Enicotaenia interandina Pérez Santa-Rita, Dombroskie, Ledezma & Baixeras, 2025

Enicotaenia interandina Pérez Santa-Rita, Dombroskie, Ledezma & Baixeras , new species

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:0EB9272D-4A57-48DA-AD47-972D519B9876

( Fig 2A–F View FIGURE 2 )

Type material. Holotype. [ BOLIVIA] ♂, Santa Cruz Department, Florida Province, Pampa Grande Municipality, locality of El Millu , 1534 m, S17º59’21.6”; W64º03’14.5”, 28 Jan 2011, J. Baixeras, A. Valdivia and G. Fernández ( GS 20681 )-coll. MNKM GoogleMaps . Paratypes. [ BOLIVA] 3♂, 2♀, Santa Cruz Department, Florida Province, Pampa Grande Municipality, locality of El Millu , 1534 m, S17º59’21.6”; W64º03’14.5”, 28 Jan 2011, J. Baixeras, A. Valdivia and G. Fernández ( GS 20680, 20717, 20720 ) (DNA collection codes: DNA2023006, DNA2023033, DNA2023038). GoogleMaps 1 male and 1 female deposited in MNKM, GoogleMaps 2 males and 1 female deposited in ICBiBE GoogleMaps .

Diagnosis. This species may be distinguished from other Archipini by the characters discussed in the diagnosis of the genus. Only two species are known in the genus Enicotaenia , Enicotaenia marabana ( Razowski & Becker, 2000) comb. n. and E. interandina here described, both extremely similar. The male of E. marabana is unknown, and the female is only known from the holotype, a single worn specimen from Brazil. The ductus bursae is rather broad in E. interandina and appears narrower in E. marabana . The anterior hypophysis is twice as long in E. interandina compared to E. marabana .

Description. Head: Frons, vertex, labial palpus and antenna orangish; presence of dark scales dorsally on labial palpus and antenna.

Thorax: Dorsum orangish with the presence of groups of dark scales mixed; forewing length 5.7–6.6 mm (x̄ =6.2; n= 4) in males, 7.0– 7.4 mm (x̄ =7.2; n=2) in females. Forewing pattern ( Fig. 2A–B View FIGURE 2 ) not sexually dimorphic. Forewing upperside general background colour from ochreous to orangish with scattered dark brown marks, without distinct system of strigulae; system of fasciae incomplete; basal and subbasal fasciae only expressed on dorsum as a dark brown transverse suffused area; median fascia brown, broader on costa, confluent to termen, narrowly fragmented across the wing; postmedian and preterminal fasciae fused as a preapical triangular spot; fringe dark in apical area, lighter in termen and tornus; interfascial areas light brown. Forewing underside uniformly creme, no system of strigulae. Hindwing upperside and underside fairly concolorous, uniformly light orangish brown. Female wing pattern similar to male, no obvious dimorphism.

Abdomen: Dorsad orangish, brownish cephalad, paler toward the caudal segments. Male and female genitalia as described for the genus.

Molecular characterization. We were able to obtain sequences for small fragments of COI from three specimens. Two identical small fragments of 164 bp were obtained from one male and one female specimens using the primer pair combination C_TypeF1 and C_TypeR1. Another small fragment of 307 bp was obtained from one female specimen using the pair combination LepF1 and MLepR1 primers.

The sequences are publicly available through GenBank accession numbers PV105885, PV241496 and PV241497.

Biology and Distribution. Early stages are unknown; adults have been collected in January (n=5). Adults were collected at middle elevation (1534 m) in Bolivia, Santa Cruz Department, Florida Province, in municipality of Pampa Grande, and locality of El Millu. The collecting sites include transitions between Bolivian montane dry forest and the slopes of the northern cloud forests of Yungas ecoregion.

Etymology. The specific epithet refers to the location of the collecting place, an area between inter-Andean dry valleys of the Bolivian montane dry forest and the slopes of the northern Bolivian Andes, a northern Yungas forest. This location has enormous interest from a conservation perspective.