Adocimus (Adocimus) bellus Murray, 1864

Kirejtshuk, Alexander G. & Kovalev, Alexey V., 2022, Monograph on the Cillaeinae (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) from the Australian Region with comments on the taxonomy of the subfamily, Zootaxa 5103 (1), pp. 1-133 : 17-21

5. Adocimus (Adocimus) bellus Murray, 1864

Figs 1 , A–K

Adocimus bellus Murray, 1664: 311 , t. 36, f. 5. Mysol (near “Ceram”);

= Adocimus nigripennis Reitter, 1880a: 125 , syn. nov.: New Guinea (“Hatam”);

= Adocimus dimidiatus Reitter, 1877: 127 , syn. nov.: New Guinea.

Specimens examined. Type specimens: holotype of Adocimus bellus , male ( NHML)—“ bella ”, “M”; lectotype of A. nigripenis , male ( MCNG), here designated—“N. Guinea, Hatam, Beccari, 1875”, “ Adocimus nigripennis Reitt. ” (handwritten by? E. Reitter) and 9 paralectotypes ( MCNG)—with the labels as under the lectotype (one female also with labels “903” and “ Betdocimus nigripennis n. sp. Reitter” handwritten by R. Gestro); 1 paralectotype of A. nigripenis , male ( IRSN)—“N. Guinea, Hatam, Beccari, 1875”, “ Adocinus nigripennis Reitt. ” (handwritten); 3 paralectotypes of A. nigripenis , male ( MNHN)—“N. Guinea, Hatam, Beccari, 1875”, “ Adocinus bellus Murr., N. Guinea", “ Adocinus nigripennis ex ty. Reitter” (handwritten by A. Grouvelle), “coll. Grouvelle”; 2 paralectotypes of A. nigripennis , females ( MNHN)—“N. Guinea, Hatam, Beccari, 1875”, “ Adocimus nigripennis m.” (handwritten by Reitter), “Typ Reitter”, “coll. Oberthur”; 3 exx. (syntypes of Adocimus dimidiatus ) ( MNHN)—"N. Guinea, Hatam, Beccari, 1875", “ Adocimus dimidiatus m.” (handwritten by E. Reitter), “Typ Reitter”, “coll. Oberthur.” Other specimens: Indonesia: West Papua: 1 ex ( MNHN)—“N. Guinea, Hatam, Beccari, 1875”, “ Adocinus ? bellus Murr. ” (handwritten by A. Grouvelle), “coll. Grouvelle”; 1 ex ( SMNS)—“ Irian Jaya: Jayawijaya, Borme, 1000–1300 m, 13– 18.8.1992, A. Riedel”; 1 ex ( SMNS)—“ Irian Jaya: prov. Jayawijaya, Suma–Uam, 100-1000 m, 26– 27.1.1994, A. Riedel”; 1 ex ( ZIN)—“ Irian Jaya: prov. Jayawijaya, Wamena, Angguruk, 1600–1700 m, 21./27./ 30.9.1991, A. Riedel”; 2 exx ( ZMB, ZIN)—“Hatam, Doria”, “58195” (“58196”). Papua New Guinea: 2 exx ( NHML, ZIN)— “New Guinea: Madang Dist., Finistrerre Mts., Budemu c. 40 000 ft, 15–24.x.1964 ”, “Stn. N 52.”

Notes. R. Poggi found time and attention to generously provide the authors with very valuable information on the specimens of this species (in addition to the type series of “ Adocinus nigripennis ”) in the collection of MCNG, which includes 28 specimens of A. bellus and nine specimens of A. dimidiatus were identified by E. Reitter and then revised by Grouvelle. All these specimens have the same label as the type series of Adocinus nigripennis : “N. Guinea, Hatam, VII.1875, Beccari” (only one specimen of A. bellus is labeled “Nuova Guinea, Andai, 1872, L.M. D'Albertis”). Thus, it could be supposed that all or the most examined specimens from Hatam could be brought by the same collector (O. Beccari). The syntypes of Adocinus dimidiatus are almost certainly authentic and the lectotype for this name can be designated among them.

