The genus Parascepsis Dognin, 1923 (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Arctiinae, Ctenuchina) in Peru, with the description of three new species, a new combination and their geographical distributions

Zootaxa. 2020 Oct 27;4868(2):zootaxa.4868.2.3. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.4868.2.3.

Abstract

Presently, the Neotropical genus Parascepsis Dognin, 1923 is considered monotypic within the Ctenuchina. There are no reviews of a large part of the genera in this subtribe or an approximation to its phylogeny. The material worked with is deposited at the Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (MUSM), and was compared with the original descriptions and the type species of the genus: Parascepsis solox Dognin, 1923. The status of Episcepsis ockendeni Rothschild was revised. We propose the current state of Parascepsis to be made up of five species, three of which are new to science, P. lantingi sp. nov., P. ignobilis sp. nov. and P. ingenium sp. nov., proposing also a new combination, P. ockendeni (Rothschild) comb. nov. Redescriptions of Parascepsis solox Dognin and P. ockendeni (Rothschild) are presented, as well as the description of the three new species. Illustrations of adults and genital structures, and distribution maps for Peru are provided for all.

Keywords: Lepidoptera, Amazon, Arctiini, Neotropic, taxonomy.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Genitalia
  • Moths*
  • Peru
  • Phylogeny