Ofelia Garzón-Orduña, 2025

Ofelia Garzón-Orduña , gen. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:9D5B548D-D114-46F9-AB2A-6D722C1A4641

Type species. Ofelia jaliscana sp. nov.

( Figs. 1–18 View FIGURES 1–10 View FIGURES 11–18 )

Etymology. The new genus name honors the author ‘s mother, Ofelia Orduña. The gender is feminine.

Diagnosis. Although the new genus superficially looks like any other Boarmiini , closer affinities between Ofelia and other genera are harder to determine, highlighting its uniqueness. For example, the zigzag subterminal line present on the dorsal surface of both wings is reminiscent of moths in Iridopsis Warren and Glena Hulst , but the male genitalia of neither genus resemble that of Ofelia ; the posterior lateral sides of the broad tegumen (which Pitkin calls “shoulders”) in the genitalia, are similar to those of Iridopsis . However, Ofelia lacks the dorsal apical blotch present on the forewing of that genus; furthermore, it possesses characters absent in Iridopsis , such as a fovea on the male FW. The size of the adults and the wing color pattern resemble species of Protoboarmia McDunnough , but the two genera have different male antennae and rather different male genitalia. As in Ofelia , Hypomecis Hübner has bipectinate antennae and a FW fovea in the males, however the pectinations in Ofelia do not reach the apex as closely as in Hypomecis . Some features in the male genitalia of both genera are similar, however the valvae in Ofelia are lobed, and furthermore, it lacks the putative synapomorphy of Hypomecis , a pair of narrow setose processes situated at the posterior end of the tegumen ( Pitkin 2002). In fact, Pitkin removed all the neotropical species of Hypomecis Hübner from the genus because none of them featured the above mentioned synapomorphy, so this excludes Ofelia from being in fact a Hypomecis . In addition, ventral wing patterns and the female genitalia in Ofelia further reject its association with Hypomecis . The genus is distinguished from most other American Boarmiini by its small size and by its contrasting dorsal and ventral wing color patterns.

Description. As this genus is currently monotypic, the species description of Ofelia jaliscana serves equally well for the description of the genus and need not be repeated.