Cryptalaus cardoni ( Candèze, 1890 ) Parekar & Danani & Patwardhan, 2024

Parekar, Harshad, Danani, Drashti & Patwardhan, Amol, 2024, Rediscovery and Redescription of Cryptalaus cardoni (Candèze, 1890) comb. nov (Coleoptera: Elateridae) after a century with notes on other Cryptalaus Ôhira species in India, Zootaxa 5399 (1), pp. 52-64 : 53-56

Cryptalaus cardoni ( Candèze, 1890) comb. nov.

( Figures 1–3 , 5–14 , 22–27 )

Alaus cardoni Candèze, 1890 : CL (original description; type locality: Bengal); Candèze, 1891: 32 (catalogue; distribution: “ Bengalen ”); Schwarz, 1906: 37 (catalogue; distribution: “ Bengalen ”); Schenkling, 1925: 46 (catalogue; distribution: “ Bengalen ”).

Type material (examined through photographs). 1 Syntype ( Figs 1, 2 ), sex unknown, INDIA: Bengal , precise location unknown; see remarks ( RBINS) .

New material examined. 1 male ( TN275 ), INDIA: Thakurpada , SGNP , Mumbai , Maharashtra, 17.vi.2023, on light, coll. A. Patwardhan ( ZKJSSC) .

Distribution. INDIA: Jharkhand (see remarks), Maharashtra (new state record).

Redescription.

Male (TN275). Body elongate and subparallel ( Fig. 5 ) 11 mm long, 3 mm wide, pitch-black, with antennomeres I–II brownish black, and maxillary palpi brownish with tip slightly whitish, labial palpi whitish with last segment light brownish and tip whitish, and legs including coxa reddish brown with femora, tarsi darker; dorsum densely covered with whitish grey decumbent scale-like setae intermingled with black blotches and brownish speckles; pronotum with anterior and posterior sides including posterior angles covered with whitish grey scales with disc of pronotum covered with brownish to black scales with a few whitish speckles; scutellar shield and adjacent area of elytra around scutellar shield with black scales except posterior edge of scutellar shield with white-grey scales; elytral interstria I with alternate black and white bands from medial half to subapical end, interstria II with small vertical to slightly oblique black band near anterior submedial part, elytral medial region with two black blotches covering interstriae III to X, small obscured patch of white scales encapsulated in black scales near elytral apex; ventrally ( Fig. 7 ) with dense white scales throughout.

Head. Short ( Fig. 12 ), almost as wide as long (length/width 0.92), including eyes 0.68 times as wide as pronotum; frons ( Fig. 12 ) carinate over antennal insertion, with shallow depression subapically; punctures dense, round, deep, separated by less than half of their diameter with interspaces between them somewhat flat. Labrum around 3.0 times as wide as long, densely punctate, covered with yellow, long setae. Maxillary and labial palpi with apical palpomere securiform. Antennae ( Figs 5, 12 ) short, slightly reaching beyond half of pronotal length in dorsal view, serrate from antennomere IV. Length ratio of antennomeres II–IV is about 1.0: 1.3: 1.9. Antennomere II almost as wide as long; antennomere III about 1.1 times as long as wide; antennomere IV about 1.1 times as long as wide; antennomere XI slightly longer than antennomere IV, twice as long as wide.

Thorax. Pronotum ( Fig. 9 ) 1.28 times longer than wide (measured medially), and 1.40 times longer than wide including posterior angles. Anterior edge ( Fig. 9 ) uniformly shallowly arched, smooth, without any projections; anterior angles somewhat acute, very slightly produced anteriad; sides straight and subparallel, gradually sloping in anterior 1/4, and just slightly incurved before posterior angles; posterior angles long, broadly pointed, very slightly divergent, with carinae not reaching base. Disc of pronotum uniformly convex without any ridge or carina. Punctures dense, round, deep, separated by less than half to half their diameter with interspaces between them flat. Hypomeron ( Fig. 10 ) with anterior angles slightly acutely produced beyond prosternal chin piece; mesal edge near opening for antenna sinuous; posterior edge with sharply produced angle near middle; punctures dense, similar to those on pronotum, separated by about half of their diameter, interspaces flat with minute dot-like punctures. Prosternum ( Figs 7, 10 ) in front of procoxae about 6.3 times long, 7.4 times wide at base of chin piece, 2.6 times wide before procoxae (all measurements compared with diameter of procoxa); chin piece transverse, around 4.0 times wider than long with anterior edge almost straight with angular ends, around 40 degrees below prosternal plane in lateral view ( Figs 6, 14 ); shallow transverse impression posteriad to base of chin piece; surface strongly convex in ventral view; punctures denser near chin piece, lateral edges and less denser medially, slightly larger than those on hypomeron, each puncture on average separated by about less than half to half its diameter near chin piece and about 1.0–2.0 times its diameter medially, interspaces between larger punctures with small dot-like punctures more or less uniformly distributed. Prosternal process ( Figs 7, 10, 14 ) about 3.30 times longer than diameter of procoxa, almost horizontal behind procoxae till basal half then gradually slightly curved to posterior half (visible in lateral view). Scutellar shield ( Fig. 9 ) somewhat lingulate, almost twice as long as wide, uniformly declivous; anterior edge deeply emarginate in middle; sides slightly incurved till anterior half then widened in middle and sloping in arched posterior edge; punctation starts in posterior half with punctures similar to those on head and pronotum but sparser with scale-like pubescence. Mesoventrite ( Fig. 11 ) 1.30 times wider than long; mesoventral cavity with sides parallel. Metaventrite ( Fig. 11 ) 1.36 times wider than long; metaventral discrimen ( Fig. 11 ) not reaching anterior edge of metaventrite, deeply furrowed in about its posterior one-third, almost reaching posterior edge. Metacoxal plate about 6.0 times as wide as narrowest part, anterior edge oblique, posterior edge after lobe subparallel to anterior edge. Elytra ( Figs 5, 8 ) 1.9 times as long as pronotum, 2.5 times as long as its combined width, together almost as wide as pronotum; sides sub-parallel to posterior two-third, then slightly narrowing to apex; apex of elytra dehiscent, conjointly rounded apically with slightly produced knob-like sutural spine; striae III costate near base, interstriae flat.

