Prionus (Prionus) flohri Bates, 1884

Santos-Silva, Antonio, Nearns, Eugenio H. & Swift, Ian P., 2016, Revision of the American species of the genus Prionus Geoffroy, 1762 (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Prioninae, Prionini), Zootaxa 4134 (1), pp. 1-103 : 68-69

Prionus (Prionus) flohri Bates, 1884

( Figs. 133–138 )

Prionus flohri Bates, 1884: 227 ; Lameere, 1913: 78 (cat.; part); 1915: 59; 1919: 139: 1920: 144; Blackwelder, 1946: 556 (checklist); Wendt, 1984: 333 (types); Chemsak et al., 1992: 20 (checklist); Noguera & Chemsak, 1996: 396 (distr.).

Prionus (Prionus) flohri ; Monné & Giesbert, 1994: 15 (checklist); Monné, 1995: 52 (cat.); Monné & Hovore, 2005: 20 (checklist); 2006: 19 (checklist); Monné, 2006: 86 (cat.); Özdikmen & Turgut, 2009: 410; Bezark & Monné, 2013: 27 (checklist); Monné, 2015: 176 (cat.).

Prionus hintoni Linsley, 1935a: 69 ; Blackwelder, 1946: 556; Chemsak et al., 1992: 21 (checklist); Noguera & Chemsak, 1996: 396 (distr.). Syn. nov.

Prionus (Prionus) hintoni ; Monné & Giesbert, 1994: 15 (checklist); Monné, 1995: 52 (cat.); Monné & Hovore, 2005: 20 (checklist); 2006: 19 (checklist); Monné, 2006: 86 (cat.); Özdikmen & Turgut, 2009: 411; Bezark & Monné, 2013: 28 (checklist); Monné, 2015: 176 (cat.).

Geographical distribution. Mexico [Michoacán de Ocampo ( Bates, 1884), Mexico (Linsley, 1935)]. The place recorded by Lameere (1915) (“Sierra de Tlalpujahua (région montagneuse des environs de Toluca”), also is located in Michoacán de Ocampo.

Types, type locality. Of Prionus flohri: Described based on two males and one female, all from San Juan Tumbio, deposited at ZMHB. According to Selander & Vaurie (1962): “SAN JUAN TUMBIO, Mexico. Not located”. However, according to Horn (1897) [translation]: “At the same time he [C. F. Höge] brought Flohr’s Collection to Europe…”; and “Amecameca, San Juan Tumbio (Michoacan)…”. Thus, the type locality of Prionus flohri is in the state of Michoacán de Ocampo.

We designate as lectotype the male ( Fig. 133 ) with the following labels ( Fig. 136 ):

Green (Handwritten): San Juan Tumbio White (Handwritten): flohri / Bates

Red (Printed), added by us: LECTOTYPE / Prionus flohri / Bates, 1884.

Of Prionus hintoni : Holotype male from Mexico (Temascaltepec, Mexico), deposited at CAS. Figured at Bezark (2016).

Remarks. The description of P. fl ohri in Lameere (1915) agrees very well with the lectotype and paralectotype males ( Figs. 133–134 ). The general appearance of P. f l oh r i, as recorded by Bates (1884) and Lameere (1915) is very similar to that of P. californicus . Particularly, the shape of the antennomeres are the same. Although we observed variation in the number of antennal segments, in other species of Prionus from Mexico, we did not find specimens of Prionus californicus with more than 12 segments. Unfortunately, we did not personally examine specimens of P. flohri , and cannot add other differences between this species and P. californicus . Thus, we are considering as unique and a differential character the number of antennal segments: 13 in P. f lohr i, and 12 in P. californicus .

Linsley (1935a) recorded on P. hintoni : “This species differs from other known Mexican Prionus in the very short antennae of the male, which attain only the basal one-third of the elytra. In addition, it differs from all except P. flohri Bates in having only thirteen segments to the antennae.” However, by examining the holotype photo, it is possible to see that the information on antennal length is in error: the antennae distinctly surpass the basal one-third of elytra, nearly reaching the middle. Comparing the lectotype of P. flohri with the holotype of P. hintoni , the only noticeable difference is the color: dark in the former, and lighter in the latter. But the antennal shape, pronotal shape, distance between upper eye lobes, elytral shape and sculpture, are very similar. Thus, we are considering P. hintoni as junior synonym of P. flohri .

See remarks on Prionus mexicanus .

Figures

FIGURES 133 – 138. Prionus flohri: 133, Lectotype male, dorsal habitus; 134, male, paralectotype male, dorsal habitus; 135, paralectotype female, dorsal habitus; 136, labels of the lectotype; 137, labels of the paralectotype male; 138, label of the paralectotype female. Photographs by Joachim Willers.