Preliminary re-examination of genus-level taxonomy of the pollen beetle subfamily Meligethinae (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) Author Audisio, Paolo Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e dell’Uomo, Sapienza Rome University, via A. Borelli, 50, I- 00161 Rome, Italy; e-mail: paolo. audisio @ uniroma 1. it Author Cline, Andrew Richard Plant Pest Diagnostics Center, California Department of Food and Agriculture, 3294 Meadowview Road, Sacramento, CA 95832 - 1448, USA; e-mail: acline @ cdfa. ca. gov Author Biase, Alessio De Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e dell’Uomo, Sapienza Rome University, viale Dell’Università, 32, I- 00185 Rome, Italy; e-mail: alessio. debiase @ uniroma 1. it Author Antonini, Gloria Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e dell’Uomo, Sapienza Rome University, via A. Borelli, 50, I- 00161 Rome, Italy; e-mail: paolo. audisio @ uniroma 1. it Author Mancini, Emiliano Dipartimento di Scienze di Sanità Pubblica, Sapienza Rome University, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, I- 00185, Rome, Italy; e-mail: emiliano. mancini @ uniroma 1. it Author Trizzino, Marco Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e dell’Uomo, Sapienza Rome University, via A. Borelli, 50, I- 00161 Rome, Italy; e-mail: paolo. audisio @ uniroma 1. it Author Costantini, Lorenzo Museo Nazionale d’Arte Orientale, Servizio di Bioarcheologia e Microscopia, via Merulana 248, I- 00185 Rome, Italy; e-mail: l. costantin @ mclink. it Author Strika, Sirio Museo Nazionale d’Arte Orientale, Servizio di Bioarcheologia e Microscopia, via Merulana 248, I- 00185 Rome, Italy; e-mail: l. costantin @ mclink. it Author Lamanna, Francesco Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e dell’Uomo, Sapienza Rome University, via A. Borelli, 50, I- 00161 Rome, Italy; e-mail: paolo. audisio @ uniroma 1. it Author Cerretti, Pierfilippo Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e dell’Uomo, Sapienza Rome University, via A. Borelli, 50, I- 00161 Rome, Italy; e-mail: paolo. audisio @ uniroma 1. it text Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 2009 2009-12-15 49 2 341 504 journal article 10.5281/zenodo.5319334 0374-1036 5319334 25. Cyclogethes Kirejtshuk, 1979 ( Figs. 25 a–v ) Cyclogethes Kirejtshuk, 1979: 359 . Type species. Cyclogethes orientalis Kirejtshuk, 1979: 362 (by original designation). Generic redescription and diagnosis. Inclusive species vary moderately in size ( 1.7–2.4 mm length), and share the following combination of characters. Body color and pubescence : pubescence variable, short, golden to silvery-whitish and moderately dense, recumbent, never obscuring the predominantly orange-brown to blackishbrown dorsal body surface, pronotal and elytral sides narrowly flattened and frequently paler than disc; lateral margin of pronotum and elytra with a series of faintly distinct, small and short setae, each seta 0.3–0.5× as long as those on elytral disc; posterior margin of pronotum with long, distally bifid or trifid microsetae, microsetae also present along middle portion anterior to scutellum. Dorsal habitus : body moderately convex, oval, moderately wide ( Fig. 25a ); dorsal punctures on discal portion of pronotum as large as or larger than eye facet, moderately to deeply impressed ( Fig. 25b ); anterior margin of clypeus medially truncate, simple, i.e. without small distinct medial bulge ( Figs. 25 i, k, m ), not bordered; circum-ocular furrows (occipital sulci) on head absent; eyes large and usually markedly projecting laterally; posterior angles of pronotum distinct, blunt, obtuse, not directed posteriorly; scutellum uniformly punctured on most of exposed portion; elytra finely and completely transversely strigose ( Fig. 25c ); elytral humeral