The butterflies (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea) of Tobago, West Indies: An updated and annotated checklist

Authors

Matthew J.W. Cock, CABIFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

4-28-2017

Citation

Insecta Mundi 0539: 1–38.

Comments

Published in 2017 by Center for Systematic Entomology, Inc. P. O. Box 141874 Gainesville, FL 32614-1874 USA http://centerforsystematicentomology.org/

Copyright held by the author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons, Attribution Non-Commercial License.

Abstract

Six annotated lists are presented: A, a checklist of the butterf ies (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea) of Tobago (150 species); B, species for which there are no records in the last 80 years (49 species); C, species needing confirmation from Tobago (5 species); D, species not accepted from Tobago (12 species); E, species which are likely to occur in Tobago, but have not been recorded (6 species); and F, species and subspecies recorded from Tobago, but not from Trinidad (2 species and 2 subspecies). Remarkably, 33% of the 150 recorded species have not been reported in the last 80 years. While it is possible that some of these are not resident or have become extinct, it seems more likely that most have simply not been found in the last 80 years. The butterfly fauna of Tobago merits further study; year-round collecting in different habitats and areas, using a variety of techniques, will surely fi ll in many of the apparent gaps in our knowledge. Ouleus fridericus sheldoni ssp. nov. (Hesperiidae, Pyrginae) is described from Tobago, with illustrations of adults and male genitalia, and is compared to O. fridericus sinepunctis (Kaye) from Trinidad. Danaus plexippus tobagi A.H. Clark, 1941 is a syn. nov. of D. plexippus nigrippus (Haensch, 1909) (Nymphalidae, Danainae).

Se presentan seis listas anotadas: A, una lista de mariposas de Tobago (150 especies); B, especies para las cuales no hay registros en los últimos 80 años (49 especies); C, especies de Tobago que necesitan confi rmación (5 especies); D, especies de Tobago no aceptadas (12 especies); E, especies que probablemente ocurran en Tobago pero sin registros (6 especies); and F, especies y subespecies con registros de Tobago, pero no de Trinidad (2 especies and 2 subespecies). Es destacable que el 33% de las 150 especies registradas no han sido identifi cadas en los últimos 80 años. Aunque es posible que algunas de esas especies no sean residentes o que se hayan extinguido, parece más posible que simplemente no se hayan encontrado en los últimos 80 años. La fauna de mariposas de Tobago merece un estudio más profundo; a lo largo del año en distintos hábitats y áreas y usando diversas técnicas se conseguirán resolver muchas de las aparentes lagunas de conocimiento. Se describe Ouleus fridericus sheldoni ssp. nov. (Hesperiidae, Pyrginae) de Tobago, ilustrando adultos y genitales masculinos, y se compara con O. fridericus sinepunctis (Kaye) de Trinidad. Danaus plexippus tobagi A.H. Clark, 1941 es un syn. nov. de D. plexippus nigrippus (Haensch, 1909) (Nymphalidae, Danainae).