Platyceroides (Platyceroides) agassii (LeConte)

Paulsen, M. J., 2017, Correction of existing generic and species concepts in Platyceroidini (Coleoptera: Lucanidae: Lucaninae) and the description of four new species of Platyceroides Benesh, Zootaxa 4269 (3), pp. 346-378 : 351

Platyceroides (Platyceroides) agassii (LeConte)

Platycerus agassii LeConte, 1861: 345 , original combination. Platycerus agassizii: Parry 1870: 114 , misspelling.

Platycerus agassizi: Parry 1875: 20 , misspelling.

Platycerus agassii pygmaeus Van Dyke, 1946: 88 , synonym.

Type series. Holotype male of P. agassii (MCZ) labeled: a) handwritten “San / Mateo”; b) handwritten “ P. Agassii / Lec.”; c) on red paper, “Type / 3692”; d) “July-Dec. 2001 / MCZ Image / Database”; e) “ Platyceroides agassii / ( LeConte, 1861) / det. M.J. Paulsen 2013”.

Holotype male of P. pygmaeus Van Dyke ( CASC) labeled: a) “ Platycerus / agassizi / pygmaeus / Van Dyke” with “ Holotype ” vertically on left.

Taxonomy. The identity (and name) of this species, the first described, has been confused in the literature, especially by Van Dyke (1928) and Benesh (1946). This resulted in a large synonymical list for P. agassii in Benesh (1946, 1960 ). LeConte (1861) and Casey (1889) both discussed the male holotype as being female; because the genitalia were not dissected and given the general lack of sexual dimorphism in Platyceroides (males being similar to female Platycerus ) this is not surprising. Benesh (1960) treated four names as synonyms of P. agassii . Examination of their holotypes indicates that only one of the four names listed as synonyms of P. agassii by Benesh (1960) is indeed attributable to P. agassii . The three other names that were treated as synonymous with P. agassii by Benesh (1946) correspond instead to two other valid species, treated below.

Comparison of the holotypes of Platycerus agassii and P. pygmaeus Van Dyke confirmed that they are identical. The name P. agassii pygmaeus was proposed by Van Dyke (1946) for specimens from the Pygmy Forest east of Mendocino, although he does also refer to the taxon as ‘generally smaller’ and ‘somewhat stunted’ so the name may have been proposed to provide a double meaning. Van Dyke was not, however, comparing his specimens to the true Platyceroides agassii . Specimens from the Pygmy Forest are not any smaller on average than other P. agassii examined and generally have the same size of antennal club and identical male genitalia.

There has been a tendency to use misspellings that appear to be more orthographically correct ( P. agassizii in Parry 1870 , P. agassizi in Parry 1875 ) instead of the original spelling. Although LeConte likely formed his patronym for Agassiz by dropping the silent z to preserve the appropriate pronunciation, it could be argued that he was using a Latinized form of Louis Agassiz’ name such as ‘ Agassius’, so the spelling ‘ agassii ’ must be retained (International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature 1999, Article 31.1).

Distribution ( Fig. 25 ). CALIFORNIA: MENDOCINO: Caspar; Fort Bragg; Hendy Woods State Park; Mendocino; Pygmy Forest; Van Damme State Park. SAN MATEO: San Mateo. SONOMA: Plantation; Salt Point State Park.

Remarks. This species is distributed along the northern California coast at elevations less than 300 m. The holotype from ‘ San Mateo’ is from farther south than all subsequently collected specimens, with no other specimens from south of San Francisco Bay present in any collection examined, although such a distribution does not seem extraordinary. The greatest number of specimens is known from Mendocino County.

Males and females of P. agassii have a shortened, more oval body form ( Fig. 3 A) and smaller and more glabrous antennal clubs than most other species. The male genitalia ( Fig. 3 B) can only be confused with those of Platyceroides pacificus .

Figures

FIGURES 25 – 26. Distribution of Platyceroides species. 25, Platyceroides agassii species group: P. agassii (blue squares); P. pacificus (orange circles). 26, P. pampinatus group: P. infernus (blue squares); P. pampinatus (orange circles).

FIGURE 3 – 4. Platyceroides agassii species group, males. Platyceroides agassii: 3 A, dorsal habitus; 3 B, male genitalia. Platyceroides pacificus: 4 A, dorsal habitus; 4 B, flagellum of male genitalia.