angle distinct, obtuse, never protruding laterally ( Fig. 25a ); elytral humeral striae indistinct; elytral pre-sutural striae faintly visible, originating at scutellar vertex or slightly posterior, terminating at elytral apex, and delimiting on each elytron a faintly distinct, flat, unraised sutural border, widest at posterior third, narrower than proximal width of 3 rd antennomere; elytral apices obtusely rounded in both sexes ( Fig. 25a ); pygidium partially exposed, moderately convex, apically rounded in both sexes ( Fig. 25e ). Fig. 25. Cyclogethes Kirejtshuk, 1979 : a–h , k , p–v – C. orientalis Kirejtshuk, 1979 ; i , o – C. abnormis Kirejtshuk, 1979 ; m – C. fuscipennis Jelínek, 2000 ; n – C. aldridgei Kirejtshuk, 1980 . a – male habitus; b–c – punctation of pronotum and elytra; d – prosternal process, mesoventrite, and metaventrite; e – exposed portion of last visible abdominal ventrite; f – protibia; g – mesotibia; h – antennal club; k , i , m – dorsal view of head; n , o , p – prosternal process; q – labium and left palp; r–s – dorsal view of male genitalia; t – labrum; u – ovipositor; v – lateral view of male genitalia. Drawings a–h , k , q–v from KIREJTSHUK (1979a) ; drawings i , m–p from JELÍNEK (2000b) ; refer to KIREJTSHUK (1979a) and to JELÍNEK (2000b) for scale. Ventral habitus : antennal furrows markedly delimited, moderately convergent posteriorly; mentum subpentagonal ( Fig. 25t ); prosternal antennal furrows on anterior margin of prosternum distinctly delimited, faintly raised, slightly divergent, variable in length, never reaching posteriorly to the anterior margin of procoxal cavity; prosternal process variably shaped, moderately to markedly wide, subapical portion 2.0–2.5× as wide as maximum width of 1 st antennomere, apex bluntly acuminate to rounded ( Figs. 25n, o, p ); lateral borders of prosternal process delimiting shallowly impressed distinct furrows, distally terminating over predistal lateral expansions (as in Fig. 27g ); posterior margin of mesoventrite simple, never medially incised ( Fig. 25d ); scarcely evident sexual dimorphism in impressions on metaventrite; first two visible abdominal ventrites simple in both sexes, without tufts of setae, caudal marginal lines of metacoxal cavities always simple, subparallel and moderately contiguous to posterior margin of metacoxal cavities, ‘axillary’ impression nearly absent; ‘axillary’ space on first abdominal ventrite variably developed (e.g. larger in C. orientalis and allied species, more reduced in C. abnormis and allied species), ‘axillary’ angle widely obtuse in C. orientalis and allied species, nearly right angled in C. abnormis and allied species; moderately marked arched impressions on basal portion of last visible abdominal ventrite ( Fig. 25e ), occasionally partially covered by distal portion of penultimate visible abdominal ventrite. Appendages : male 1 st antennomere 0.8–1.1× as long as width of protibiae excluding distal teeth; 3 rd antennomere 2.2–2.4× as long as wide in both sexes, distinctly longer and thinner than 2 nd ; 4 th and 5 th antennomeres usually subequal in both sexes, relatively short, usually moderately longer than wide; antennal club moderately compact, nearly symmetric, comprising the last 3 antennomeres in both sexes ( Fig. 25h ; Fig. 8 in JELÍNEK 2000b ), sexual dimorphism absent; labial palpi short in both sexes ( Fig. 25q ), terminal segment 1.2–1.4× as long as wide; maxillary palpi long and slender in both sexes, terminal segment ~2.0–2.2× as long as wide; mandible mid-sized, moderately short, apex bifid and moderately acuminate, sexual dimorphism absent; tarsi of normal size and shape, 0.5–0.7× as long as corresponding tibiae ( Fig. 25f ); tarsal claws variable, bluntly angulate to simple, not toothed at base; protibiae with