Distributed to depository libraries in microfiche.
Summary:
I revise the hairstreak butterfly genus Rekoa, describe and quantify many aspects of eumaeine morphology, and discuss the evolutionary biology of Rekoa. This genus contains some of the most common, widespread, and nomenclaturally confused species of eumaeine butterflies.A provisional Thereus Section of the Eumaeini consists of Rekoa, Thereus, Arawacus, Contrafacia, and an undescribed genus. Rekoa, Thereus, and Arawacus form a monophyletic lineage, and their characterization leads to the following nomenclatural changes: Arawacus Kaye, 1904 = Polyniphes Kaye, 1904; Thereus Hübner, 1819 = Noreena Johnson, MacPherson, and Ingraham, 1986; and Rekoa Kaye, 1904 = Heterosmaitia Clench, 1964. Arawacus is accorded priority over Polyniphes, and Dolymorpha Holland, 1931 is a synonym of Arawacus, as others have proposed.Rekoa contains seven species and the following new synonyms: R. malina Hewitson, 1867 = R. phrynisca Burmeister, 1878; R. palegon Cramer, 1780 = R. cyrriana Hewitson, 1874 = R. ulia Dyar, 1913; R. zebina Hewitson, 1869 = R. orses Godman and Salvin, 1887 = R. guadala Schaus, 1902; R. bourkei Kaye, 1925 = R. abeja Johnson and Matusik, 1988; R. marius Lucas, 1857 = R. spurina Hewitson, 1867 = R. ericusa Hewitson, 1867 = R. brescia Hewitson, 1868 = R. voconia Hewitson, 1869; R. stagira Hewitson, 1867 = R. erenea Hewitson, 1867 = R. volana Hewitson, 1869 = R. lydia Kirby, 1871 = R. thoana Hewitson, 1874 = R. carioca Ebert, 1965. Lectotypes are designated for R. cyrriana, R. zebina, R. guadala, R. marius, R. spurina, R. ericusa, R. brescia, R. voconia, R. stagira, R. erenea, R. timaea Hewitson, 1869, R. volana, and R. thoana. No species was described in Rekoa, and R. meton (the type species of Rekoa) is the only one that had been transferred to it.I describe, illustrate, and code 47 characters of the head, wings, abdominal integument, and genitalia of Rekoa. Almost half of the characters are quantitative, and are coded with a modified form of gap coding. Because eumaeine morphology is so poorly known, the morphology section is hypertrophied, particularly by quantitative descriptions of antennae, androconia, and genitalia. There are two qualitatively distinct kinds of forewing androconial clusters in Rekoa: scent pads (restricted to the Eumaeini) with a chamber between the wing membranes and scent patches with the wing membranes fused except at the base of each androconium.Parsimony analysis of the character matrix yields a network of 78 steps with a consistency index of 0.885. Consistency among quantitative characters, with the exception of genital ones, is nearly as good as that for qualitative ones. The network is rooted using the outgroup parsimony criterion.The phylogeny serves as a framework for discussing Rekoa biogeography and evolution. Most Rekoa species are habitat generalists, but specialization for drier habitats evolved once as did restriction to lower elevations and specialization for higher elevations. Rekoa species are relatively dispersive and widespread, with four species occurring from northern Mexico to southern Brazil. Larvae are polyphagous on plant reproductive parts, but the majority of foodplant records for three Rekoa species are Leguminosae and Malpighiaceae whereas they are Compositae for R. palegon. There are two distinct ventral wing pattern phenotypes and two different genitalic phenotypes, but the change in wing pattern evolved at a different point than the change in genitalic phenotype. An effective “false head” wing pattern evolved once.
