Liogenys rufoflava Moser, 1918

Cherman, Mariana A., Basílio, Daniel S., Mise, Kleber M., Frisch, Johannes, Smith, Andrew B. T. & Almeida, Lúcia M., 2020, Liogenys Guérin-Méneville, 1831 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) from the southern South American Transition Zone and boundaries: taxonomic overview with four new species, Zootaxa 4896 (1), pp. 46-84 : 73-74

Liogenys rufoflava Moser, 1918

Figs. 9 ; 11G, H ; 14

Liogenys rufoflavus Moser, 1918: 105 ; Frey 1969: 48 (key); Krajčík 2012: 145 (checklist); Cherman et al. 2017: 4 (generic history).

Liogenys rufoflava: Blackwelder 1944: 228 (checklist); Evans 2003: 214 (checklist); Evans & Smith 2009: 182 (checklist); Cherman et al. 2017: 20 (natural history).

Type material. Male lectotype of Liogenys rufoflava here designated ( ZMHB): [white typeset] “ Argentinien ”, [white handwritten] “ Liogenys / rufoflavus / Typen ³ / Moser”, [red typeset] “Typus”, [white typeset] “ Liogenys / rufoflavus / Mos.”, [red, outlined, typeset and handwritten] “ LIOGENYS / RUFOFLAVUS Mos / LECTOTYPE / Des. Cherman M. A.”, genitalia mounted. Female paralectotype bearing the labels: [white typeset] “ Argentinien ”, [white handwritten] “ Liogenys / rufoflavus / Typen ♀ / Moser”, [red typeset] “Typus”, [white typeset] “ Liogenys / rufoflavus / Mos.”, [red, outlined, typeset and handwritten] “ LIOGENYS / RUFOFLAVUS Moser, 1918 / PARA-LECTOTYPE / Des. Cherman M. A.”

Non-type material (88). PARAGUAY. Boquerón: without locality, 12.XII.1947, Hunger, 1 male and 2 females ( CMNC) ; Parque Nacional Teniente Inciso , administración, 21º12’S, 61º39’W, 18.IX. 2003, 253 m, B. Garcete, 1 male and 1 female ( DZUP) . ARGENTINA. Salta: La Viña , 24.IX.1988, Peña, 1 female ( INPA) ; Santiago del Estero: Tintina , XI.1946, without collector, 2 females ( MZUC) ; Río Hondo, Termas , IX.1990, A. Martínez, 2 females ( CMNC) ; Río Hondo , VIII.1956, 1 male ( CMNC) ; Bords du Rio Salado, Icaño, Mistol Paso , XII.1908 – III.1909, E. R. Wagner, 1 female ( MNHN) ; Chuna Pampa [10 km from Lugones railway Rosario-Tucumán ], XII.1908 – III.1909, E. R. Wagner, 4 females ( MNHN) ; La Rioja: 20 km N La Rioja , 25.IX.1968, 1 male ( AMNH) ; Guayapa, Patquia [30º01’S 66º57’W], XII.1964, A. Martínez, 2 males ( CMNC) ; Guayapa, Patquia , III.1955, without collector, 1 female ( MZUC) ; Patquia , IX.1945, Breyer, 1 male and 1 female ( CMNC) ; Patquia , III.1948, Breyer, 1 female ( CMNC) ; Catinzaco , 18.XII.1970, Roig & Maury, 1 male and 1 female ( IADIZA) ; Chepes (6 km E), 10.XII.1978, at light, Woodruff, Runnacles, Cordo, 1 male ( CMNC) ; San Juan: El Baldecito, Valle Fertil , XII.1964, Martínez, 6 males and 1 female ( CMNC) ; Marayes , 13.XII.1964, A. Martinez, 1 female ( DZUP) ; 2 males and 1 female ( NHMB) ; Mendoza: without locality, 9.XI.1987, L. Peña, 1 female ( CEMT) ; without locality, 21.X.1982, L. Peña, 4 males and 1 female; without locality, 9. XI.1987, L. Peña, 1 male ( INPA) ; Ñacuñan , 34º02’S, 67º55’W, 22.XI.1997, Lagos, 1 male and 1 female ( IADIZA) ; Reserva Telteca , IX–XI.1996, Flores, Roig, 2 females ( IADIZA) ; San Rafael , 6.XII.1988, L. Peña, 1 male and 6 females ( INPA) ; Malvinas , 10.IX.1987, L. Peña, 3 females ( INPA) ; Estación Pedregal , without date; Jensen-Haarup, 3 males and 2 females ( ZMUC) ; La Pampa: Caleu Caleu ( Río Colorado ), II.1966, Martínez, 1 female ( CMNC) ; Neuquén: Covunco , 19.XII.1963, 1 specimen ( CMNC) ; Zapala (near), 19–21.XII.1965, A. Martínez, 1 male ( CMNC) ; Pucará , 7.XII.1954, Pastrana, 1 female ( CMNC) ; Parque Nacional Lanin, Cerro Malo , 19.XII.1954, Pastrana, 2 males and 1 female ( CMNC) ; Río Negro: Catriel , 311 m, 4.I.2005, F.C. Ocampo, 5 females ( CMNC) ; San Antonio Oeste, Los Grutas , XII.1973, C. Bordón, 1 male ( CMNC) ; Villa Regina , 20.XI.1963, L. Peña, 1 male ( CMNC) ; Chubut: Península de Valdés, Golfo Nuevo, Estancia San Pablo , 42°41’42’’S, 64°10’46’’W, 27.XI.2005, 50 m, 1 female ( CMNC) . CHILE: Biobío: Laguna del Laja , 16.I.1987, L. Peña, 3 males and 7 females ( INPA) .

