Scelimena melli Günther, 1938

Lao, Chuangyu, Kasalo, Niko, Gao, Fan, Deng, Weian & Skejo, Josip, 2022, Review of the Chinese species of the genus Scelimena Serville, 1838 (Tetrigidae Scelimeninae: Scelimenini), Zootaxa 5200 (4), pp. 321-343 : 329

1. Scelimena melli Günther, 1938 ( Figs. 3 , 4 , 5 )

Scelimena mellii Günther, 1938 (type locality PR CHINA); Zheng, 2005; Deng, 2016; Ding et al., 2017, Zha et al., 2017.

Scelimena brevispina Cao et Zheng, 2011 (type locality PR CHINA: Sichuan (Emei Shan), holotype ♀, deposited in the Institute of Zoology , Shaanxi Normal University, Shaanxi, PR China; examined); syn. nov.

Eufalconoides guizhouensis Zheng et Shi, 2006 (type locality PR CHINA: Guizhou: Chishui, holotype ♀ nymph and paratype ♀ nymph, deposited in the Institute of Zoology , Shaanxi Normal University, Shaanxi, PR China; examined); syn. nov.

Scelimena wulingshana Zheng, 1993 (type locality PR CHINA: Hubei: Lichuan, holotype ♂, deposited in the Institute of Zoology, Shaanxi Normal University, Shaanxi, PR China; examined); Zheng, 2005; syn. nov.

Type locality: Guangdong [originally ‘Canton’] ( Günther 1938).

Type material examined. Holotype ♀, deposited in the Staatliches Museum für Tierkunde, Dresden, Germany, digitalized in OSF ( Cigliano et al. 2022).

Justification of the synonymies. Scelimena guizhouensis / Eufalonoides guizhouensis from Guizhou represents a nymph of Scelimena melli ( Fig. 5 ), which is evident from the widened hind tibiae and tarsi, as well as elevated pronotal projections. Scelimena brevispina ( Fig. 4a ) from Sichuan represents a synonym of S. melli , the same as it in all the characters except for the shorter spines. Shortened spines fit the known variability of the species. After the examination of Scelimena wulingshana , i.e., the specimen from Sichuan that was identified by Zhemin Zheng (shown in Fig. 4b ) from Hubei and Sichuan, it is also clear that this specimen represents S. melli and it even has asymmetry in the direction of lateral spines. Namely, the right spine is directed forwards, while the left one is directed outward.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Scelimena melli Günther, 1938, adult male in natural habitat in Nanping, Fujian, PR China. Photo by Fan Gao (July 14th 2020).

FIGURE 4. Adults of Scelimena melli Günther, 1938. Holotype female of Scelimena brevispina Cao et Zheng, 2011, syn. nov. from Sichuan: (a) Lateral view, (b) Dorsal view, and (c) Labels. Male specimen of Scelimena wulingshana Zheng, 1993, syn. nov. from Sichuan identified by Zheng Z.M.: (c) Lateral view, (d) Dorsal view, and (e) Labels.

FIGURE 5. Nymphs of Scelimena melli Günther, 1938. Holotype of Eufalconoides guizhouensis Zheng et Shi, 2006, syn. nov. (currently Scelimena guizhouensis): (a) Lateral view, (b) Dorsal view, and (c) Labels. Paratype of the same species: (d) Lateral view, (e) Dorsal view, and (f) Labels.