simple and crenulate teeth on outer margins ( Fig. 25f ); meso- and metatibiae on lateral margin bearing a single and regular row of long and thin, yellowish pegs, without U-shaped sinuosity at distal third; meso- and metatibiae of variable width, abruptly dilated inwards in basal portion, subparallel-sided ( Fig. 25g ; Figs. 11 , 22 , 23 in JELÍNEK 2000b ); sexual dimorphism nearly absent in tibial shape; tarsal plates of prolegs wider in males; posterior margin of metafemora simple in both sexes, without tubercles or projections. Male genitalia : tegmen variably shaped, processes along inner side of parameres absent ( Fig. 25r ; Figs. 12 , 16 , 18 , 20 in JELÍNEK 2000b ), without deep median longitudinal desclerotization from proximal portion of tegmen extending to medial distal V-shaped excision; median lobe of aedeagus variably shaped, without lateral emargination, acuminate, spatulate or emarginated distad ( Fig. 25s ; Figs. 14 , 17 , 19 , 21 in JELÍNEK 2000b ). Female genitalia ( ovipositor ): variably shaped, usually small; styli long and distinct, simple and usually pigmented, inserted not far from blunt apex of contiguous gonostyloids, each gonostyloid lightly sclerotized and distally pigmented, with a simple, never indentate outer portion of narrow basicoxites ( Fig. 25u ; Figs. 37 , 43 in KIREJTSHUK 1979a ), single pigmented and more sclerotized arcuate area present along outer subdistal portion of gonostyloids. ‘Central point’ of ovipositor located more proximad than middle, without proximad directed spicule. Etymology. The generic name was obviously derived from Greek ‘κύκλος’ (= circle), which is indicative of the short, wide, and markedly arcuated at sides body shape of the type species, and from ‘- gethes ’, to emphasize its phylogenetic relationship with Meligethes . Gender masculine. Biology. Larval biology remains unknown. There is a morphological similarity of Cyclogethes (especially members of the M. abnormis species-group) with some members of southern and eastern African Tarchonanthogethes gen. nov. , which is suggestive that larval development may be analogously (see below) associated with male inflorescences of arboreal Asteraceae , however this assumption is speculative and requires further fieldwork to substantiate. Adults have been collected in tropical and subtropical forest habitats, frequently on whitish flowers of Castanopsis (Fagaceae) , and on other forest trees that are attractive to beetles generally (S. Bílý, pers. comm. 2008). Phylogenetic position. Morphological data suggests a relatively close phylogenetic relationship of Cyclogethes with African members of the ‘ Anthystrix complex of genera’ (i.e. Anthystrix , Sebastiangethes , Tarchonanthogethes gen. nov. , and Xenostrongylogethes gen. nov. ; AUDISIO et al. 2008 , and this paper; TRIZZINO et al. 2009 ), especially to some undescribed species of Tarchonanthogethes gen. nov. from southern and eastern Africa. However, discovery of larval host-plants and comparison of molecular data on members of this genus have not yet been accomplished and would undoubtedly allow for a more robustly supported phylogenetic placement of this taxon. Taxonomy and geographic distribution. As reported by JELÍNEK (2000b) , this genus is so far represented by five species manifesting a transformation series involving several characters, and are to be separated into two amply distinct groups, i.e. the ‘ orientalis ’, and ‘ abnormis ’ species-groups. Cyclogethes abnormis Kirejtshuk, 1979 Vietnam ; Thailand ; S China : Yunnan 3); N India : Darjeeling Cyclogethes aldridgei Kirejtshuk, 1980 N India , Nepal , S China : Yunnan Cyclogethes fuscipennis Jelínek, 2000 Thailand Cyclogethes orientalis Kirejtshuk, 1979 Vietnam , Thailand Cyclogethes spathulatus Kirejtshuk, 1979 Vietnam