Pacuvia philippiana Gutiérrez, 1951

Smith, Andrew B. T. & Cherman, Mariana, 2021, Review of the genus Pacuvia Curtis, 1844 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae: Diplotaxini), Revista Chilena de Entomología (Rev. Chil. Entomol.) 47 (4), pp. 955-963 : 961

Pacuvia philippiana Gutiérrez, 1951

Pacuvia philippiana Gutiérrez 1951: 144 . Type locality: “ Coquimbo: Fray Jorge.” Type series: holotype male at UCCC labeled “ HOLOTYPE ♀ ” (typeset and handwritten orange label), “ Chile.XI-47 / Fray Jorge / Coquimbo / L. Peña ” (handwritten), “ Pacuvia / philippiana Gut / ♀ R. Gutiérrez-Det 51” (handwritten and typeset), “Colección / R. Gutiérrez / 1958” (typeset in blue ink). Although we only have low-resolution photographs, we believe that the holotype is a male based on the elongate body form and slightly thickened protarsomeres.

Material examined. Chile: Atacama: Puerto Huasco , (28°28’S, 71°14’W), 30 June 1966, M.E. Irwin, Nelson Hitchins O. — 6 males ( CASC) . Coquimbo: 70 km N La Serena , (29°23’54.87’’S, 71°10’12.05’’W), 20 September 1965, L.E. Peña — 1 male ( FMNH) ; El Divisadero , (30°50’47.88’’S, 71°9’9.69’’W), 31 July 1971, G. Arriagada — 1 male ( CMNC) ; Guanaqueros , (30°10’23.48’’S, 71°27’.11’’W), 25–27 June 2004, J. Mondaca, M. Gálvez — 4 males ( CMNC) , 6 males ( MNNC) ; Herradura a Guanaqueros , (30°6’S, 71°21’36’’W), 1–3 September 1947, L.E. Peña — 2 males ( FMNH) ; La Serena , (29°54’28’’S, 71°15’15’’W), 23–28 July 2004, light, V.M. Diéguez — 1 male ( CMNC) ; Tofo , (29°26’30.85’’S, 71°14’14.48’’W), 30 September 1916, T. Hallinan — 1 male ( AMNH) ; Tofo , (29°26’30.85’’S, 71°14’14.48’’W), 2 October 1916, T. Hallinan — 1 male ( AMNH) ; Tofo , (29°26’30.85’’S, 71°14’14.48’’W), 11 June 1917, T. Hallinan — 1 male ( AMNH) ; Tofo , (29°26’30.85’’S, 71°14’14.48’’W), 18 August 1917, T. Hallinan — 2 males ( AMNH) ; Tongoy, Hacienda El Tangue, Qda. El Almendro , (30°15’7.58’’S, 71°29’59.24’’W), 16 August 1996, F. Ramirez — 1 female ( FRFC) ; Tongoy, Sector Aeródromo , 50 m (30°6’5.65’’S, 71°21’48.42’’W), 24 September 2005, F. RamÍrez — 1 female ( CMNC) ; Vicuña , (30°2’S, 70°42’W), 1–30 November 2004, G. Castillo — 2 males ( CMNC) , 5 males ( MNNC) . No data: — 1 male ( BMNH) .

Diagnosis. Length 9.0–13.0 mm (males), 8.0– 8.5 mm (females); width 4.0–6.0 mm (males), 4.0– 4.5 mm (females). Antennae with 10 antennomeres, male antennal club longer than the pedicel, female antennal club much shorter than the pedicel. Pronotum with large, sparse punctures ( Figs. 6–7 ). Males with fully extended wing longer than elytra, and females brachypterous with fully extended wings shorten than elytra.

Distribution. Chile: southern Atacama through central Coquimbo ( Fig. 17 ).

Comments. The elongate male antennal clubs seen only in this species are possibly an adaptation to better detect pheromones emitted by the flightless females. This adaptation is seen in many other species of scarabaeoids with flightless females, based on our observations of Pleocoma LeConte, 1856 ( Coleoptera : Pleocomidae ), Acoma Casey, 1889 ( Coleoptera : Scarabaeidae : Melolonthinae: Acomini ), Polyphylla Harris, 1841 ( Coleoptera : Scarabaeidae : Melolonthinae: Melolonthini), and other genera (see also Scholtz 2000).

Pizarro-Araya et al. (2015) found that this was the second most abundant species captured in transitional coastal deserts of Coquimbo, Chile.

Figures

Figure 17. Distributional map for Pacuvia castanea (black circles) andPacuvia philippiana (red triangles) in central Chile.

Figures 6–10. Pacuvia philippiana Gutiérrez, 1951. 6. Dorsal habitus. 7. Oblique habitus. 8. Head and pronotum. 9. Parameres in dorsal view. 10. Parameres and phallobase in lateral view.