A revision of the genus Morphostenophanes Pic, 1925 (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae, Stenochiinae, Cnodalonini)
Author
Zhou, De-Yao
Room 901, No. 126, Lane 1331, Chenggu Road, Shanghai, 201800 China. E-mail: scydmaeninae @ 163. com
scydmaeninae@163.com
text
Zootaxa
2020
4769
1
1
81
journal article
22350
10.11646/zootaxa.4769.1.1
03aeb45d-bda0-4791-a1e5-ca526b345afb
1175-5326
3797078
A827EDA4-F0AF-4BCE-AF5E-4DF0475E42CD
Morphostenophanes atavus
(
Kaszab, 1960
)
ÑẎȐAEƤ
(
Figs. 25
A–G; 31A, E, K, P; 32A, G–I; 33A, G)
Promorphostenophanes atavus
Kaszab, 1960: 278
(
type
locality:
Yunnan
), fig. 9;
Ando & Ren 2006: 90
;
Löbl
et al
. 2008: 347
;
Gao & Ren 2009: 311
.
Morphostenophanes atavus
(
Kaszab, 1960
)
:
Masumoto & Bečvář 2008: 209
, fig. 4;
Gao & Ren 2009: 311
, figs. 16–22, 43 [misidentification of
Morphostenophanes brevigaster
].
Type material examined.
Holotype
of
Promorphostenophanes atavus
labelled: ‘
Yunnan
Tientshun
[handwritten in pink label] //
Holotypus
1960
Promorphostenophanes atavus
Kaszab
[handwritten on a pink label with red border]’ (female, HMHM,
Fig. 25
C–G). Examined through five photographs taken by Tamás Németh (
HNHM
) and sent by Ottó Merkl
.
Additional material examined
(
1♂
).
CHINA
:
Yunnan
:
1♂
(
MYNU
), east slope of
Mount Gaoligong
,
25°17’48.33”N
,
98°45’52.98”E
,
2402 m
,
2014.iv.11
, at night,
Xuan-Kong Jiang
&
Tian Lu
.
Diagnosis.
Body large and elongate, black. Antennae short, reaching basal 2/7 of elytra; Pronotum widest in anterior fourth; elytra striate, with aspect ratio exceeding
1.8 in
male, and
1.7 in
female; apical spurs of mesotibiae exposed and visible in ventral view; metafemora reaching anterior half of sternite VII; metatibiae nearly straight; apical lobes of sternite VIII narrowly hooked in lateral view.
Description of male.
Male (
Fig. 25A, B
). Color black, antennae, all tibiae, mouthparts, and claws reddish brown, shagreened. Body elongate, length
23.7 mm
, width
8.4 mm
, strongly convex, noticeably constricted between pronotum and elytra.
FIGURE 25.
Habitus of
Morphostenophanes atavus
(Kaszab)
. Male in dorsal (
A
) and lateral view (
B
). Holotype female in dorsal (
C
), ventral (
E
) and lateral view (
G
), with an enlargement of ventral apical portion of left mesotibiae (
D
), and labels (
F
). Scale bars of A, B = 5 mm; C–G not to scale.
Head (
Fig. 31A, F
) transversely quadrate, sparsely and finely punctate, with outer margin distinctly notched between genae and clypeus; clypeus transversely hexagonal, slightly convex in middle, gently bent downwards in front, anterior margin nearly straight, weakly emarginate; frontoclypeal suture finely depressed, widely U-shaped, weakly protruding backwards in middle; genae strongly raised, depressed before eyes, strongly and roundly produced anterolaterally; frons broad, anterior part gradually sloping forwards, flattened in middle; eyes transversely reniform, strongly convex laterally; inner ocular sulci finely depressed, moderately grooved along inner margins, becoming broader posteriorly; tempora moderately convex, more coarsely punctate than frons. OI = 46.4. Antennae (
Fig. 32A
) slender, reaching basal 2/7 of elytra, with antennomeres weakly thickened to apices; relative lengths of antennomeres: 0.71: 0.34: 1.19: 1.14: 1.29: 1.31: 1.29: 1.16: 1.14: 1.04: 1.19.
Mentum
(
Fig. 31F
) inversely trapezoidal, lateral margins weakly rounded; medial surface finely punctate, with several large pores bearing long setae, gradually rising from base to apex, depressed along both sides.
Pronotum (
Fig. 31K
) inversely trapezoidal, PW/PL = 1.10, widest in anterior fourth, anterior margin nearly straight, anterior marginal border fine, interrupted in middle; lateral margins weakly rounded, lateral marginal borders thin, visible in dorsal view slightly before anterior half; posterior margin weakly rounded, emarginate in middle, posterior marginal border marked; anterior angles rounded; posterior angles obtuse; disc strongly convex, shagreened, finely and sparsely punctate, with a pair of vague impressions on middle. Scutellum widely triangular, glossy, finely punctate.
