Macrosiagon axillaris ( Gerstaecker, 1855 )

Batelka, Jan, 2011, Contribution to the synonymies, distributions, and bionomics of the Old World species of Macrosiagon (Coleoptera: Ripiphoridae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 51 (2), pp. 587-626 : 590-592

Macrosiagon axillaris ( Gerstaecker, 1855)

( Figs. 3–7 )

Rhipiphorus axillaris Gerstaecker, 1855: 31 . Type locality: Guinea.

Macrosiagon axillare: CSIKI (1913) : 10 (new combination).

Macrosiagon maculaticeps Pic, 1913: 162 , syn. nov. Type locality: Congo Belge [= Democratic Republic of the Congo], Kilwa.

Macrosiagon axillare var. bedoci Pic, 1930: 31 , syn. nov. Type locality: Gabon.

Macrosiagon subparallelum Pic, 1930: 32 , syn. nov. Type locality: Guinée Portugaise [= Guinea Bissau].

Macrosiagon elongatum Pic, 1950c: 361 , syn. nov. Type locality: [ Democratic Republic of the Congo], Mahagi Niarembe.

Macrosiagon axillare var. discithorax Pic, 1951a: 15 , syn. nov. Type locality: Tanganyka [= Tanzania].

Macrosiagon axillare var. senegalense Pic, 1951a: 15 , syn. nov. Type locality: Senegal.

Macrosiagon conradsi Pic, 1951a: 14 , syn. nov. Type locality: Tanganyka [= Tanzania].

Macrosiagon axillare var. senegalense Pic, 1951b: 15 , syn. nov. Type locality: Senegal.

Type material examined. Rhipiphorus axillaris . SYNTYPE: 1 ♀ (Figs.. 3–5) (much damaged, right posterior leg, right middle tarsus and both antennae are missing) ( ZMUC), ‘Type [p, red label] // Guinea / Kruger / Axillaris / Gerst!! [hw]’.

Macrosiagon maculaticeps . HOLOTYPE: 1 ex. ( Fig. 6 ) (sex unknown, antennae are missing) ( MRAC), ‘MUSÉE DU CONGO [p] / Kilwa / 29.XII.1911 [hw] / Dr. Bequaert [p] // R. DÉT. [p] / C [hw] / 79 [p] // Macrosiagon / maculaticeps / Pic. [Pic’s hw] // Holotypus [p, orange label]’.

Macrosiagon subparallelum . SYNTYPE: 1 ♀ (much damaged, posterior legs are missing, completely ferrugineous specimen) ( MNHN – coll. Pic, box no. 6), ‘Gui Port [hw] // type [Pic’s hw] // type [p, red label] // subparallelum / n. sp. [Pic’s hw]’.

Macrosiagon axillare var. bedoci . SYNTYPE: 1 ex. (much damaged, hind legs are missing, specimen in black and ferrugineous combination) ( MNHN – coll. Pic, box no. 6), ‘ Congo [p, blue label] / axillaris / un var [Pic’s hw] // type [Pic’s hw] // type [p, red label] // v. Bedoci Pic [Pic’s hw]’.

Macrosiagon elongatum . HOLOTYPE: 1 ♀ ( Fig. 7 ) ( MRAC), ‘MUSÉE DU CONGO / Mahagi – Niarembe / - IX-1935 / Ch. Scops [p] // Macrosiagon / elongatum / n. sp. [Pic’s hw] // Holotypus [p] / elongatum / Pic [hw, orange label]’.

Macrosiagon axillare var. discithorax . SYNTYPE: 1 J ( MNHN – coll. Pic, box no. 6), ‘ XII / 2562 a [hw] // type [Pic’s hw] // type [p, red label] // discithorax [Pic’s hw]’.

Macrosiagon conradsi . SYNTYPE: 1 ♀ ( MNHN – coll. Pic, box no. 6), ‘u ii. co. [hw] // Tanganyka / illegible [Pic’s hw] // type [Pic’s hw] // type [p, red label] // M. Conradsi / mihi [Pic’s hw]’.

Macrosiagon axillare var. senegalense (described by PIC (1951a)). SYNTYPE: 1 ♀ ( MNHN – coll. Pic, box no. 6), ‘ Sénegal / Juin 1883 [hw] // Coll. Aubert [Pic’s hw] // type [Pic’s hw] // type [p, red label] // v. senegalense / mihi [Pic’s hw]’.

Additional material examined. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: 1 J (MT 2 flattened dorsally)

( MRAC), ‘ COLL. MUS. CONGO / Elisabetville [= Lubumbashi] (á la lumiére) / XII – 1952 / H. Bomans [p] ’; 1

♀ (MT 2 cylindrical) ( MRAC), ‘COLL. MUS. CONGO / Kibali–Ituri: Nioka [p] / VI. [hw] 1953 [p/hw] / J. Hecq

[p]’. GUINEA: 1 J ( JBCP), ‘Irr. Gvineya [p], okr. Kindia [10°03′N, 12°51′W] / Pik. Gangan / 24.VI. 1984 [hw] S.

