Bombardier beetles of the genus Pheropsophus Solier 1833 (Carabidae: Brachininae: Brachinini) from Indian subcontinent Author Venugopal, Akhil S. Author Thomas, Sabu K. text Zootaxa 2019 2019-05-17 4608 1 65 89 journal article 21232 10.11646/zootaxa.4608.1.3 c4d067fa-4c56-4248-8084-caf4dd1eea21 1175-5326 3993611 3540218C-34FA-4D91-925A-3E89C6C3A7C1 Pheropsophus indicus sp. nov. ( Fig. 4 B , 5 B ) Specimens examined (n=2) : Holotype , labelled “ Male , India : Kerala : Palakkad ( 10.806420°N , 76.690174°E ), Hand Picking (Wet Paddy field), 26.XI.2017 , coll. M. Divya ” ; Paratype , male, India : Karnataka , 2013, coll. A. Anichtchenko. Description. TLA: 15.8 mm ; TW: 6.6 mm Colour: Black head, pronotum and elytra. Black spot on head wide, widest towards pronotum, broad ‘M’ shaped black spot on vertex of head with a narrow extension up to the clypeus; clypeus and labrum black; epistome, margin around the eyes, reddish yellow; maxillary and labial palpi, reddish brown; eyes grey; first four antennal segments light reddish yellow, segments 2–4 with reddish brown ring on the apical portion, segments 5–11 reddish brown; scutellum black; humeral spot pale reddish yellow; legs with coxa, trochanter, femur, tibiae and 1 st segment of tarsi, reddish yellow; rest of the tarsal segments reddish brown; claws dark brown; apex of femur with wide black spot; underside of head reddish yellow, gula well-marked with reddish brown gular suture; prothorax including the prosternum black; mesosternum black; metasternum anterior half reddish yellow and posterior half black; metepisternum black. Head: Stout, smooth, glabrous, shiny, neck wrinkled; eyes protruding, with one supraorbital setae in the mid region above eye; antennae long, reaching the middle of elytra. Pronotum: Wider than long, smooth, glabrous except for a group of minute seta lining the apical margin; basal and apical margins straight, corners of apical and basal margin rounded, anterior 3/4 th of the lateral margin convex, posterior 1/4 th straight; deep median furrow; lateral bead narrow. Elytra: Subparallel, widest in the middle; humerus pronounced, rounded, humeral spot large; narrow median transverse band extending between 3 rd and 8 th stria, with strongly serrated edges, rounded and pointed towards suture; apical band narrow, reddish yellow, extending along the apical portion of stria; striations narrow, intervals wide, flat, glabrous. Male Genitalia : Median lobe slender compared to P.devagiriensis sp. nov. ; highly arcuate, apex pointed. Measurements : Holotype Male , TLA= 16.16 mm ; TLB= 15.84 mm ; TW= 6.64 mm ; PL = 3.28 mm ; PW = 3.44 mm ; EL = 9.52 mm . Type Material : 1 ex. Holotype , male, India : Kerala : Palakkad ( 10.806420°N , 76.690174°E ), Hand Picking (wet paddy field), 26.XI.2017 , coll. M. Divya , deposited at ZSIC. Paratype , male, India : Karnataka , 2013, coll. A. Anichtchenko. Geographical distribution. INDIA : Kerala : Palakkad ; Karnataka Collecting Circumstances : Handpicked from a paddy field of Palakkad ( India : Kerala ), a region belonging to the Palakkad gap. Etymology : Named after ‘India’. Remarks. Pheropsophus indicus sp. nov. is similar to P. occipitalis , but differs in having broad ‘M’ shaped black spot on head, entirely black pronotum with straight apical and basal margins, broad elytra and narrow elytral median transverse band.