Derocrania (Derocrania) scitiscabra (Walker, 1859)

Abeywardhana, Lakmini, Mallawarachchi, Yashas & Dangalle, Chandima Deepani, 2021, The arboreal tiger beetles (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae) of Sri Lanka recorded from recent investigations, Zootaxa 5068 (3), pp. 378-398 : 390-391

Derocrania (Derocrania) scitiscabra (Walker, 1859)

Material examined: ♂ (n = 2), ♀ (n = 1), ( DOZE / UOCSL / LA001 , DOZE / UOCSL / LA002 , DOZE / UOCSL / LA003 ) , 7.3998°N, 80.1760°E, Dambadeniya , Kurunegala District, North-Western Province, Sri Lanka, 69.5 m, 22 September 2017, D.L. Abeywardhana, on trunks of coconut trees in a coconut plantation .

♂ (n = 1), ( DOZE / UOCSL / LA004 ), 7.4973°N, 81.2452°E, Thoppigala , Batticaloe District, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, 522 m, 2 September 2017, A. Thotagamuwa, forest path .

♂ (n = 2), ♀ (n = 1), ( DOZE / UOCSL / LA005 , DOZE / UOCSL / LA007 , DOZE / UOCSL / LA006 ), 6.6255°N, 80.6462°E, Opanayaka , Ratnapura District, Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka, 406.2 m, 5 January 2018, D.L. Abeywardhana, tea estate .

♂ (n = 1), ♀ (n = 1), ( DOZE / UOCSL / LA010 , DOZE / UOCSL / LA011 ), 7.6912°N, 80.2628°E, Mahawa , Kurunegala District, North-Western Province, Sri Lanka, 74 m, 23 February 2018, D.L. Abeywardhana, on trunks of coconut trees in a coconut plantation .

♂ (n = 1), ( DOZE / UOCSL / LA012 ), 7.6189°N, 80.5473°E, Malsiripura , Kurunegala District, North-Western Province, Sri Lanka, 182 m, 2 March 2018, D.L. Abeywardhana, on trunks of coconut trees of a pepper and coconut agro-ecosystem .

♂ (n = 2), ( DOZE / UOCSL / LA013 , DOZE / UOCSL / LA014 ), 6.5851°N, 80.8952°E, Pokunuthanna , Moneragala District, Uva Province, Sri Lanka, 151 m, 15 March 2018, A. Thotagamuwa, forest .

♀ (n = 2), ( DOZE / UOCSL / LA018 , DOZE / UOCSL / LA019 ), 7.1759°N, 81.2964°E, Bibile , Moneragala District, Uva Province, Sri Lanka, 253.4 m, 15 May 2018, D.L. Abeywardhana, on trees of a home garden and associated area .

♂ (n = 1), ♀ (n = 1), ( DOZE / UOCSL / LA021 , DOZE / UOCSL / LA020 ), 7.7625°N, 81.1555°E, Aralaganwila , Polonnaruwa District, North-Central Province, Sri Lanka, 85.8 m, 13 July 2018, D.L. Abeywardhana, amongst betel vines of a home garden .

♀ (n = 1), ( DOZE / UOCSL / LA022 ), 9.1865°N, 80.1501°E, Vellankulam , Mannar District, Northern Province, Sri Lanka, 23.4 m, 5 August 2018, D.L. Abeywardhana, on trunks and branches of mango and cashew trees in a fruit farm .

♀ (n = 1), ( DOZE / UOCSL / LA028 ), 6.1061°N, 80.7106°E, Beliatta , Hambanthota District, Southern Province, Sri Lanka, 42.6 m, 27 December 2018, D.L. Abeywardhana, on trunks of teak trees in a woodland .

♂ (n = 1), ( DOZE / UOCSL / LA030 ), 9.2239°N, 80.2233°E, Kilinochchi , Kilinochchi District, Northern Province, Sri Lanka, 30.5 m, 25 February 2019, D.L. Abeywardhana, on trunk of a tree in a forest .

♂ (n = 1), ♀ (n = 1), ( DOZE / UOCSL / LA031 , DOZE / UOCSL / LA032 ), 8.3839°N, 81.0085°E, Kantalai , Trincomali District, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, 69 m, 23 March 2019, D.L. Abeywardhana, on trunks of trees in a woodland .

♂ (n = 1), ( DOZE / UOCSL / LA033 ), 6.4323°N, 80.7231°E, Waulpane , Ratnapura District, Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka, 342 m, 27 June 2019, D.L. Abeywardhana, amongst cinnamon and pepper plants of an agroecosystem .

♂ (n = 1), ( DOZE / UOCSL / LA036 ), 6.3040°N, 81.4006°E, Sithulpawwa , Hambanthota District, Southern Province, Sri Lanka, 22 m, 1 March 2020, D.L. Abeywardhana, on trunks of trees in a forest .

♂ (n = 1), ( DOZE / UOCSL / LA042 ), 7.2904°N, 80.7801°E, Rambukwella , Kandy District, Central Province, Sri Lanka, 482 m, 19 June 2020, D.L. Abeywardhana, amongst a large scale coconut and pepper cultivation .

Female Measurements: BW 31.3 – 131.8, BL 16.18 – 19.80, HL 2.06 – 2.95, HW 3.22 – 3.62, ML 1.50 – 1.80, PL 4.09 – 4.97, PW 1.66 – 2.01, PI 2.20 – 2.75, EL 9.22 – 10.81, EW 2.87 – 4.04.

Male Measurements: BW 45.30 – 83.0, BL 15.49 – 18.52, HL 2.20 – 3.08, HW 3.00 – 3.62, ML 1.50 – 1.80, PL 4.01 – 4.99, PW 1.59 – 1.87, PI 2.31 – 2.94, EL 8.76 – 10.58, EW 3.01 – 3.69.

Diagnosis and description: Diagnosed at the generic level by small and slender body, large head that is always wider than the elytra in males and more or less equal in females, interocular excavation shallow so that there is a very visible separation between the occiput and the neck, prominent eyes, narrow labrum with outward protruding lateral teeth, thin and sharp mandibles, significantly longer and thinner antennae, pronotum that is not parallelsided, pronotum slender and narrow with a length/ width ratio of 2.0 to 3.0, elytra are welded, but separable and elytral apex is truncated. Aedeagus very thin and bent dorsally at the apex. Included in the subgenus Derocrania , as body length is greater than 14 mm, body robust with a long head, long vertex behind the eyes, transverse sculpture on pronotum. The species is defined by the very large bright black head with prominent eyes, black coloured thin antennae with a constant thickness, clearly separated neck and occiput, long pronotum that is slightly striated transversely, sub-parallel sided collum that has transverse striations, widened elytra with a marked gibbosity and entirely sculptured, sculpture on elytra as polygonal dimples in the first half that are stretched lengthwise and grouped into sinuous wrinkles in the second half, all parts of the legs are black and black ventral side ( Fig. 9 ).

Distribution: Species known only from Sri Lanka. Sigiriya, Nalanda ( Horn 1904); Kandy ( Fowler 1912); Hambantota, Kataragama, Sinharaja, Balangoda, Belihul Oya ( Naviaux 2002); Urugalla, Horowpatana, Trincomali, Badulla, Tamblegam, Galgamuwa, Uva Province, Belihul Oya, Haldummulla (National Museum Colombo).

Figures

FIGURE 9. Derocrania (Derocrania) scitiscabra Male