Elytra elongate oval, widest near middle, EL/EW = 1.84; strongly convex, highest in basal 2/5; with 9 continuous furrowed striae; 9
th
stria branching before apex, 1
st
and 9
th
, 2
nd
and 7
th
, 3
rd
and 6
th
, and 4
th
and 5
th
, converging at ends, 2
nd
and 3
rd
, and 5
th
and 6
th
converging at anterior ends; intervals strongly convex, shagreened, sparsely and finely punctate.
Prosternum (
Fig. 31P
) shagreened, finely and sparsely punctate; prosternal process declivous, truncate at apex; hypomeron weakly rugulose, shagreened. Metasternum glossy, metaventral anterior process weakly wrinkled. Abdomen depressed, somewhat rough and finely punctate, sternites III and IV sulcate on both sides, sternite V depressed laterally.
Legs slender. Protibiae (
Fig. 32G
) weakly curved, apical 3/5 of inner margins pubescent; mesotibiae (
Fig. 32H
) weakly curved near apical third, apical 3/5 of inner margins pubescent, ventral apical tuft interrupted, mesotibial spur uncovered (marked in
Fig. 32H
); metatibiae (
Fig. 32I
) straight, apical 3/5 of inner margins pubescent, outer margins depressed before apices.
Aedeagus (
Fig. 33A
) elongate, curved in lateral view; parameres slender, 0.22 as long as total length, with ovoid apex. Sternite VIII (
Fig. 33G
) with apical lobes narrowly hooked in lateral view.
Comparative notes.
Morphostenophanes atavus
most resembles
M
.
brevigaster
. They share similar appearance and indistinguishable aedeagi. However,
M
.
atavus
can be easily distinguished from
M
.
brevigaster
by its shorter antennae which reaches 2/7 of elytra, compared to those of
M. brevigaster
reaching third of elytra; each antennomere less sharply dilated towards apex; pronotum widest in apical fourth, compared to that of
M. brevigaster
widest near the middle; elytra more elongate, highest posterior to the midpoint, compared to those of
M. brevigaster
highest anterior to the midpoint; elytral striae less depressed than those of the latter; all legs shorter, metafemora reaching anterior half of sternite VII, compared to those
M. brevigaster
reaching apex of sternite VII; protibiae in male evenly curved, compared to that of
M. brevigaster
curved at apical third; mesotibiae with apical spur exposed and visible in ventral view, compared to those of
M
.
brevigaster
covered by tuft and obscured; metatibiae slightly more straight; apical lobes of male sternite VIII narrowly hooked, compared to those of
M. brevigaster
broadly hooked.
Comments.
Morphostenophanes atavus
was described from a single female from ‘Yunnan’ without detailed location (‘ohne nähere Angabe des Fundortes’ in original description). The male was then illustrated by
Masumoto & Bečvář (2008)
, identified as
M
.
atavus
, however, no description or locality was given. Later,
Gao & Ren (2009)
provided detiled locality for this species, as well as a photograph of the female.
In the present study, the author examined the
holotype
of
M
.
atavus
through photos. Specimens with similar appearances from three localities were studied, with one male from the eastern slope of Gaoligong Mountains, and two series containing both males and females from Yingjiang County and an adjacent area and Lincang City. According to the original description, the elytral aspect ratio of the
M
.
atavus
holotype
female is 1.7, which is different from those from around Yingjiang County with an average ratio of 1.59 (n = 10) and maximum of 1.65. Moreover, the elytral striae of the
M
.
atavus
holotype
are distinctly less depressed than those of the latter. The elytral aspect ratio of those from Lincang ranges from 1.7 to over 1.9, which matches that of the
M
.
atavus
holotype
, but they are distinctly different by the latter having much more convex pronotum and elytra. The elytral aspect ratio of the male from the western slope of Gaoligong Mountains is 1.84, which is comprable to the
M
.
atavus
female. Moreover, this male has antennomeres less thickened anteriorly, elytral intervals less convex, and ventral apical tuft is interrupted, which are identical with those of the female
holotype
. Therefore, this male from the Gaoligong Mountains is identified as
M
.
atavus
. The female
holotype
possesses bulges at each side of the base of the pronotum, which are indistinct in the male. This is probably due to interspecific variation. Specimens from Yingjiang County and Lincang City are identified as belonging to
M
.
brevigaster
and
M
.
lincangensis
.
On the label of
M
.
atavus
holotype
, the author found ‘Tientshun’ after the locality ‘Yunnan’, which refers to ‘Tengchong’, a city reaching the western slope of the Gaoligong Mountains. Such detailed locality was not mentioned in the original publication. The type locality associated with data of here examined male suggest a potential distribution of
M
.
atavus
along the southern Gaoligong Mountains, spreading over both slopes of mountains.
The male specimen in Masumoto & Bečvář’s photograph (2008,
Fig. 4
) was in dorsal view, so the author measured its elytral aspect ratio, the result is 1.86. Moreover, its pronotum is constricted before the base, and its protibiae are only slightly curved, based on the revised diagnostic characters, it is undoubtedly a true
M
.
atavus
. Based on the known distribution, the female specimen mentioned by
Gao & Ren (2009)
from Yingjiang county is considered a misidentified of
M
.
brevigaster
.
Distribution.
(
Map 1
)
CHINA
:
Yunnan
.