Tolyphus Erichson, 1845

Gimmel, Matthew L., 2013, <strong> Genus-level revision of the family Phalacridae (Coleoptera: Cucujoidea) </ strong>, Zootaxa 3605 (1), pp. 1-147 : 81-82

20. Tolyphus Erichson, 1845

( Figs. 2e ; 23 ; 40h, i )

Tolyphus Erichson 1845: 108 . Type species: Phalacrus granulatus Guérin-Méneville 1834 , fixed by monotypy.

Pharcisinus Guillebeau 1894 a: 278 . Type species: Tolyphus punctulatus Rosenhauer 1856 , fixed by original designation.

Type material. Phalacrus granulatus Guérin-Méneville : types not seen.

Tolyphus punctulatus Rosenhauer : types not seen.

Diagnosis. Readily recognized by the parallel-sided habitus, emarginate frontoclypeus, distinct elytral striae, short antennae, tuberculate tibial kickface, apically expanded protibia, and broad, flattened metatibial spurs. The labral tormae are unlike others I have seen in the family, being convergent just posterior to the posterior labral margin.

Description. Medium-sized, total length 2.0–3.0 mm. Color solid piceous to black, often with metallic greenish or bluish luster ( Fig. 40h ). Tibial spur formula 2-2-2, tarsal formula 5-5- 5 in females, 5-5- 4 in males.

Head. Not constricted behind eyes. Eyes medium-sized; facets convex, dorsalmost facets often (subgenus Tolyphus ) abruptly smaller than adjacent facets ( Fig. 40i ); interfacetal setae absent; weakly emarginate or straight medially; without posterior emargination; periocular groove absent; with transverse setose groove ventrally behind eye. Frontoclypeus emarginate above antennal insertion; clypeal apex broadly emarginate ( Fig. 2e ). Antennal club 3-segmented, club weakly asymmetrical, antennomere XI weakly to strongly turbinate ( Fig. 23b ). Mandible ( Fig. 23a ) slender; apex simple; with distinct retinaculum; mandible without ventral ridge. Maxillary palpomere IV fusiform, nearly symmetrical; galea short, rounded; lacinia with two stout spines. Mentum with sides divergent toward apex; labial palpomere III fusiform. Labrum with apical margin truncate or slightly emarginate. Gular sutures short, barely evident .

Thorax. Pronotum without obvious microsetae; with weakly developed scutellar lobe. Prosternum anteriorly with continuous row of marginal setae, setae normal; procoxal cavity with anterolateral notchlike extension; prosternal process rounded in lateral view, sometimes conspicuously setose preapically, without spinelike setae at apex. Protrochanter with setae; protibia without ctenidium on kickface, but outer apical angle expanded and with two stout spines ( Fig. 23c ). Scutellar shield small. Elytron without spectral iridescence, often with brassy or aeneous luster; with one or two engraved (sutural) striae present, usually with additional superficial striae on disc, accompanied by rows of punctures; without transverse strigae; lateral margin without row of sawtooth-like setae. Mesoventral plate ( Fig. 23f ) not notched anteriorly, extending posteriorly to metaventrite, dividing mesoventral disc in two, not forming procoxal rests; mesanepisternum with incomplete transverse carina; mesocoxal cavities widely separate, separated by more than half width of a coxal cavity. Mesotarsomere III bilobed. Metaventral process ( Fig. 23f ) extending at least to anterior level of mesocoxae, often protruding and slightly lobed anteriorly; metaventral postcoxal lines not separated from mesocoxal cavity margin; discrimen extremely short or absent; metendosternite ( Fig. 23g ) with anterior tendons narrowly separated, ventral process intersecting ventral longitudinal flange behind anterior margin. Anterior margin of metacoxa with emargination sublaterally; metacoxal plate with transverse line; metatibial foreface with apical ctenidium roughly perpendicular overall to long axis of tibia; spurs markedly flattened, longest spur distinctly shorter than width of tibial apex; metatarsomere I shorter than metatarsomere II, joint between I and II flexible ( Fig. 23d ); metatarsomere III bilobed. Hind wing ( Fig. 23e ) with distinct, ovate anal lobe; leading edge with complete row of long setae at level of RA +ScP; AA 3+4 strong and complete, connected to Cu by AA 3; cubitoanal system branched apically; CuA 2 and MP 3+4 with distal remnants; r4 absent; weak fleck present in apical field just distal to rp-mp2; long or short transverse proximal sclerite and additional small curved sclerite present just distal to end of radial bar.

