fringed barboziri can be present in all intergradient degrees. One specimen of isophthalma examined had a well defined white patch on one wing and practically none on the other. Secondly, barbouri is supposedly darker both above and below than isophthalma. This appears to be the case if one compares the types of barbouri with the Nassau specimens of isoph- thalnza in the Museum of Comparative Zoology, and ap- parently this is what Clench did. However, the Nassau specimens were collected in 1897, while the types of bar- bouri were collected in 1934. Therefore it seems quite likely that the difference in color is merely due to fading. Lastly, my comparison of the genitalia of the types of barbouri with those of isovhthalma failed to reveal any differences iver-
in structure. - NICHOLAS W. GILLHAM, Harvard Uq' sity, Cambridge.




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