Pandeleteius distinctus (Voss)

Howden, Anne T., 2008, The species of Pandeleteius Schoenherr of coastal Chile and Peru (Coleoptera, Curculionidae), Zootaxa 1773, pp. 55-62 : 60

Pandeleteius distinctus (Voss)

( Fig. 20 )

Hadromeropsis (Pandeleteinus) distinctus Voss 1954: 232 . Pandeleteius distinctus (Voss) : Howden 1982: 2.

Diagnosis (based on Voss’s description and his interpretation of Hadromeropsis and Pandeleteinus ). Length 3.5 mm. Scales of dorsal surface predominantly brown, thorax with two narrow gray vittae, elytral suture and sides of elytra gray, gray areas blending in with the brown and forming an indistinct oblique band on the apex of the elytra. Setae very short, curved. Frons twice as wide as length of eyes and as wide as rostrum, eyes moderately strongly convex. Antennal club twice as long as wide, spindle-shaped. Thorax as long as wide, sides rather strongly and symmetrically rounded, slightly wider anteriorly; basal and apical constrictions of equal width; disc between scales interspersed with shiny wrinkles. Elytra in dorsal outline with sides parallel, straight to apical third, here strongly rounded to the narrowed apex, the latter short, attenuated, beak-like; strial punctures fine, intervals wide and flat. Fore coxae “continuous” (see remarks). Fore femur very enlarged, fore tibia straight, only apex very feebly bent inwards and inner edge tuberculate-dentate; segments 1 and 2 of fore tarsus equal in length, each somewhat longer than wide, robust.

Remarks. Voss (1954:232) considered Pandeleteius distinctus to belong to the former subgenus Pandeleteinus Champion (1911) on the grounds that its fore coxae were contiguous, as in Pandeleteinus submetallicus Schaeffer. In fact, Pandeleteinus submetallicus and all subsequently described species of Pandeleteius have separate fore coxae, although they may appear to be contiguous if the coxae obscure the area.

Pandeleteius distinctus was evidently described from a single specimen (single measurement, single locality), probably a male (fore coxae “contiguous”, fore femur “very enlarged”). This type was “destroyed in the war” with the Voss collection (Voss, in litt., 22 May 1963; Weidner 1976:129), the label data are “Südperu: Ica (21.3.1936, Hamb. Südperu-Expedition)”.

The description of P. d i s t i n c t u s differs from that of P. peruvianus (see below) in: 1) sides of prothorax rather strongly and symmetrically rounded, 2) prothorax with “shiny wrinkles” interspersed between the scales, 3) fore coxae “contiguous” as in Pandeleteius griseus Voss , 4) apex of elytra rounded, shortly beakshaped as in P. g r i s e u s, 5) fore femur greatly enlarged. All of these descriptors are too imprecise to be useful for comparative purposes, with the possible exception of the surface of the prothorax. The descriptor “shiny wrinkles” may relate to an abraded specimen, although there is a color pattern given for the prothorax.

Voss compared P. distinctus with P. g r i s e u s on characters common to many species: straight fore tibia, different shape of the thorax and scales as well as flatter eyes. Pandeleteius griseus has a wide range east of the Andes. Voss also associated P. d i s t i n c t u s with the Costa Rican P. (Exmenetypus) hieroglyphicus Champion on the insubstantial grounds of elytral markings and form of the prothorax, acknowledging that P. d i s t i n c t u s does not have the primary subgeneric character of Exmenetypus : the abruptly raised apex of the rostrum.

Assuming that the type of P. distinctus was in fact a male, there is still insufficient evidence to establish its identity as either a distinct species or as a synonym of P. baccharis or P. peruvianus .

Figures

FIGURE 20. Map of southern Peru and northern Chile showing known distribution of Pandeleteius species. P. variegatus (Pierce), purple; P. peruvianus Voss, yellow; P. distinctus (Voss), green; P. baccharis Kuschel, red.