Scea curvilimes Prout Plate 1918

Scea curvilimes Prout Plate 34

Scea curvilimes Prout, 1918: 425.

TYPE LOCALITY: Peru (N), W Slopes of Andes, 4000 ft.

TYPE: Holotype ³, leg. Pratt, Jun 1912 (BMNH).

DISCUSSION: Scea curvilimes is known from the male holotype and a female paratype, both at the BMNH. Neither was dissected. A precise locality for the male was not given, but the label specifies the western slope in northern Peru. The female is from Ayabaca, in extreme northern Peru near the Ecuadorian border. Ayabaca is only 60 km southwest of Loja, near the habitat of S. cleonica.

A conundrum presents itself. Wing patterns in the types of S. curvilimes and S. cleonica are indistinguishable (pl. 34), and the moths are similar in size. Prout (1918) noted a subtle difference between them—the orange FW area of S. curvilimes is more heavily dusted with gray-brown scales. Whereas S. curvilimes is from the Pacific slope, S. cleonica is from the Amazonian side (Chiguinda, Ecuador). To further complicate the issue, I dissected specimens from Chimbo (JSM-358, 359), on the western versant in southern Ecuador, that I initially thought were S. cleonica. However, these show genitalia distinct from S. cleonica (fig. 350).

I thus propose the following hypothesis: two extremely similar Scea species exist— S. cleonica from southeastern Ecuador, and S. curvilimes, occurring from northwestern Peru north to southwestern Ecuador. Material from Chimbo is here assigned to S. curvilimes. The question remains: To which species should the Ayabaca female be assigned? Based on the argument above, and the resulting geographical distributions, it seems likely that this specimen should be referred to S. cleonica. Thus, the syntypes of S. curvilimes potentially comprise two different species. Ultimately, dissections of all relevant types will be required to resolve this problem.

DISTRIBUTION: Peru (BMNH); Ecuador (BMNH).

DISSECTED: ³, Ecuador, Chimbo, 1891, leg. M. de Mathan, BMNH (genitalia slide no. JSM-358); ♀, Ecuador, Intag, leg. Buckley, BMNH (genitalia slide no. JSM-359).