Hydrocyphon rufithorax ( Gemminger, 1869 ) Gemminger, 1869

Ruta, Rafał, 2009, Revision of Scirtidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) described by Victor Ivanovitsch Motschulsky, Zootaxa 2210, pp. 26-50 : 35-37

Hydrocyphon rufithorax ( Gemminger, 1869) comb. nov.

( Figs. 5–6 , 40–45)

= Cyphon ruficollis Motschulsky, 1858: 63 ; nec Cyphon ruficollis Say, 1825 = Hydrocyphon ruficollis ( Motschulsky) : Motschulsky 1863: 486; 1869: 73 = Helodes ruficollis Motschulsky : Gemminger 1869: 125

= Helodes rufithorax Gemminger, 1869: 125

Type material. Holotype, male: [small red square label]; [small round yellow label]; “ Type ” [small rectangular label, handwritten]; [rectangular red label]; “ Hydrocyphon / ruficollis / Motsch / Ind. or. Ceyl. Mt. N.” [yellow rectangular label, handwritten]; deposited in ZMUM.

Additional material studied. Paralectotype of Scirtes axillaris Motsch. , in fact Hydrocyphon rufithorax , male: “ Scirtes / axillaris / Motsch. / Ind. or. Ceyl. Mt. Pat.” [yellow rectangulr label (reproduced)]; deposited in ZMUM. Paralectotype of Cyphon atratus , in fact Hydrocyphon rufithorax , female: “ Hydrocyphon / atratus / Motsch / Ind. or. Ceyl. Mt. N.” [yellow rectangular label (reproduced)]; deposited in ZMUM. Female: “ Sri Lanka (1700m) / Haputale 6.4.1981 / Jiri Kolibač leg.”; deposited in NHMB.

Diagnosis. The species belongs to the pallidicollis species-group, which is widely distributed in SE Asia, with several species known from the Western Palaearctic. Genitalia are similar to that of Hydrocyphon boukali Yoshitomi & Satô and Hydrocyphon keralaensis Yoshitomi & Satô , both known from India. Hydrocyphon rufithorax differs from those species in having short apodemes of sternite 9 and straight parameroids of penis.

Redescription. Holotype, male. Measurements: TL 2.15, EW 1.40, EL 1.80, PW 0.60, PL 0.35, HW 0.60, HL 0.30, interocular space 0.40, greatest depth of body 0.80.

FIGURES 40–45. Hydrocyphon rufithorax . 40) penis; 41) tegmen; 42) sternite 9; 43) tergite 8; 44) tergite 9; 45) prehensor. Scale bar = 0.1 (40–44).

Body relatively small, oval, somewhat depressed, covered with brownish setae. Elytra, meso- and metaventrite brown; head, pronotum, and prosternum red. Legs yellow, femora somewhat darker, brownish, mouthparts yellow, antennomeres 1–7 yellow, remaining brown. Body length 1.5X width.

Head width 2.0X length, 1.5X width of interocular space, with subtle but distinct punctation, eyes of moderate size, slightly protuberant. Antennae filiform (only 2 basal antennomeres present in the holotype), antennomeres 1 and 2 globular; length ratios of antennomeres 1.5: 1.0; L/W ratios of antennomeres 1.5, 1.0. Anterior clypeal margin slightly explanate, with anterolateral angles protruding. Labrum transverse, anterolateral angles rounded. Mandibles reduced, subtriangular, small and blunt. Apical maxillary palpomere minute.

Pronotum small, width 1.7X length, widest at base. Disc of pronotum with a very fine, hardly visible punctation. Posterior margin of pronotum bisinuate. Anterior angles rounded, posterior angles more or less straight. Lateral margins narrowing anteriorly. Pronotum slightly narrower than elytra. Scutellum subtriangular, with subtle punctation.

Elytra oval, without distinct ridges, with a subtle trace of adsutural stria, length 1.3X width and 5.1X length of pronotum, broadest in the middle of its length. Sides regularly converging to apex in posterior half. Humeri clearly evident. Punctation distinct, distance between punctures ca. 1.0 diameter. Epipleura regularly narrowing till apex. Hind wings fully developed.

Prosternal process elongate, very narrow, rod-shaped. Mesocoxae separated by a subparallel process (length ca. 4.0X width), metaventral discrimen present in posterior 3/4. Metaventrite short, ratio of ventrites’ lengths 1: 1.7: 1.7: 1.7: 1.5.

Male genitalia. Penis (L 0.41, W 0.14) symmetrical, with unpaired trigonium only slightly shorter than parameroids, tapering apically, parameroids straight, relatively narrow; tegmen (L 0.35, W 0.21) symmetrical, with relatively wide parameres and outwardly hooked apices; sternite 9 (L 0.32, W 0.24) with moderately long apodemes and sparse setae on apical margin; tergite 8 (L 0.24, W 0.32) very wide, apodemes short, apical margin with a row of very dense setae; tergite 9 (L 0.17, W 0.23) very wide, with short apodemes, devoide of setation on apical margin.

Female (based on the paralectotype of C. atratus and a specimen from NHMB). TL 2.03, no external differences between the male are noticeable. Ratio of ventrites’ lengths 1.0: 2.3: 2.3: 2.3: 2.8. Prehensor (L 0.20, W 0.15) small, as on Fig. 45.

Variability. TL of the second available male (syntype of S. axillaris ) 1.90.

Remarks. The species was reported as Hydrocyphon in Motschulsky 1863, and Motschulsky 1869 without any further comments.

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.