Abdomen. Abdominal ventrite I without paired lines or calli; spiracles present and apparently functional on segment VII. Male with aedeagus upright in repose; tegmen ( Fig. 23h ) with asymmetrical anterior margin and parameres separated by suture from basal piece, parameres without medial longitudinal division; penis ( Fig. 23i ) with pair of large endophallic sclerites, apex simple; spiculum gastrale V-shaped, with arms free or partially connected by sclerotized lamina. Female ovipositor sclerotized, gonocoxites together forming wedge, gonostyli attached subapically.

Immature stages. Unknown.

Bionomics. Apparently pollen-feeding on members of Asteraceae as adults. Numerous pollen grains were observed in the hindgut of dissected specimens. Peyerimhoff (1915) reports T. granulatus on Crepis taraxacifolia Thuil. [= Crepis vesicaria L.] ( Asteraceae ) in North Africa and southern France, and that the larvae may be found in April in the interior of the flower feeding on the tender seeds. Peyerimhoff (1926) reported T. punctatostriatus Kraatz [= T. punctulatus Rosenhauer ] abundant in June on flowers of Sonchus maritimus L. in North Africa, and T. punctulatus in April on flowers of Taraxacum inaequilobum Pom. He concluded that members of the genus develop exclusively in the flower heads of composites, a hypothesis that I cannot refute.

Distribution and diversity. Eight described species, though a revision is necessary to confirm the validity of the names described during the 20th century. They occur exclusively in the warm, dry belt from the western Mediterranean eastward to at least Kazakhstan.

Included species (8):

Subgenus Tolyphus Erichson, 1845 :

Tolyphus (s.str.) dubius Gridelli, 1930 (Distribution: Egypt, Libya)

Tolyphus (s.str.) granulatus (Guérin-Méneville, 1834) (Distribution: circum-Mediterranean)

Tolyphus (s.str.) rufescens Pic, 1914 (Distribution: Italy, Egypt)

Tolyphus (s.str.) sedilloti Guillebeau, 1892 (Distribution: Libya, Tunisia)

Subgenus Pharcisinus Guillebeau, 1894 :

Tolyphus (Pharcisinus) bimaculatus Medvedev, 1963 (Distribution: Kazakhstan)

Tolyphus (Pharcisinus) jankovskii Skopin, 1951 (Distribution: Kazakhstan)

Tolyphus (Pharcisinus) punctulatus Rosenhauer, 1856 (Distribution: circum-Mediterranean) Tolyphus (Pharcisinus) transcaspicus Reitter, 1913 (Distribution: Turkmenistan)

Discussion. This genus shares many character states with the much more widespread Olibrus Erichson , including a protruding metaventral process, turbinate antennomere 11, mesofemoral lines adhering to coxal cavity, female ovipositor modified into a highly sclerotized wedge-like organ, no protibial ctenidium, and metatarsomere I shorter than metatarsomere II. Guillebeau (1894 a: 278) erected the genus Pharcisinus based on characters of the ommatidia, dorsal surface sculpturing, and form of abdominal ventrite V in the male. This group was relegated to a subgenus of Tolyphus by Ganglbauer (1899: 743), which is the arrangement I follow here.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Key characters for Phalacridae. (a) Schematic of dorsal characters showing small scutellar shield and two sutural striae. (b) Schematic of dorsal characters showing large scutellar shield and one sutural stria. Frontal view of head capsule of (c) Stilbus; (d) Phalacrus; (e) Tolyphus. (f) Maxillary palpus of Megistopalpus. Labial palpus of (g) Grouvelleus; (h) Phalacrinus (scale bar = 0.5 mm); (i) Phaenocephalus (scale bar = 0.2 mm). Dorsal view of head capsule of (j) Phaenocephalus; (k) Phalacrinus; (l) Acylomus (scale bars = 0.5 mm). Ventral view of head capsule of (m) Xanthocomus; (n) Nesiotus.

FIGURE 23. Tolyphus (Tolyphus) granulatus, male. (a) Left mandible, dorsal; (b) left antenna (scale bar = 0.5 mm). (c) Left protibia and tarsus, dorsal; (d) right metatibia and tarsus, ventral (scale bar = 0.5 mm). (e) Hind wing (scale bar = 1.0 mm). (f) Meso- and metaventrite, ventral (scale bar = 0.5 mm). (g) Metendosternite (scale bar = 0.5 mm). (h) Tegmen, ventral; (i) penis, ventral (scale bar = 0.5 mm).

FIGURE 40. Photographs. Olibroporus punctatus: (a) dorsal. Pycinus sp.: (b) dorsal; (c) ventral. Ochrolitus rubens: (d) dorsal; (e) ventral. Sveculus lewisi, holotype: (f) dorsal; (g) ventral. Tolyphus (Tolyphus) granulatus: (h) dorsal; (i) head and pronotum laterally, showing eye facets.