Diagnosis. Body light brown, elongate, sides subparallel, shiny, head and pronotum slightly darker than elytra; frontoclypeal surface and pronotum with inconspicuous bristles, elytra uniformely with bristles ( Fig. 9A ); clypeal emargination shallow, wide, and rounded; clypeal lateral margin convex and barely produced in males, not produced in females ( Fig. 11 G–H); antennae with 10 antennomeres; pronotal posterior corners subangulate ( Fig. 9C ); protibial with three equally-spaced teeth; mesotibia quadrate or subquadrate in cross section ( Fig. 9D ), males with one mesotibial transverse carina only posteriorly, females with two transverse carinae, the apical carina complete; males with metatibial transverse carina present posteriorly, females with two transverse carinae, the apical carina complete; inner margin of male metatibia carinate straight towards apex; pygidium slightly convex; elongate, apex rounded; pygidial disc finely punctate and with bristles throughout ( Fig. 9E ); parameres very short, apex lanceolate in a single plane ( Fig. 9F ).

Redescription. Length: 7.4–8.9 mm; width: 3.7–3.9 mm. Light brown. Head. distance between eyes three times the width of one eye, wider in females; frons swollen, equal in length or slightly longer than clypeus; frontoclypeal surface sometimes with short bristles; clypeal emargination shallow, wide, and rounded, in males as wide as the distance between eyes; outer sides of anterior teeth parallel in males; subparallel in females ( Fig. 11 G–H); clypeal lateral margin convex and barely produced in males, distance between clypeal lateral projection and anterior tooth as long as the basal width of anterior tooth, distance between clypeal lateral projection and anterior margin of eye shorter than one eye width, margin continuous, not forming a sharp angle between outer side of anterior teeth and clypeal lateral projection; distal maxillary palpomere, maximum width more than two times the apical width; fovea deep, very small, not reaching the transverse midline of the palpomere; antenna with 10 antennomeres, club lighter in color than funicle. Thorax: anterior margin of pronotum slightly produced medially; inconspicuous bristles throughout the pronotal surface, more visible at the sides; pronotal disc with punctures coarse and sparse; posterior corners subangulate, angle obtuse; hypomere with short and a few long bristles; mesepisternum, sides of metaventrite and metacoxae with bristles; distance between mesocoxae and metacoxae less than twice the metacoxa width; scutellum ogival, finely punctate throughout. Elytra: shiny on disc, weakly pruinose at the outer margins; bristles dispersed uniformly; elytral suture and elytron unicolored, weakly elevated; all four elytral ridges weakly defined. Legs: procoxa scaly and punctate; three protibial teeth, middle and apical equal in size, all three teeth equally spaced; mesotibia quadrate in cross section in males, subquadrate in females; mesotibial surface finely sculptured; mesotibia with two transverse carinae, the apical carina only demarked posteriorly in males, complete in females; inner margin of male metatibia carinate straight towards apex; surface coarsely sculptured; metatibia with two transverse carinae, in females the apical carina complete; metatibial apical spurs of different lengths and shape, the larger