Abdomen. Ventrite V ( Fig. 13 ) anteriorly (measured near anterior edge) twice as wide as long. Tergite VIII ( Fig. 22 ) widely v-shaped with convex posterior edge, about 1.82 times as wide as long, anterior edge inwardly obtusely angulate; medially with sparse punctures without longer setae, apically and apicolaterally densely punctate with bristle-like long setae. Sternite VIII ( Fig. 23 ) somewhat semicircular, about 1.5 times as wide as long, moderately covered with short setae along darker posterior edge; translucent median area heart-shaped without apparent punctures. Tergites IX–X ( Fig. 24 ) connected with membrane; tergite IX 2.6 times as wide as long, anterior margin somewhat bisinuous, sides arcuate posteriad, posterior edge incurved uniformly, punctate throughout in posterior two-third with a few setae apicolaterally; tergite X small, slightly semicircular posteriorly. Sternite IX ( Fig. 25 ) almost twice as long as wide, posteriorly rounded and translucent with short setae, sides smoothly constricted medially, anterior arch emarginated and obliterated medially. Aedeagus ( Fig. 26 ) 2.6 times as long as wide; median lobe longer than parameres, broader at base, gradually narrowing anteriorly to somewhat widely rounded apex; basal struts moderately long, robust, inclined inwardly, about 0.32 times as long as aedeagus and 0.54 times as long as median lobe, uniformly thick throughout, apically rounded. Paramere ( Figs 26, 27 ) slightly constricted behind subapical hook, sides somewhat subparallel, inner margin behind subapical hook slightly sinuate; covered in long setae near and behind subapical hook on dorsal and ventral sides; apical lobe of paramere somewhat elliptical, about 2.6 times as long as wide (width measured along subapical hook) with narrowly rounded apex, outer margin arcuate towards subapical hook, inner margin straight and sloping outwardly just slightly; subapical hook pressed inwardly, short, inconspicuously sharp.

Remarks. All the morphological characters and genitalia structures confirm its transfer to genus Cryptalaus and hence, we propose Cryptalaus cardoni ( Candèze, 1890) comb. nov. Interestingly, the male specimen (TN275) we have at our disposal has its right antenna with antennomeres IV and V conjoined ( Figs 3 , 5, 12 ). This deformity gives an impression of an elbowed antenna. RBINS has only a single specimen with Candèze’s original type labels (pers. comm. Jérôme Constant, RBINS; see Fig. 2 ). There is no specimen with a type label in the Natural History Museum, London, The United Kingdom (NHML; list shared by Max Barclay & Michael Geiser). Furthermore, Candèze did not give the number of additional specimens he examined, as seen in the case of other species in the same publication. So, the type specimen in RBINS is treated as a syntype ( ICZN 1999, recommendation 73F, Art. 73.2 and 73.2.1). Its sex is unknown as it lacks the abdomen (pers. comm. Jérôme Constant, RBINS). Although the type label reads “Bengal”, Candèze mentioned (1890: CXLVII) that Father Cardon primarily collected most of the elaterid specimens used in his publication from the vicinity of Tetra as “Tetara” and “Konbir-Nowatoli” which were a part of Bengal in the 19th century. These localities belong in Jharkhand. Hence, this locality is added as a part of its distribution.

Figures

FIGURES 1–4. Habitus and habitat of Cryptalaus cardoni (Candèze, 1890) comb. nov. 1, syntype, habitus, dorsal view (credit: J.Constant/RBINS); 2, data labels (credit: J. Constant/RBINS); 3, live specimen (TN275) on light trap; 4, habitat, collection site of C. cardoni in SGNP, Mumbai, Maharashtra.

FIGURES 5–14. Morphology of Cryptalaus cardoni (Candèze, 1890) comb. nov., male (TN275). 5, habitus, dorsal view; 6, habitus, lateral view; 7, habitus, ventral view; 8, elytra, dorsal view; 9, pronotum and scutellar shield, dorsal view; 10, prosternum, ventral view; 11, mesoventrite and metaventrite, ventral view; 12, head and antennae, anterodorsal view; 13, abdominal ventrite V, ventral view; 14, pronotum, lateral view.

FIGURES 22–33. Genitalia and terminalia of Cryptalaus spp. 22–27, Cryptalaus cardoni (Candèze, 1890) comb. nov., male (TN275). 22, abdominal tergite VIII; 23, abdominal sternite VIII; 24, abdominal tergites IX–X; 25, abdominal sternite IX; 26, aedeagus, dorsal view; 27, detail of paramere, ventral view. 28–33, Cryptalaus alveolatus Parekar & Patwardhan, 2021, male (HN35). 28, abdominal tergite VIII; 29, abdominal sternite VIII; 30, abdominal tergites IX–X; 31, abdominal sternite IX; 32, aedeagus, dorsal view; 33, detail of paramere, ventral view.