Tetragonoderus laevigatus Chaudoir, 1876

Shpeley, Danny & Ball, George E., 2008, Taxonomic review of the Neotropical Tetragonoderus quadriguttatus assemblage (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Cyclosomini) with description of T. deuvei, new species, and new West Indian and Nearctic locality records, Insecta Mundi 2008 (50), pp. 1-16 : 7-9

Tetragonoderus laevigatus Chaudoir

Fig. 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A-B, 6 and 7

Tetragonoderus laevigatus Chaudoir : 1876: 46. Type Material: HOLOTYPE, male, labeled: “TYPE” [red paper]; “ Tetragonoderus / laevigatus/ J. Mateu det. 1979” [MNHP]. Type Area: Montevideo, Uruguay. — Csiki 1932: 1298.— Blackwelder 1944: 52.— Lorenz 2005: 453.

Tetragonoderus unicolor Chaudoir : 1876: 47. Type Material: LECTOTYPE (here designated) male, without labels (see “Notes about type material” below). Type Area: state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Junior homonym of Tetragonoderus unicolor Gemminger and Harold : 1868: 144. — Csiki 1932: 1296.— Blackwelder 1944: 52.— Lorenz 2005: 453.

Tetragonoderus chaudoiri Liebke : 1928: 129. Replacement name for Tetragonoderus unicolor Chaudoir : 1876: 47. — Csiki 1932: 1296.— Blackwelder 1944: 52.— Lorenz 2005: 453. NEW SYNONOMY.

Notes about type material. In the MNHP is a

single specimen associated with the box label

“ laevigatus Chaudoir Montevideo Livori Mus de

Genoa” which is the holotype. Additionally, in the

MNHP associated with the box label “unicolor

Chaud. Brésil Mines Geraës Squires” are two speci-

mens, a male and a female. Chaudoir in his origi-

nal description stated he had two examples from

the province of Rio de Janeiro, collected by Squires.

The specimens associated with the box label were

collected by Squires, and the assumption is that

the wrong locality data were placed on the box

label (Mines Geraës [sic], rather than Rio de

Janeiro Province). The male specimen is selected

and here designated as LECTOTYPE. The male

lectotype of T. unicolor was dissected, and the

genitalia match those of T. laevigatus . Addition-

ally, the elytral microsculpture of T. unicolor

matches that of T. laevigatus . Hence these names

are synonymous.

Recognition. See the key, and figures noted above. The broad phallus with broadly triangular apical area is definitive. Specimens of this species Figure 5. Line drawings of male genitalia of with unicolorous elytra could be confused with Tetragonoderus species. A , C, E and G, dorsal aspect; B, other southern South American Tetragonoderus D, F and H, right lateral aspect. A-B) T. laevigatus species exhibiting this feature, for example, T. Chaudoir. C-D) T. deuvei , new species. E-F) T. viridis Dejean and T. chalceus Chaudoir. How- quadriguttatus Dejean. G-H) T. subfasciatus Putzeys.

Legend: aa, apical area; bl, basal lobe; bo, basal opening; ever, specimens of these two species have dark

ea, endophallic armature; ma, median area; om, ostial legs, rather than the pale ones characteristic of membrane; oo, ostial opening; poa, periostial area; and the quadriguttatus assemblage. Further, males sh, shaft. Scale bar = 1 mm. of T. viridis and T. chalceus have only midtarsomeres 1-3 with adhesive vestiture (tarsomeres 1-4 of mid-tarsus with adhesive vestiture in the quadriguttatus assemblage), and abdominal sternum VII is slightly emarginate medially in T. viridis (distinctly notched in quadriguttatus assemblage males). Male specimens of T. chalceus have abdominal sternum VII rounded, not notched.

Description. See Table 1 for values for standardized body length (SBL) and ratios Hl/Hw and Pl/Pw.

Elytra. Bicolored (Fig. 2A) or uniformly dark, with microsculpture mesh pattern isodiametric, sculpticells relatively uniform (Fig. 3A and 4A); discal setigerous punctures relatively small, not foveate.

Male genitalia. Phallus (Fig. 5A and 5B) in dorsal aspect broad, relatively straight, medial area of shaft widened from its base to periostial area, and narrowed markedly distad rather broadly triangular short apical area, apex obtusely pointed; periostial area short, less than one third length of shaft; in lateral aspect shaft moderately angled, surface without or with parallel ridges (indicated in Fig. 5A by scalloped margins of distal part of median area and proximal part of periostial area), apical area short, moderately triangular; ventral surface smooth. Endophallus, inverted, with prominent microtrichial field, band-like in appearance in both dorsal and right lateral aspects, within medial area.

Notes about variation. A single specimen of T. laevigatus from Paraguay exhibits the same type of elytral microsculpture mesh pattern as observed in T. quadriguttatus . The Paraguay specimen is a male, and the species determination was established on the basis of its genitalic features.

Of the total material examined, only two specimens from Brazil and four from Paraguay had the pale markings of the elytra much darker than typical (Fig. 2 A), and the holotype of T. unicolor and five

Montevideo, Uruguay specimens had completely

dark elytra with no visible pale markings.

Collecting notes and habitat. In Florida, one

specimen was taken on a Datura Linnaeus (Solan-

aceae) plant, others in a residential backyard, and

in a sandy/grassy community area. In Bolivia,

specimens were collected during daylight in an

unshaded sand pit, resting among the roots of dead,

standing plants, and in tropical transition forest,

in leaf litter. These sites were about a kilometer

from the nearest permanent water source. Other

Floridian and South American specimens were

taken at UV and mercury vapor lights.

Geographical distribution. (Fig. 6-7). The

natural geographical range (Fig. 5) of this species

extends from southern Uruguay and central Ar-

gentina northward to mid-central Brazil on the

Atlantic coast, and along the southern and west-

ern edges of the Amazon basin. The Florida records

( Fig. 7 ) probably represent a recent point intro-

duction, probably through commerce, with subse-

quent dispersal by flight. We postulate then, that

T. laevigatus is established in Florida, with the

likelihood of further range expansion.

Figures

Figure 7. Map illustrating known distribution of Tetragonoderus quadriguttatus complex in southern Florida, the West Indies and northern Colombia.