A re-appraisal of Gegenes Hübner, 1819 (Lepidoptera, Hesperiidae) based on male and female genitalia, with the description of a new genus, Afrogegenes
in Tijdschrift voor Entomologie
Authors: Rienk de Jong and John G. Coutsis
Online Publication Date: 04 Jul 2017
Volume/Issue: Volume 160: Issue 1
Article Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/22119434-16001003
Keywords: Lepidoptera; Hesperiidae; genitalia; Gegenes ; Afrogegenes

Abstract/Excerpt
Examination of male and female genitalia as well as external characters of all species of the current genus Gegenes Hübner, 1819 (Hesperiidae, Lepidoptera) led to the observation that two well-marked groups can be distinguished, differing in external characters as well as in male and female genitalia. For one of the two groups a new genus is erected, Afrogegenes. Conventionally, the group for which the new genus is erected contains two species, Gegenes letterstedti (Wallengren, 1857) and G. hottentota (Latreille, 1823), but G. hottentota ocra Evans, 1937, has been given full species rank here, raising the number of species in Afrogegenes to three. G. letterstedti has long been known in the literature as G. niso (Linnaeus, 1764), but this is based on an incorrect lectotype designation. Male and female genitalia are described and figured for all taxa, in some cases for the first time.