Liogenys tarsalis Moser, 1921

Cherman, Mariana Alejandra, Mise, Kleber Makoto, Moron †, Miguel Angel, Vaz-de-Mello, Fernando Z. & Almeida, Lucia Massutti de, 2017, A taxonomic revision of Liogenys occurring in Brazil with an interactive key and remarks on New World Diplotaxini (Coleoptera, Melolonthidae), ZooKeys 699, pp. 1-120 : 64-68

Liogenys tarsalis Moser, 1921 Figs 75, 91

Liogenys tarsalis Moser, 1921a: 54 (orig. desc.); Blackwelder 1944: 228 (check.); Cherman et al. 2016: 23 (comb.n.).

Homoliogenys tarsalis : Gutiérrez 1952: 216 (generic description); Frey 1969: 44 (key); Evans 2003: 206 (check.); Evans and Smith 2005: 171 (check.); Evans and Smith 2009: 175 (check.).

Type material.

Liogenys tarsalis male syntype (ZMHB): [white printed] "Rio Jan", [white handwritten] " Liogenys / tarsalis / Mos/ Typen m#.", [white handwritten] “Wagner.”, [red printed] “Typus”, [red printed] "SYNTYPUS/ Liogenys / tarsalis Moser, 1921/labelled by MNHUB 2014". This type is here designated the lectotype [white, outlined in red, printed] "LECTOTYPE/ Liogenys tarsalis /Moser, 1921/ des. M. A. Cherman 2014". Female syntype (ZMHB) [white printed] "Rio Jan", [white handwritten] " Liogenys / tarsalis / Mos/ Typen f#.", [white handwritten] “Wagner.”, [red printed] “Typus”, [red printed] "SYNTYPUS/ Liogenys / tarsalis Moser, 1921/labelled by MNHUB 2014". Female syntype (ZMHB) with the same labels as the former, plus: [orange printed] " Liogenys tarsalis Moser Det. K. Katovich 02". Male syntype (NHRS): [white printed] "Rio Jan", [white handwritten] " Liogenys tarsalis n. sp. Mos. m#", [white printed] “Wagner.”, [red printed] “Typus”, [white printed] " NHRS- JLKB 000021172". Female syntype (NHRS): [white printed] "Rio Jan", [white handwritten] " Liogenys tarsalis n. sp. Mos. f#", [white printed] “Wagner.”, [red printed] “Typus”, [white printed] " NHRS- JLKB 000021173". These four syntypes are here designated paralectotypes, each one with the label: [white, outlined in red, printed] "PARALECTOTYPE/ Liogenys tarsalis /Moser, 1921/ des. M. A. Cherman 2014".

Non-type material.

ARGENTINA. CH: Charata, X/1924, 4 ex. (MLPA); Pampa del infierno, IX/1982, A. Martinez col. 1 ex. (CMNC); SF: Chaco, XI/1905, C. Bruch col. 1 ex. (ZMHB).

Diagnosis.

Body brownish; elongate, sides almost parallel; elytra with non-uniform brown, base, inner and outer margins darker, as are the head and pronotum (Fig. 75A, C, D); clypeal emargination deep, sub-angled and narrow; outer sides of anterior teeth sub-parallel; clypeal lateral projection distinct, rounded; pronotum sulcated medially; protibial spur reduced or absent; mesofemur with thick erect bristles on posterior margin; basal apophysis of metacoxa not produced; apical inner surface glabrous; in males tarsi opaque and enlarged in all legs, mainly the tarsomere II; py gidium convex, bristled throughout; parameres with inner margins convergent, apex of each paramere fits into the other.

Redescription.