V. Murzin [p, in Russian]’. MADAGASCAR: 1 ex. (antennae are missing) ( NMPC), ‘La Mandraka / Madagascar

/ Mus. Praha [p]’; 1 ♀ ( MNHN – general coll.), ‘ Madagascar / Antsianaka / et lac Alaotra / 2e Trimestre 1889 /

Perrot Frères [lgt.] [p]’; 1 ex. ( MNHN – general coll.), ‘ Madagascar / Antsianaka / Perrot Frères [lgt.] / 2e Trimestre

1893 [p]’. MALAWI: 1 ♀ ( JBCP), ‘Malawi centr. / Dedza env. / 16.-18.xii. 2001 / J. Bezděk leg. [p] ’; 1 ♀ ( JBCP) ,

‘ Africa – Malawi / 85 km SE Lilongwe / Dedza 17.-19.XII. / J. Halada leg. 2001 [p] ’; 1 J ( JBCP), ‘ Malawi centr .,

Kahingina / Forest reserve, 70 km N / of Kasungu, 29.-30.xii. 2001 / M. Obořil leg. [p]’. 2 JJ 1 ♀ ( BMNH, JBCP),

‘ Nyasaland / Mlanje / Feb. 8. 1913 [respective Jan. 29.1913 and Jan. 13.1913] / S.A. Neave / 1913-140 [p]’; 1 J

( BMNH), ‘ Nyasaland / Mlanje / S.A. Neave / 1913-140 [p] // Mt.Mlanje / Nyasaland / 14.I.1913 S.A. Neave [hw/p] ’;

2 JJ 1 ♀ ( BMNH), ‘ Nyasaland / Mlanje / 10. Feb. 1914 [respective 20. Jan. 1914 and 13. Feb. 1914] / S.A. Neave

// 1914-416 [p]’; 2 JJ ( BMNH), ‘ Nyasaland / Cholo / R.C. Wood // Pres by / Comm. Inst. Ent / B.M.1981-315 [p]’.

SENEGAL: 1 ♀ (MT 2 flattened dorsally) ( MRAC), ‘SENEGAL: / Ziguinchor [p] / 11. [hw] viii.1979 / A. Pauly rec [p] // FL 25 [p, on Croton hirtus (Euphorbiaceae) (for details of habitat see PAULY 1984)]’. TANZANIA: 1 J

( JBCP), ‘ Tanzania NE / W of Kiberashi / (Kitwei Plain) / 16.3.2002 / Lgt. M. Snížek [p] ’; 1 ♀ ( ZMHB), ‘ D.-O. Afr .

/ 7.xii 1904 / Karasek [hw]’. ZAMBIA: 3 JJ 1 ♀ ( JBCP), ‘Zambia NC / Mkushi env. E / 16.- 18.12.2004 / Snížek

[&] Tichý [lgt.] [p]’; 1 J ( JBCP), ‘ Zambia C 2004 / 100 – 140 km NE of / Kapiri Mposhi / ATB Lodge env. / 15.12.

Snížek [&] Tichý [lgt.] [p]’; 1 J ( BMNH), ‘N. W. Rhodesia: / Solwesi [p] / xii. 1916 [hw] / H.C. Dollman [p] // N .

W. Rhodesia: / Solwesi District / 26°20′E 12°10′S [p] // H.C. Dollman / Coll. 1919 - 79 [p] ’; 2 JJ ( BMNH), ‘N.

W. Rhodesia: / Mwengwa / 27°40′E 13°S [p] / 14.ix. 1914 [respective 13.xii.1914] [hw] / H.C. Dollman [p] // H.C.

Dollman / Coll. 1919 - 79 [p]’. ZIMBABWE: 1 J ( BMNH), ‘Salisbury [= Harare] / Mashonaland [p] / Feb. 1899

[hw] / G.A.K. Marshall [p] / sweeping [hw] // Brit. Mus. /1922-431 [p]’.

Variability. This species is variable in coloration and in shape of MT 2, which is otherwise used as a reliable diagnostic character for representatives of other Macrosiagon species groups worldwide ( BATELKA 2004, 2010; FALIN 2004a). The four specimens from Mkushi provide evidence that the variability in the selected characters presented in the Table 1 have neither sexual, territorial, nor taxonomic value in this species. Examined male genitalia of both forms did not show any remarkable differences.

Comparative diagnosis. Macrosiagon axillaris is closely related to the Asian M. pusilla ( Gerstaecker, 1855) from which it differs mainly in the patterns of the colour variability: in M. pusilla elytra are always completely black, other body parts are black or ferrugineous, but no transitional combination of colours (i.e. clearly bicolor or with dull dark combination of both colors (F / B and D in Table 1)) are expressed.

Remarks. Examined types of Macrosiagon maculaticeps , M. subparallelum , M. axillare var. bedoci , M. elongatum , M. axillare var. discithorax , M. axillare var. senegalense sensu PIC (1951a ,b) and M. conradsi fall within the variability of M. axillaris and are proposed here as junior synonyms.

According to the original description, the type locality of M. axillare var. bedoci should be ‘Gabon’, but the examined syntype specimen is labeled ‘Congo’. There is no M. axillaris specimen from Gabon in Pic’s collection (box no. 6).

Maurice Pic used the name ‘ senegalense ’ for a new species group taxon in the Macrosiagon three times in the same year ( PIC 1951a, 1951b and 1951d). While the names ‘ senegalense ’ published by PIC (1951a) and PIC (1951d) belong to two different taxa (see further under M. gabonica ), the description by PIC (1951b) is a slightly modified description of M. axillare var. senegalense Pic, 1951a and most probably no type specimen exists.

Distribution. The species is widely distributed in the Afrotropical region. It was described from Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon (probably by error), Guinea, Senegal and Tanzania under various names. It is recorded here from Madagascar, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe for the first time.

Figures

Figs 1–7. 1–2 – Macrosiagon armata (Waterhouse, 1883), lectotype. 3–7 – M. axillaris (Gerstaecker, 1855) (3–5 – M. axillaris, syntype and labels; 6 – M. maculaticeps Pic, 1913, holotype; 7 – M. elongata Pic, 1950, holotype).