Onitis virens Lansberge, 1875

Karimbumkara, Seena Narayanan & Priyadarsanan, Dharma Rajan, 2024, Study on the genus Onitis (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) of the Indian Subcontinent, with three new species from India, European Journal of Taxonomy 956, pp. 1-61 : 46-52

Onitis virens Lansberge, 1875

Figs 12D , 13E–H , 20

Onitisvirens Lansberge, 1875: 135 (original description).

Onitisamplectens Lansberge, 1875: 136.

Onitis virens – Boucomont & Gillet 1921: 19 (distribution). — Arrow 1931: 396 (key, description). — Balthasar 1935: 52 (monograph); 1963: 40 (monograph). — Paulian 1945: 144 (revision). — Biswas & Chatterjee 1991: 260 (distribution). — Chandra 2000: 360 (distribution). — Mittal 2005: 46 (list). — Chandra & Ahirwar 2005: 149 (distribution); 2007: 276 (distribution). — Bezděk & Krell 2006: 159 (distribution). — Sewak 2009a: 60 (key, diagnosis, distribution), 2009b: 60 (key, diagnosis, distribution). — Sabu et al. 2011: 34 (list). — Chandra et al. 2012a: 52 (distribution). — Karimbumkara & Rajan 2013: 175 (list). — Gupta et al. 2015: 1037 (list, distribution). — Siddiqui et al. 2014: 301 (distribution). — Bezděk 2016: 180 (distribution). — Ghosh et al. 2020: 239 (distribution). — Schoolmeesters 2022 (online catalogue).

Differential diagnosis

Onitisvirens belongs to Group III and closely resembles O. subopacus of the same group but differs from the latter in having a strongly punctured pronotum and clypeo-frontal carina which is narrowly interrupted.

Also see remarks under Onitissubopacus.

Type material examined

Syntypes

UNKNOWN TYPE LOCALTY • ♀; “Onitisvirens Lansb., G. J. Arrow det.; A. Janssens vid., 1936: ONITIS virens Lansb. ; Syntype; det Van Lansberge. Onitisamplectens Lansb.; Amplectens Type Lsb. Mercara; Onitisvirens Lansb.Révis.Arrow 1927; Ex-Typis de amplectens Lansb. ; Collection E. Candeze: 109”; IRSNB • ♀; “A. Janssens vid., 1936: ONITIS virens Lansb. ; cf. Ann. Soc. Ent. Belg. Xviii. 1875, p.135; Syntype; Ex-Typis de amplectens Lansb. ; AmplectensInd br Lansb.; Det. Van Lansberge Onitis amplectens Lansb. ; Collection E. Candeze ”; IRSNB .

Additional material examined (47 specimens)

INDIA • ♂; “ Onitis virens Lansb., Compared with type, G.J.A.”; BMNH (E) 1237153 • ♀; “ Gopaldhara, Rungbong Vall. , Sikkim, H.Stevens., 1916-218; BMNH (E)1237154 ” • ♂; “ Nerbuda Survey, Harai, Bewa State , 2700 ft.; 23 Feb. 1927 ” • ♀; ZSIM • 2 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀; Karnataka, Biligiri Rangaswamy Tiger Reserve, Budipadaga scrub; 11°50ʹ16.8″ N, 77°4ʹ39.18″ E; 14 May 1999; open cow dung bait traps; Priyadarsanan Dharma Rajan leg.; AIMB / Co/Sc1000746 to 1000749 • 8 ♂♂, 5 ♀♀; Kanneri moist deciduous forest; 11°53ʹ43.62″ N, 77°8ʹ9.48″ E; 22 Dec. 1999; open cow dung bait traps; Priyadarsanan Dharma Rajan leg.; AIMB / Co/ Sc1000750 to 1000762 • 2 ♂♂, Purani dry deciduous forest; 12°1ʹ55.2″ N, 77°7ʹ52.68″ E; 11 May 1999; open cow dung bait traps; Priyadarsanan Dharma Rajan leg.; AIMB / Co/Sc1000763 to 1000764 • ♂; Kerala, Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary, Kattilapara degraded forest; 08°55ʹ05.6ʺ N, 77°05ʹ44.7ʺ E; elev. 207 m a.s.l.; 3 Dec. 2009; open cow dung bait traps; Seena Narayanan Karimbumkara leg.; AIMB / Co/Sc1000765 • 2 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀; Arunachal Pradesh, Pasighat, community forest, Rani Village ; 27°58ʹ8.8644ʺ N, 95°19ʹ17.1804ʺ E; elev. 127 m a.s.l.; 30 Sep. 2018; cow dung baited pitfall trap; Harsha Malhotra and team leg.; AIMB / Co/ Sc1000766 to 1000769 • 6 ♂♂, 9 ♀♀; agricultural field, Rani Village ; 27°58ʹ10.6068ʺ N, 95°19ʹ26.1156ʺ E, elev. 131 m a.s.l.; 30 Sep. 2018; hand-picked from cow dung; Harsha Malhotra and team leg.; AIMB / Co/ Sc1000770 to 1000784 • ♂, 2 ♀♀; community forest, Rani Village ; 27°58ʹ9.0156ʺ N, 95°19ʹ18.9804ʺ E; elev. 133 m a.s.l.; 30 Sep. 2018; cow dung baited pitfall trap; Harsha Malhotra and team leg.; AIMB / Co/Sc1000785 to 1000787 • ♀; Nagaland, Bongkolong village, near Intanki National Park , open ground; 15 Apr. 2021; hand-picked from cow dung; Seena Narayanan Karimbumkara leg.; AIMB / Co/Sc1000788 .