Notes on synonymy. The type specimens of three synonyms have been studied with conclusion on an evident conspecificity of these specimens, while the original description of Adocimus dimidiatus syn. nov. also makes it possible to regard this lastly mentioned name as synonyms of two others. In particular, taking into consideration of the variability of this species two sentences of the description of A. dimidiatus syn. nov. give a base for such a conclusion: “Flügeldecken etwas länger als zusammen breit, die hintere Hälfte schwarz, die gelbe Färbung von der dunkeln nicht sehr scharf begrenzt, die letztere an der Naht etwas nach vorne erweitert, die Scheibe undeutlich schräg gestreift, der Hinterrand ist sehr subtil gerandet” ( Reitter 1877: 127–128); and also “Mit A. bellus nahe verwandt, aber schon durch die Färbung der Flügeldecken verschieden.” ( Reitter 1877: 128). A small doubt of the authentity of the type specimens of Adocimus dimidiatus exists, as the studied specimens from Oberthur collection with the labels “Hatam, Beccari", “ Adocimus dimidiatus m.” (see above) could be authentic ones that were mentioned in the original description as initially deposited in the E. Reitter’s collection (“In der Sammlung des Herrn Dr. C. A. Dohrn, und in meiner” ( Reitter 1877: 128). Reitter sold a considerable part of his personal collection to Oberthur or to MNHN, where the syntypes of Adocimus dimidiatus were found during the current studies, however, the types of species collected by Beccari had to be deposited in MCNG. Unfortunately, this contradiction seems to remain unsolved forever.

As to Adocinus nigripennis, Reitter (1880a: 125) wrote on the locality of its type series: “Hatam, im Juli 1875 von Beccari” and about its diagnosis: “Dem Adocimus bellus Murray sehr ähnlich, aber die Flugeldecken sind einfarbig schwarz, an den Seiten nicht mit feinen Langslinien sondern mit zarten Punktreihen; der Kopf ist deutlich punctirt, ebenso die oberen Analsegmente stärker mit Punkten besetzt.” Thus, it could be supposed that the type specimens of both ( Adocimus dimidiatus and A. nigripennis ) originated from the same series, and these type specimens are different only in the body coloration, but other characters of them completely correspond to the essential characters in the holotype of A. bellus . The forms of coloration in Adocinus bellus were described as separate species: 1. form bellus with black most part of elytra but with yellowish prescutellar areas of them; 2. form dimidiatus with only distal half of elytra black; 3. form nigripennis with completely black elytra. However, the specimens currently examined and re-examined show that these characters are not enough distinct to recognize them as clear morphotypes.

Diagnosis. This species is very distinctive due to its wider body with strongly reduced punctation and sculpture of integument, rather wide and heavily sclerotized ligula, subparallel-sided flattened median plate of prosternal process behind procoxae, peculiar structure of tibiae and heavily sclerotized aedeagus.

Redescription. Length of body with abdomen 7.0–11.0, length without abdomen 4.6–8.0, width 1.0–2.3, height ca. 1.0 mm. Elongate oval, slightly convex dorsally and ventrally; yellowish to bright light reddish, usually with more or less darkened antennal club and elytra (sometimes only distally), rarely also pronotum and head, or in some cases whole body completely unicolorous; body shining and nearly glabrous (but under high magnification dorsum with very short and very fine hairs, frequently forming on elytra longitudinal rows, and also more conspicuous hairs observable on hypopygidium).

Head and pronotum with extremely fine and very sparse shallow punctures and without trace of microsculpture between them; elytra with at most extremely weak to obsolete and slightly oblique striae, frequently partly coordinated with shallow and very fine and sparse punctures (punctures usually traced in 3–5 adsutural remains of striae or completely absent); exposed abdominal dorsal sclerites with shallow and fine punctures, and smoothly alutaceous. Underside thoracic sclerites and abdominal ventrites 1–4 with extremely fine and extremely sparse punctures (or even not expressed along middle), interspaces between punctures smooth; hypopygydium with more expressed punctures, interspaces between them with weak mesh microreticulation or alutation.

Head slightly and evenly convex, widest at eyes and rather arcuately narrowing posteriorly. Labrum with widely rounded anterior edge, about 3.0 × as wide as long. Mandibles with three teeth at apex, anterior edge arcuate and sharply angular at side. Pregenal processes comparatively narrow and arcuately curved. Terminal maxillary palpomere about 2.0 × as long as thick and narrowing apically; terminal labial palpomere less than 2.0 × as long as thick and narrowing apically. Mentum rather widened anteriorly and with strongly projecting and wide anterior angles, nearly 4.0 × as wide as long. Arcuate antennal grooves arcuately convergent and expressed only between eyes and pregenal processes. Antennae nearly as long as head width, scape moderately swollen and about 2.0 × as long as each of antennomeres 2 and 3, antennomere 2 (pedicel) in thickness with antennomere 3, oblong to subparallel-sided club slightly less than third of total antennal length, almost 2.0 × as long as wide and with antennomeres 9 and 10 comparable in width and length, and somewhat wider and longer than antennomere 11, apex of terminal antennomere subtruncate.

