Journal of Threatened Taxa |
www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 January 2020 | 12(1): 15181–15185
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893
(Print)
doi: https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.1878.12.1.15181-15185
#1878 | Received 08 November 2018 | Final
received 18 October 2019 | Finally accepted 12 January 2020
Description of a new species of
the genus Lampropsephus Fleutiaux,
1928 (Coleoptera: Elateridae:
Elaterinae: Dicrepidiini) from
Konkan, Maharashtra, India
Amol Patwardhan 1 & Rahul Khot
2
1 Department of Zoology, K.J.
Somaiya College of Science and Commerce, Vidyavihar,
Mumbai, Maharashtra 400077, India.
2 Assistant Director, The Bombay
Natural History Society, Shahid Bhagatsingh
Marg, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400001, India.
1 amolppatwardhan@gmail.com
(corresponding author), 2 r.khot@bnhs.org
Editor: Anonymity requested. Date
of publication: 26 January 2020 (online & print)
Citation: Patwardhan, A. & R. Khot (2020). Description
of a new species of the genus Lampropsephus Fleutiaux, 1928 (Coleoptera: Elateridae: Elaterinae: Dicrepidiini) from Konkan, Maharashtra, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 12(1): 15181–15185. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.1878.12.1.15181-15185
Copyright: © Patwardhan & Khot 2020. Creative
Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction,
and distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to
the author(s) and the source of publication.
Funding: None.
Competing interests: The authors
declare no competing interests.
Acknowledgements: We are thankful to Dr. Deepak Apte, Director, Bombay
Natural History Society, Mumbai for providing necessary facilities. Sincere thanks to Antoine Montlierri
of MNHN, Paris for providing the photograph of L. cyaneus;
Lothar Zerche of Senckenberg
Deutsches Entomologisches Institut, Mucheberg, Frankfurt
for providing a photograph of the holotype of P. assamensis;
Late Rainer Schimmel for sending paper and photographs of Neopsephus
assamensis; Olivier Montreuil of MNHN, Paris for
giving contacts in the museum. We also
thank Mr. Dominque Poirier-Ducrocq, France for
sending photo for Lampropsephus from
Thailand.
Abstract: Lampropsephus
sulcatus sp. nov. is
described from the Konkan region of Maharashtra, India. A note to transfer Propsephus
assamensis from Propsephus
Candeze, 1859 to Sephilus
Candeze, 1878 is included.
Keywords: Coastal lateritic outcrops, Elateridae, Lampropsephus,
Propsephus, Sephilus, Western
Ghats.
ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:54E5A22C-1657-44CF-935C-08D0B713A0C3
Candeze (1859) erected Psephus with P. beniniensis
as a type species. Later on Hyslop (1921) erected a new genus Propsephus
to put all known Psephus under it because Psephus was already preoccupied by Psephus Kirby, 1826 in Ochodaeidae
(Scaraboidea).
Fleutiaux (1935) proposed P. eliminatus Candeze, 1859 as
type species. Casari (2008) retained Hyslop’s assumption of P. beniniensis
as type species. Fleutiaux
(1928) erected monobasic Lampropsephus for
Propspehus cyaneus
Candeze (1878).
So far only one species L. cyaneus Candeze (1878) is
before reported from India with a type locality as ‘Himalaya’.
Materials and Methods
The specimen was collected from a
coastal lateritic outcrop near Bakale Village, Rajapur Taluk, Ratnagiri District in Maharashtra
State. The holotype is a female and is
deposited in the museum of The Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai. The identification is based on Candeze (1859, 1878), Schwarz (1905), Fleutiaux
(1928, 1935), and Casari (2008). The treatment given by Casari
(2008) was the latest and most comprehensive.
The morphological terminology was also consulted from Leschen et al. (2010).
Results
Lampropsephus (Fleutiaux,
1928)
Type species: Psephus
cyaneus Candeze, 1878,
by monotypy
Fleutiaux erected Lampropsephus
for Propsephus based on brilliant colors (brilliant is lampros
in Greek) and a combination of the following characters. Body oblong, convex with bristly
pubescence. Frontal carina complete
between eyes. Antennae not reaching the
base of the pronotum. Second and third
antennomeres small and globular and the others serrate. Elytra punctate-striate. Prosternum with indistinct chin piece. Notosternal sutures
furrowed in the anterior. Elytral epipleurae wide and large, wider near anterior angles of
elytra. Metacoxal plate narrow and
posterior margin sinuate. Metatarsi slightly shorter than metatibia.
Lampropsephus sulcatus sp. nov.
(Images 1–6,7D)
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:835A11B1-B8D6-4978-96F3-3A0F0AE27EF6
Type examined: Holotype: BNHS 302, female,
10.vii.2012, Bakale, Ratnagiri District, Maharashtra,
India 16.57°N & 73.34°E, on the flowers of Antidesma
acidum Retz. leg. R. Khot
(Image 1)
Diagnosis: The new species can be
differentiated from L. cyaneus Candeze, 1878 by having a distinct groove in the posterior
half of prothorax which is absent in the latter; prosternal
margins distinctly concave in L. cyaneus
Candeze, 1878 where as they are subparallel in the
new species; prosternal projection stouter than the
latter; body multi-coloured in the new species where as it is monochrome cyan
in L. cyaneus Candeze,
1878.
Description
Habitus (Image 2)
Female: Total length 18.3mm from
anterior margin of frontal carina to the tip of the elytra. Maximum breadth 5.57mm at the broadest part
of elytra. Integument tricoloured; prothorax
including hypomera rufous; head, antennae, proventrite, mesoventrite and metaventrite black; scutellar
shield and elytra shining and deep blue. Punctures round, deep and dense. Pubescence yellow ochre.
