Mescirtes gagatinus Motschulsky, 1863 : 485

Ruta, Rafał, 2009, Revision of Scirtidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) described by Victor Ivanovitsch Motschulsky, Zootaxa 2210, pp. 26-50 : 37-38

Mescirtes gagatinus Motschulsky, 1863: 485

( Figs. 7–8 , 46–51 )

= Mescyrtes gagatinus Motschulsky: Motschulsky 1869: 73

Type material. Holotype, male: [small red square label]; [small yellow oval label]; “ Type ” [small rectangular label, handwritten]; [red rectangular label]; “ Mescirtes / gagatinus / Motsch / Ind. or. Ceyl. Mt. … [illegibly handwritten]” [yellow rectangular label, handwritten]; deposited in ZMUM.

Diagnosis. Body uniformly brownish black, antennae serrate, aedeagus asymmetrical.

Redescription. Holotype, male. Measurements: TL 2.30, EW 1.70, EL 1.85, PW 1.35, PL 0.55, HW 1.00, HL 0.45, interocular space 0.65, greatest depth of body 0.95.

Body small, oval, very convex, covered with setae which are easily broken and lacking in the holotype. Body dark brown, almost black, legs, antennae and mouthparts lighter, yellowish. Body length 1.4X width.

Head transverse, width 2.2X length, 1.5X width of interocular space, with subtle punctation, eyes large, moderately protuberant, situated close to anterolateral angles. Antennae serrate, antennomere 1 broad with a sharp ridge on anterior edge, 2 small, globular, 3 reduced, minute, antennomeres 4–6 triangular, broad, remaining lacking in the holotype, length ratios of antennomeres 6.0: 2.5: 1.0: 8.0: 8.0: 8.0; L/W ratios of antennomeres 1.2, 0.9, 0.7, 1.3, 1.3, 1.3. Anterior clypeal margin emarginate, anterolateral angles explanate, labrum narrow, much narrower than clypeus, width ca. 1.5X length, with rounded anterolateral angles and slightly emarginate apical margin. Mandibles symmetrical, with subtriangular denticles on mesal edges.

Pronotum width 2.5X length, pronotum widest at base. Disc of pronotum with fine punctation similar to that on head. Posterior margin of pronotum bisinuate. Anterior angles slightly protruding, posterior angles almost straight. Lateral margins straight, slightly narrowing anteriorly. Scutellum subtriangular, almost impunctate.

Elytra oval, length 1.1X width and 3.4X as long as pronotum, broadest in the middle of its length. Sides rounded, regularly converging to apex in posterior half. Humeri clearly evident. Punctation fine, distance between punctures ca. 1.5–2.0 diameters. Epipleura narrow, slightly narowed behind metaventrite, present till apex. Hind wings fully developed.

Prosternal process short, about twice as long as wide, with rounded apex. Mesocoxae separated by a short and broad process (as long as wide) bifid apically, metaventral discrimen present in apical 2/3. Ratio of ventrites’ lengths: 1.0: 2.7: 2.5: 2.5: 3.3.

Male genitalia. Penis (L 0.43, W 0.08) with a pair of long, slightly curved ventrally, very narrow projections (parameroids?) and a pair of short, wide dorsal projections; tegmen (L 0.45, W 0.22) oval, with wide lateral arms (parameres) rounded at apices; sternite 8 (L 0.20, W 0.15) reduced, U-shaped; sternite 9 (L 0.27, W 0.27) small, plate-like, with relatively long straight setae at apical margin; tergite 8 (L 0.42, W 0.38) transverse, with relatively short apodemes and sparse minute setae at apical margin; tergite 9 (L 0.33, W 0.22) with relatively longer apodemes, and fine setation at apex.

Female unknown.

Remarks. The habitus and male genitalia of M. gagatinus are almost identical with those of Prionocyphon laosensis Yoshitomi & Satô, 2003 . The synonymization of both species would be premature, as several related forms are known to the author. A revision of related species, hardly distinguishable on the basis of male genitalia is currently being prepared by the author.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 8. Habitus illustrations. 1) Cyphon atratus; 2) Cyphon ovalis; 3) Cyphon flavescens, male; 4) Cyphon flavescens, female; 5) Hydrocyphon rufithorax, male; 6) Hydrocyphon rufithorax, female; 7) Mescirtes gagatinus; 8) Mescirtes gagatunus, close-up. Scale bar = 1.0.

FIGURES 46 – 51. Mescirtes gagatinus. 46) penis; 47) tegmen; 48) sternite 8; 49) sternite 9; 50) tergite 8; 51) tergite 9. Scale bar = 0.1.