spur slightly longer than the diameter of the tibial apex, in males the smaller spur wider and truncate; metatarsomere I equal in size to metatarsomere II; males with protarsomeres and mesotarsomeres I–IV enlarged, protarsomere II wide; mesotarsomeres almost one-half width of protarsomeres; claw bifid, symmetrical, superior tooth of claw longer and narrower than the inferior tooth; distance between teeth equal to the length of inferior tooth. Abdomen: ventrites uniformly with bristles at the disc and sides; propygidium with bristles; pygidium flat or slightly convex; subquadrate; elongate; pygidial width almost equal to the distance between spiracles of propygidium, slightly narrower; pygidial disc finely punctate and with bristles throughout, bristles short and decumbent; pygidial apex subquadrate to rounded. Parameres: basal region wider than both sections of the parameres at maximum width, parameral split at 2/3 the length of the basal region; inner margins convex; parameres very short, length up to twice the length of the apex; apex lanceolate in a single plane; parameres in lateral view straight, not coplanar ( Fig. 9G ).

Type locality. ARGENTINA. Mendoza

Geographical distribution. PARAGUAY (Boquerón); ARGENTINA (Salta, Santiago del Estero, La Rioja, San Juan, Mendoza, La Pampa, Neuquén, Río Negro, Chubut); CHILE (Biobío).

Remarks. Liogenys rufoflava resembles L. flavida in the body size, elytra with bristles, shape of pygidium elongate; and the frons swollen, comparing mainly the females. This species differs in the pronotum somewhat darker in color than the elytra; head, pronotum, and elytra with more abundant bristles; antenna with 10 antennomeres instead of 9; elytra approximately 2.5 times longer than the pronotum (in L. flavida the elytra are more than three times longer than the pronotum); in males the protibia has three teeth instead of two, protarsomere II is wider; and the parameres are different in shape. This species also resembles L. brachyclypeata new species, especially when comparing the females, although L. rufoflava can be distinguished mainly by the width of the head, narrower than the posterior margin of the pronotum. Liogenys rufoflava also have some features in common with L. maxillaricuspis new species (for more details see remarks of these new species).

The first record of L. rufoflava in Chile is noteworthy, as it is the only Liogenys occurring in Chile that is not endemic to this country. Further phylogeographical studies will bring light in order to discover if L. rufoflava is older than the Andes formation, as well as its ancestral relationship with the other species from the same region.

Figures

FIGURE 9. Liogenys rufoflava Moser, 1918, male lectotype views: A) dorsal, B) labels, C) clypeus and pronotum, D) lateral, E) pygidium, and parameres views: F) dorsal, G) lateral.

FIGURE 11. Dimorphism in clypeus. Liogenys flaveola Moser, 1924: A) male, B) female; L. flavida Moser, 1918: C) male, D) female; L. kuntzeni Moser, 1921: E) male, F) female; L. rufoflava Moser, 1918: G) male, H) female.

FIGURE 14. Geographical distribution of known Liogenys species occurring in the STZ and its boundaries: A) general, B, C, D) detail. Image legend: shaped points: already known species; colors: provinces of Neotropical, South American Transition Zone (STZ), and Andean regions.