Liogenys tarsalis Moser, 1921

Cherman, Mariana Alejandra, Basílio, Daniel Silva, Mise, Kleber Makoto, Frisch, Johannes & Almeida, Lúcia Massutti De, 2021, Liogenys Guérin-Méneville, 1831 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae Diplotaxini) from the Chacoan Province and its boundaries: taxonomic overview with four new species, Zootaxa 4938 (1), pp. 1-59 : 47-48

Liogenys tarsalis Moser, 1921

Figs. 7A, C, E ; 23 .

Liogenys tarsalis Moser, 1921: 54 ; Blackwelder 1944: 228 (checklist); Cherman et al. 2016: 23 (new combination); Cherman et al. 2017: 75 (redescription).

Homoliogenys tarsalis: Gutiérrez 1952: 216 (genus description); Frey 1969: 44 (key); Evans 2003: 206 (checklist); Evans & Smith 2009: 175 (checklist); Krajčík 2012: 129 (checklist).

Type material. Liogenys tarsalis male lectotype and two female paralectotypes at ZMHB, two male paralectotypes at NHRS; data in Cherman et al. (2017).

Non-type material (5). ARGENTINA. Santa Fé: without locality and date, R. Richter, 2 females ( MLPA) . Santiago del Estero: without locality, date, and collector, 1 female ( NHMB) ; Corrientes: Mercedes, Reserva Itatí , 12.XII.2013, 60 m, 28°45’52.30’’S, 58°7’0.50’’W, at light, grassland, M. Ibarra Polesel, 1 male (CARTROUNNE) ; San Luis: Villa Mercedes, Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Agropecuarias. Universidad Nacional de San Luis, 22.X.2019, 33.641641ºS 65,446229ºW, at light, M.A. Cherman, S.L. Bonivardo, & A.N. Martínez, 1 male ( DZUP) .

Geographical distribution. ARGENTINA (Chaco, Santiago del Estero, Corrientes Santa Fé, San Luis) .

Diagnosis. Male. Length 10.0– 10.5 mm; width: 5.2–5.4 mm. Brown, elongate, sides almost parallel; elytra with non-uniform brown, base darker, as are the head and pronotum; clypeal emargination deep, rounded or subangulate and wide; in males teeth as long as the eye or slightly longer; outer sides of anterior teeth parallel; clypeal lateral margin convex, not produced; club of antenna longer than the funicle; metacoxae scaly throughout, pronotal posterior corners rounded; metacoxal basal apophysis not produced; apical inner surface glabrous; metatibial spurs with equal lengths; tarsi opaque and enlarge in all legs, mainly the tarsomere II; pygidium convex, as wide as it is long; parameres glabrous with inner margins strongly convergent, narrowed subapically; apex bilobed, curved inwards, inner margins overlapped ( Cherman et al. 2017).

Female. Length: 11.0– 11.4 mm; width 5.8–6.3 mm. Burned brown ( Fig. 7A ), clypeus wider than in males; emargination shallower, teeth slightly shorter than the eye, parallel or subparallel; clypeal lateral margins more convex ( Fig. 7C ); mesotibia and metatibia with transverse carina more-or-less strong; pygidial apex more quadrate and narrower ( Fig. 7E ).

Remarks. Cherman et al. (2017) suggested that Rio de Janeiro is a doubtful type locality of L. tarsalis , because almost all the material collected by E.R. Wagner was from Río Salado (Santiago del Estero, Argentina), therefore, it might be written “Rio Sal” instead. One of the females housed at the NHMB was collected in Río Salado. Moreover, no L. tarsalis specimens were found from Rio de Janeiro [ Brazil], among all the 30 collections studied. Thus, it is more likely that the type locality of L. tarsalis is Río Salado [ Argentina] instead of Rio de Janeiro [ Brazil]. The Brazilian distribution of L. tarsalis is disregarded, and confirmed for Chaco, Santiago del Estero, Corrientes, Santa Fe, and San Luis Argentinian provinces.

There are Frey type labels for “ Liogenys nigricans ” attached to a female specimen from Santiago del Estero ( NHMB) and in other collections where Frey deposited or exchange specimens as well (e.g., USNM). Since the name L. nigricans was only used on labels, it is a nomem nudum and is unavailable (Article 13.1.1, International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature 1999) .

Figures

FIGURE 7. Liogenys tarsalis Moser, 1921 female views: A) dorsal, C) head and pronotum, E) pygidium; compared with L. forcipata Frey, 1970 female views: B) dorsal, D) head and pronotum, F) pygidium.

FIGURE 23. Geographical distribution of four known Liogenys species occurring in the Chacoan province and its boundaries. Shaped points: previously known species; colors: Neotropical provinces (Morrone 2014) and Monte province from the South American Transition Zone (Roig-Juñent et al. 2018).