Head (Image 3): Width (2.86mm)
including eyes, slightly more than half of the prothorax width (5.32mm).
Anterior margin broadly rounded. Frons
broad, squarish, flat, inclined anteriorly, entirely carinate along its width
(between eye to eye). Labrum bulging, anterior margin rounded. Mandibles with glabrous
tip, bluntly truncate.
Antenna (Image 4): Serrate,
reaching beyond middle of the prothorax.
Antennomere 4–11 with rami. First
segment more than the double the length of second. Second and third antennomeres small and
subequal. Fourth antennomere the
broadest. Antennomere 5–10 distinctly
serrate. Eleventh antennomere
longer than the preceding, blunt, with broadly rounded apex, lateral sides
constricted in the distal half.
Prothorax (length 4.82mm; breadth
5.32mm near the base of the posterior angles) with a distinct shallow grove in
the posterior half. Anterior margin
darker, slightly rounded in the middle with anterior angles which cover eyes
partially. Lateral margin completely
carinate from posterior to anterior, narrowing in the anterior half. Posterior angles long with black borders and
blunt apex; with distinct, black single carina from the tip to the base of the
angle. Posterior margin black, glabrous. Sublateral incision along the posterior margin distinct,
broad, squarish. Prescutal
notch broad. Hypomeral
margin along the pronotosternal sutures angulate.
Scutellum strongly declivous
anteriorly with margins as follows: anterior margin carinate and broadly
arcuate, lateral margins arcuate and in posterior two third and straight in the
anterior third, posterior margin with broadly arcuate apex.
Elytra (length 11.6mm; breadth
5.57mm) with sides parallel tapering posteriorly to broadly rounded apex.
Anterior angles indistinct. Striae with distinct and deep punctures which are separated
by more than two diameters of punctures.
Striae 2,3 and 4 slightly depressed on either
side of the scutellum. Interstriae flat.
Prosternum (Image 5) with
anterior margin slightly arcuate.
Lateral margins slightly tapering posteriorly. Notosternal
sutures broad. Mesoventrite
declivous anteriorly with an area on either sides of the mesoventral
cavity depressed. Mesoventral
cavity vertical in the middle with posterior end broadly rounded with thick
margins, reaching beyond middle of mesocoxae. Metaventrite (Image
5) truncate between mesocoxae, distinctly separated
from the mesosternum by deep suture. Metaventral discrimen distinct, entire. Metasternum
slightly projecting between metacoxal plates.
Metacoxal plates (Image 5)
broadly rounded along midline of body.
Posterior margin sinuate as for the genus with posterior angle distinct
and broad.
Legs: Mesocoxal
margin formed by mesoventrite, metaventrite,
mesepimeron, and mesanepisternum.
Mesofemur the broadest. Posteriorly femora with a grove. Tibia long, thin, parallel sided, outer
margin with a row of spinose hairs. Distal
end of tibia with a row of spiniform hairs and short
tibial spurs. Tarsomere
1–3 broad; 4–5 tarsomere thin and glabrous. First tarsomere
with band of golden hairs near the apex appearing like a lamella. Second and third tarsomere
lamellate. Claw blade without basal seta
arising from the outer surface of the blade.
Abdominal ventrites
(Image 6) convex. Pygidium or abdominal
process longer than the previous ventrites and with
rounded apex.
Etymology
The species is named indicating
the groove or sulcus present on prothorax. Masculine.
Note on transfer of Propsephus assamensis
(Schwarz, 1905) (Image 7)
Sephilus assamensis (Schwarz, 1905) syn. nov.
Psephus assamensis Schwarz, 1905 (Deut. Entomo. Zeit. 260–261)
Propesphus assamensis: Hyslop,
1921 (Proc. of the Unit. St. Nat. Mus. 58: 621–680)
Type locality: Kohima, Nagaland
(then Assam)
By examining high resolution
photographs of the holotype of Propsephus assamensis and the description by Schwarz (1905) the
following characters are clearly seen.
Antennae reaching beyond the base of prothorax. The terminal antennomere
slender, long with pointed apex, as long as the previous two together. Head with complete carina on the frons. Prothorax wider than long, slightly narrowing
anteriorly with margins entirely carinate.
Notosternal sutures broad and deepened almost
entire length. Prosternal
process with narrowed apex. Metatarsi
distinctly shorter than the metatibia.
Based on these characters Propsephus
assamensis Schwarz, (1905) can be transferred to Sephilus Candeze, 1878 as Sephilus assamensis
(Schwarz) syn. nov.
Discussion
Four psephid
species (Image 8) have been described from India previously as follows – Lampropsephus cyaneus
Candeze (1878), Propsephus
assamensis Schwarz (1905), Neopsephus
assamensis Schimmel (2007) and Propsephus thanensis
Patwardhan & Athalye (2010). The first three species are from northeastern India and the last is from northern Western
Ghats.
P. cyaneus described by Candeze
(1878) with the type locality as ‘Himalaya’ of which Fleutiaux
(1928) and Casari (2008) mention the type locality as
‘Tonkin’ which is outside Himalayan boundaries.
P. assamensis was described by Schwarz
(1905) from ‘Kohima, Assam’. Kohima is
now the capital of Nagaland State. Neopsephus assamensis
Schimmel (2007) was reported from south of Shillong,
Meghalaya. P. thanensis
was described by Patwardhan & Athalye (2010) from
Thane, Maharashtra.
References
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Vol. 2. Memoires de la Société Royale des
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Candeze, E. (1878) Élatérides
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li–lxi, lxxv–lxxxv, cxxxv–cxliii, clxi–clxxii, clxxxix– cxcix.
Casari, S.A. (2008). A Phylogenetic
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