Pronotum strongly vaulted at sides and subflattened on disk, clearly wider than long, somewhat narrowed anteriorly and subtrapezoid with slightly arcuate lateral edges, anterior edge nearly straight and posterior edge moderately convex. Scutellar shield subpentagonal, much more than 2.0 × as wide as long. Elytra subparallel-sided, slightly longer than their combined width, rather steeply sloping at sides. Abdomen about as wide as pronotum, usually with distal half of segment 4 exposed dorsally and with narrow preapical part of laterosternite, laterosternites V and VI rather narrow and subparallel-sided in posterior two thirds; each of tergites V and VI about 2.5 × as wide as long; postbasal lines of exposed tergites behind elytral apices sharply expressed and their lateral ends disappeared just behind spiracles or sometimes reaching posterior edge of tergites. Pygidium clearly transverse, widely rounded, in male evenly rounded and in females sparsely and serrate at apex.

Median plate of prosternum arcuately widened anteriorly from prosternal process. Prosternal process strongly widened before subtruncate apex with median flattened plate subparallel-sided behind procoxae. Distance between procoxae markedly greater than length of antennal club, and nearly 2.0 × smaller than that between mesocoxae and subequal with that between metacoxae. Metaventrite subflattened and with clear discrimen in distal two thirds, anterior and posterior edges between coxae straight. Metepisterna gradually narrowing posteriorly and at base somewhat wider than mesotarsomere 1. Abdominal ventrite 1 more than 1.5 × as long as ventrite 2; ventrite 3 slightly longer than ventrite 2 and ventrite 4 slightly shorter than ventrite 1. Male hypopygidium of male transverse, about 2.5 × as wide as long, subarcuate in outline and shallowly emarginate at apex and female hypopygidium about 2.0 × as wide as long and convex at apex.

Pro- and mesofemora of usual shape and nearly about 2.0 × as wide as corresponding tibiae; metafemur 2.5 × as wide as metatibia. Tibiae not dorsoventrally compressed, particularly protibia. Protibia narrow and with dilated outer apical angle, about as wide as or slightly wider than antennal club, finely serrate along most part of outer edge and coarsely and densely serrate along apical dilatation or with few additional teeth on lower side of preapical dilatation and apical lower side, two spines along lower edge of apex and with one short and very strong spur curved inwards. Meso- and metatibiae not pubescent, somewhat wider than protibia, without row of spines along outer edge, and with moderately long and stout spur. Tarsi with tarsomeres 1–3 narrowly lobed, claws simple and narrow.

Male anal sclerite with widely rounded and serrate apex bearing ten teeth. Aedeagus heavily sclerotized and small, tegmen widely rounded at unsetose apex; penis trunk about as long as tegmen and widely rounded at apex and slightly excised in middle, inner sac of penis with two pairs of moderately sclerotized, very long and very thin spicula: one pair of longer spicula (about 2.5 × as long as tegmen) joined at base by wide commissura and another pair of shorter spicula (somewhat longer than tegmen) fused by distal ends and proximal ends connected with longer proximal ends. Ovipositor moderately to heavily sclerotized, gonocoxites with distinct separation of inner and outer lobes, acuminate at apex and with moderately long styli distant from apex about 2.0 × more than length of styli.

Distribution. This species is known from New Guinea and Misool.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Adocimus (Adocimus) bellus, orig. Specimens from Indonesian New Guinea; A, C–E: male, typical form (“Hatam, Doria”); H–J: male, typical form (“…Suma-Uam…”); B: female, unicolorous form (“… Hatam, Beccari, 1875”); K: female, typical form (“… Madang Dist., Finistrerre Mts…”); A: body, male, dorsal (typical form); B: body, female, dorsal (unicolorous form); C-K: typical form—C: head, dorsal; D: head and thorax, ventral; E: lateral side of abdominal segments 5 and 6, dorsal; F: apex of terminal abdominal segment of male with exposed serrate apex of anal sclerite, ventral; G: apex of terminal abdominal segment of female with serrate apex of pygidium, ventral; H: tegmen, ventral; I: penis trunk, dorsal; J: proximal part of inner sac with armature; K: ovipositor, ventral. Scale bars: a = 2.0 mm to Fig. A and 2.3 mm to Fig. B; b = 1.0 mm to Figs C–E; с = 0.5 mm to Figs F–K.