Peltonotus morio Burmeister, 1847

Jameson, Mary Liz & Wada, Kaoru, 2004, Revision of the genus Peltonotus Burmeister (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae) from Southeastern Asia, Zootaxa 502 (1), pp. 1-66 : 28-30

Peltonotus morio Burmeister

( Figs. 8–9 , 16 , 44a–c , 56 , 65 )

Peltonotus morio Burmeister 1847: 75 . Neotype male at RIEB labeled: a) “NEPAL­HIMALAYA, 10.5.1993, Chhachok Madi­Khola, Gandaki (Kashki­Destr.) 1300m, leg. D. Ahrens” (typeface), b) “ Peltonotus morio Burmeister 1847 , Neotype det. M.E. Jameson and K. Wada 2004” (handwrittend and typeface). Neotype here designated. Burmeister (1847) named P. morio based on a male specimen in the Kirby collection (The Natural History Museum, London) from “Nepaul (Gen. Hardwicke)” ( Nepal, General Hardwicke). With the help of curators, we tried to locate the type specimen in several institutions including: the Institut für Zoologie, Martin­ Luther­Universität, Halle, Germany; Hope Entomological Collections, Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Great Britain; and BMNH. The specimen was not found and no specimens with similar data were found. One specimen from BMNH had one label with "Hardwicke bequest", but no other data. We cannot assume that this was the specimen used by Burmeister to name P. morio . Lacking other evidence, we can only conclude that the type has been lost. We selected a male specimen from Nepal for the neotype specimen. According the collector of the specimen, Dirk Arhens (Deutsches Entomologisches Institut, Eberswalde, Germany), the coordinates for this locality are 28°16'N, 84°05'E.

Peltonotus morio sawaii Miyake 2000: 112–113 . Holotype not found in RIEB. Four paratypes examined at RIEB. According to Miyake (2000), the holotype of P. morio sawaii was deposited in RIEB, but we were unable to locate it. NEW SYNONYMY.

Description (males=23, females=27). Length 14.0–18.0 mm. Widest width 7.4–9.4 mm. Color: Male and female ( Fig. 8–9 ): Dorsum, venter, and appendages black or castaneous; dorsum shining. Head ( Fig. 16 ): Surface of frons sparsely punctate at base to densely punctate at apex; punctures simple, unisetigerous; setae rufous, moderately long or long. Surface of clypeus at base densely punctate to confluently punctate at apex; punctures simple, unisetigerous; setae rufous, moderately long or long. Clypeus with apex rectangular, corners rounded, weakly beaded. Labrum weakly bilobed at middle. Mandibles of male quadrate laterally with broad, truncate apex; inner apex lacking teeth. Mandibles of female rounded laterally, inner apex with 2 teeth. Mentum with apical half quadrate, weakly notched at middle; palpomere 2 simple, subequal in width to palpomere 1, lacking setae. Maxilla: mala lacking lamellate setal brush; stipes with setae moderately dense, long, not flattened, not curled at apex; palpomere 2 without internomedial bump. Antennal club subequal to segments 2–7. Pronotum: Bead obscure at middle. Surface moderately densely punctate, less so at midline; punctures simple, lacking setae. Lateral margin unisetigerous; setae moderately long or long. Elytral sutural length: About 4.3 times length of scutellum. Elytra: Surface with 3–5 poorly developed, punctate, longitudinal striae between suture and humerus; punctures moderate in size, moderately dense, coriaceous at apices. Intervals with similar sculpturing. Epipleuron of female ( Fig. 56 ) in ventral view parallel­sided, weakly incised at apex; in dorsal view expansion moderately developed. Propygidium: Surface coriaceous (male) and moderately densely punctate; punctures simple, unisetigerous; setae moderately long and long, rufous. Pygidium: Surface coriaceous and unisetigerously punctate; punctures simple or ocellate, moderately dense; setae long, rufous, most abundant at apex. Venter: Prosternal keel inverted Ushaped; apex projecting anteriorly at about 70° with respect to ventral plane; apex produced to 1/3 of protrochanter, rounded. Legs: Foretibia of male tridentate (basal tooth weakly developed); lateral margin lacking short, dense setae. Foretarsomere 5 of male slightly longer than tarsomeres 1–4 in dorsal view; foretarsomere 3–4 with apices broadly expanded, ventral apices clothed with dense, short setae. Foreclaws of male with inner claw greatly curved (sickle­shaped), about 5 times thicker than outer claw; outer claw about 1/3 the length of inner claw; empodium bulbous at base. Foreclaws of female 3/4 length of foretarsomere 5, angled weakly toward venter. Meso­ and metatibial claws of male with 2–3 setae (mesotarsus) or 3 setae (metatarsus). Metatibia of male with recurved apical spurs; ventral spur produced to apex of metatarsomere 1, dorsal spur produced to apex of metatarsomere 2. Parameres: Fig. 44a–c .