Description

MEASUREMENTS (in mm). TL=17–23, BW= 9.5–13.

Male

Black with a very feeble metallic lustre; clypeus elliptical, margin entire, closely and finely rugulose, vertex rugulose and more shining, frontal carina interrupted by a very short medial gap, with a conical tubercle behind and an anterior short transverse clypeal carina; pronotum fairly closely and strongly punctured, with an anterior narrow smooth median line and slight narrow groove behind; elytra finely striate with intervals flat and imperceptibly punctured, the sutural interval slightly elevated and shining; pygidium flat, smooth and feebly punctured; metasternal shield smooth and shining behind, front angles and sides of metasternum clothed with red hairs. Protibia slender, curved, mid femur and hind trochanter toothed.

AEDEAGUS (in mm) ( Fig. 13E– H ). LP=3.5, Lp=3; BP=1.6, BpB=0.7, BpT=0.5. Phallobase slightly longer than the paramere, both straight below and sharp at the tip.

Female

Protibia short, broad with four stout teeth, the mid and hind femur without teeth.

Distribution

India: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Nagaland, New Delhi, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal. Other countries: China, Bangladesh, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand, Vietnam ( Chandra 2000; Chandra & Ahirwar 2005, 2007; Bezděk & Krell 2006; Sewak 2009a, 2009b; Sabu et al. 2011; Chandra et al. 2012a; Karimbumkara & Rajan 2013; Gupta et al. 2015; Siddiqui et al. 2014; Bezděk 2016; Ghosh et al. 2020; Schoolmeesters 2022).

Figures

Fig. 12.A. Onitissinghalensis Lansberge, 1875, holotype, ♂, MNHN EC4812, (image:Antoine Mantilleri, MNHN.) B. Onitissiva Gillet, 1911, holotype, ♀, (image: Jonathan Brecko, IRSNB). C. O. subopacus Arrow, 1931, holotype, ♂, BMNH(E)1237174, (image: BMNH). D. O.virens Lansberge, 1875, paralectotype, ♂, (image: Jonathan Brecko, IRSNB). E–F Onitisvisthara sp. nov., holotype, ♂, NIM/ NBAIR/COL/ONIT/H-271023C (images: AIMB). E. Habitus, dorsal view. F. Habitus, ventral view.

Fig. 13. Aedeagus, lateral, dorsal, ventral and apical views. A–D. Onitissubopacus Arrow, 1931, AIMB/ Co/Sc1000711. E–H. O. virens Lansberge, 1875, AIMB/Co/Sc1000765. (Images: AIMB).

Fig. 20. Map showing the distribution of Onitissiva Gillet, 1911; O. subopacus Arrow, 1931; O. virens Lansberge, 1875 and O. visthara sp. nov. in the Indian Subcontinent.