Brachinus (Brachynolomus) dryas Andrewes, 1936

Akhil, S. V., Divya, M. & Sabu, K. Thomas, 2020, Bombardier beetles of genus Brachinus Weber, 1801 (Carabidae: Brachininae Brachinini) from India, Zootaxa 4816 (4), pp. 576-600 : 580-581

Brachinus (Brachynolomus) dryas Andrewes, 1936

Fig. 1a

= Brachinus stenomus Andrewes, 1932

Brachinus dryas Andrewes, 1936: 65 ; Hrdlička, 2003: 215; Hrdlička, 2017: 476

Brachinus stenomus Andrewes, 1932: 141 ; Hrdlička, 2003: 215; Hrdlička, 2017: 476

Type locality. India: Assam: Eastern Duars , coll. H. Stevens.

Type depository. BMNH .

Specimen examined (n=1). Holotype labelled: “Type, ‘E. Dooars’, coll. H. Stevens, ‘ Brachinus stenomus ’ ‘ Brachinus dryas nom. nov. Andrewes 1936 p.65’, det. H. E. Andrewes”.

Description. Length 6.5–7.5 mm. Colour reddish brown (rust-coloured); venter, elytra, margins of pronotum (base rather widely), mes- and metepisterna and apical joints black; legs brownish red. Microsculpture isodiametric, very clear on the elytra, weak on head and pronotum.

Head with frontal foveae shallow, subrugose; neck sparsely punctuate, surface otherwise smooth; eyes moderately prominent; apical segment of palpi narrowed and subtruncate at apex; antennae reaching middle of elytra.

Pronotum cordate, narrower than head, wider than long; extremities truncate, base as wide as apex, sides round- ed in front and rather strongly sinuate at about basal fourth, both front and hind angles fairly sharp, the latter slightly acute and slightly projecting laterally; median groove short, moderately impressed, punctate at extremities, basal foveae rather shallow, surface sparsely and finely punctate.

Elytra convex, two and a quarter times as wide as pronotum, two-fifths longer than wide, contracted in front; humerus straight, corners rounded; elytra widest just before apex, apex with a re-entrant angle, the pale membranous margin very narrow, glabrous; striae weak, without any rows of punctures, intervals moderately raised but hardly costate, surface finely but not very closely punctate.

Body covered with rather scanty grey pubescence, slightly thicker on the elytra.

Distribution. INDIA: Sikkim: Gopaldhara; Assam: Eastern Duars.

Remarks. Brachinus dryas is endemic to the Eastern Himalayas. It was described as Brachinus stenomus Andrewes, 1932 , which was later found to be a homonym and thus changed to Brachinus dryas Andrewes, 1936 .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Dorsal habitus of Indian Brachinus species: a) B. dryas Andrewes, 1936 (holotype, BMNH); b) B. inops Andrewes, 1932 (holotype, BMNH); c) B. hexagrammus Chaudoir, 1876 (syntype, MNHN); d) B. sexmaculatus Dejean, 1825 (syntype, MNHN); e) B. tetracolon Chuadoir, 1876 (syntype, MNHN); f) B. tetragrammus Chaudoir, 1876 (syntype, MNHN); g) B. pictus (Hope, 1833) (ZSIM); h) B. cinctellus Chaudoir, 1876 (syntype, MNHN); i) B. eucosmus Andrewes, 1937 (holotype, BMNH)