Diagnosis. Peltonotus morio is most similar in external characters to P. nasutus , but the two are easily separated based on the lack of a small tubercle at the apex of the clypeus in P. morio (tubercle present in males of P. nasutus [ Fig. 17 ]), punctation of the pygidium (ocellate in P.morio ; simple in P. nasutus ), incomplete pronotal bead (complete in P. nasutus ), form of the male genitalia ( Fig. 45a–c versus Fig. 46a–c ), and form of the female epipleuron ( Fig. 56 versus Fig. 57 ). The two species share the bilobed form of the labrum, quadrate form of the mentum, empodium with 2–3 setae, and form of the mandible.

Distribution ( Fig. 65 ). Northeastern India (states of Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim, West Bengal), Nepal, Bhutan, and Thailand.

Locality records (50 specimens) from ZMHB, USNM, MLJC, RIEB, WADA .

BHUTAN (10): No data.

INDIA (19): Manipur State (1): No data . Meghalaya State (2): Khasis Hills. Sikkim State (15): Pedong, No data. West Bengal State (1): Darjeeling.

NEPAL (2): Chhachok (28°16'N, 84°05'E), No data .

THAILAND (9): Chiang Mai Province (9): Doi Suthep.

NO DATA (10).

Temporal Data. May (6), June (1).

Natural History. Label data indicate that this species was collected at 1300 m elevation.

Remarks. Miyake (2000) described the subspecies P. morio sawaii and characterized it as differing from the nominotypical P. morio (from Nepal) based on two characters: elytral striae more strongly punctate (finely striate in P. morio ) and elytral intervals coarsely punctate (finely punctate in P. morio ). The subspecies was described based on five specimens from Doi Suthep, north Thailand. We examined nine specimens of P. morio from Doi Suthep and found that punctation of the elytral striae and elytral intervals was within the range of variation for the species. In addition, characters of the male and female genitalia, epipleuron of the female, foretibia of the male, mouthparts, and setae were all within the range of variation for P.morio . Based on these characters, we consider P. morio sawaii to be conspecific with P.morio , and we synonymize the subspecies name.

Most specimens of this species that we studied were collected prior to 1900 and lack temporal data.

Abdullah and Roohi (1969) reported P.morio from Bangladesh (“ east Pakistan ”). The species is likely present in this region, but we studied no specimens from this country. Abdullah and Roohi (1969) reported the species in the tribe Peltonotini (Rutelinae) .

Berlin ( ZMHB) has one female specimen of P. morio with the label; " Peltonotus scutellatus Prell, ♀, type " (red label, handwritten). This name does not appear in the literature and is not a type .

Figures

FIGURE 65. Distribution of Peltonotus species in Southeast Asia and Sundaland.

FIGURES 2–13. Dorsal habitus of: 2–4) P. fujiokai (males), 5) P. fujiokai (female), 6) P. malayensis (male), 7) P. malayensis (female), 8) P. morio (male), 9) P. morio (female), 10) P. nasutus (male), 11) P.nasutus (female), 12) P. vittatus (male), 13) P. vittatus (female).

FIGURES 14–18. Head (dorsal view) showing characters of the labrum, mandible, and clypeus. 14) P.karubei (apex of labrum deeply, narrowly emarginated; apex of mandible rounded laterally), 15) P. malayensis (apex of labrum broadly emarginate; apex of mandible rounded laterally), 16) P. morio (apex of labrum bilobed; apex of mandible quadrate laterally with broadly truncate apex; apex of clypeus without tubercle in male), 17) P. nasutus (apex of labrum bilobed; apex of mandible quadrate laterally with broadly truncate apex; apex of clypeus with weak tubercle in male), 18) P. vittatus (apex of labrum broadly emarginate; apex of mandible obliquely quadrate laterally).

FIGURES 43–45. Male genitalia in dorsal (parameres only [a]) and lateral views (parameres and phallobase [b–c]) of: 43) P. malayensis, 44) P.morio, 45) P. nasutus.

FIGURES 56–60. Elytral epipleuron (gray, ventral view) with position of metacoxa of: 56) P. morio, 57) P.nasutus, 58) P. nethis, 59) P. pruinosus, 60) P.rubripennis.

FIGURES 46–48. Male genitalia in dorsal (parameres only [a]) and lateral views (parameres and phallobase [b–c]) of: 46) P.rubripennis, 47) P. silvanus, 48) P. similis.