Length 10.0-10.5 mm; width: 5.2-5.4 mm. Brownish. Head: distance between eyes nearly twice the width of one eye; frons equal in length to clypeus; clypeal emargination deep, sub-angled and narrow; outer sides of anterior teeth sub-parallel; outer margin of anterior teeth as long as the eye; clypeal lateral margin convex, projection rounded; distance between clypeal lateral projection and anterior margin of eye longer than one eye; distance between clypeal lateral projection and anterior tooth shorter than basal width of anterior tooth; obtuse angle between outer side of anterior teeth and clypeal lateral projection; canthus not exceeding the outer margin of the eye; distal maxillary palpomere, maximum width more than twice width of apex; fovea shallow, extending past the transverse midline of the palpomere; labium transversely carinated, as wide as it is long; antenna 10-articulated, lamellae lighter in color and longer than the flagellum. Thorax: anterior margin of pronotum slightly produced medially; maximum length of pronotum exceeding the length of tarsomeres I, II and III together; disc sulcated medially, glabrous, punctures coarse and dense; pronotal posterior corners rounded; proepisternum with long bristles, pro- and mesepisternum scaly; sides of metasternum with sparse bristles and few long ones on the anterior margin; distance between meso- and metacoxae up to twice the length of the metacoxa; scutellum ogival to rounded, coarsely punctured. Elytra: shiny, glabrous, brownish, lighter in color than pronotum, base, inner and outer margins darker; elytra more than three times longer than the pronotum; elytral suture darker than elytron and elevated, pair of inner ridges more noticeable than the three outer pairs. Legs: procoxa scaly on infra-carinal and outer surface; punctures visible at 12 × magnification; three protibial teeth, the apical the longest; distance between basal and middle teeth longer than between middle and apical; protibial inner apical spur reduced or absent; mesofemural disc setose, thick erect bristles on posterior margin; mesotibia cylindric in cross section, disc coarsely sculptured; two mesotibial transverse carinae, the apical one incomplete; metacoxa scaly, basal apophysis not produced; inner margin of metatibia carinated but apex not produced (see Cherman et al. 2016) and glabrous on inner surface; metatibial disc finely sculptured; metatibia posteriorly with two transverse carinae and posterior discontinuous longitudinal carina; metatibial apical spurs of different lengths; the longest equal in length to the diameter of the tibial apex; tarsi opaque; pro-, meso- and metatarsomeres I to IV equally enlarged in every leg; protarsomere II short and wide; basal metatarsomere shorter than tarsomere II; claw bifid, symmetrical, superior tooth longer and wider than the inferior, distance between teeth longer than the inferior tooth. Abdomen: ventrites bristled on disc and sides; pygidium convex, sub-trapezoidal, apex sub-angled to rounded, wider than long, pygidial width not exceeding distance between propygidial spiracles; pygidial disc bristled throughout, bristles longer on apex; male pygidial apex sub-quadrate to rounded. Parameres: basal region slightly narrower than the parameres together at its maximum width, parameral split at the third portion; inner margins convergent, apex curved inwards, fitting into each other (Figs 51, 75F). In lateral view parameres slightly concave.

Type-locality.

BRAZIL, Rio de Janeiro.

Geographical distribution.

BRAZIL (RJ); ARGENTINA (CH, SF).

Remarks.

Liogenys tarsalis is the type species of Homoliogenys , a monotypic genus created by Gutiérrez (1952). Recently, Cherman et al. (2016), returned L. tarsalis to Liogenys , supported by phylogenetic evidence. As Homoliogenys is monotypic, this genus became a junior subjective synonym of Liogenys . This species shares various features with Liogenys forcipata Frey, as the clypeus strongly emarginate with a sharp lateral projection and the basal apophysis of metacoxa reduced, this one being a non-common feature within Liogenys . It differs from L. forcipata in the clypeal emargination more rounded, metasternum scarcely setose, scutellum more rounded, inner margin of metatibia not produced on apex and glabrous on inner surface and metatibia posteriorly as wide as or slightly narrower than the outer face. Males of L. tarsalis are also different from L. forcipata in the protibial teeth unequally spaced, tarsi opaque and all of them equally enlarged, protarsomere II short and wide, pygidium more rounded and parameres glabrous (Figs 51, 75F). The type-locality of L. tarsalis (Rio de Janeiro) is very far from those localities recorded among the non-type material which are all from Argentinian Chacoan Province (Fig. 91). The type material was collected by Wagner during the end of 19th century and beginning of the 20th, mainly in Rio Salado region (SE, Argentina). Probably, the type-locality written on the original label was "Rio Sal" instead of "Rio Jan", misspelled by the person who wrote the definitive label. Females remain unknown.