Anthia thoracica (Thunberg, 1784)

Mawdsley, Jonathan R., Erwin, Terry L., Sithole, Hendrik, Mawdsley, James L. & Mawdsley, Alice S., 2011, The genus Anthia Weber in the Republic of South Africa, Identification, distribution, biogeography, and behavior (Coleoptera, Carabidae), ZooKeys 143, pp. 47-81 : 51-52

Anthia thoracica (Thunberg, 1784) Figures 13-11283236

Carabus thoracicus Thunberg (1784:69).

Carabus fimbriatus Thunberg (1784:70); synonymized by Dejean (1825:340).

Anthia portentosa Dohrn (1882:246); synonymized by Obst (1901:285).

Anthia thoracica var. stigmodera Péringuey (1896:375); synonymized by Csiki (1929:379).

Anthia dohrni Rousseau (1905:8); synonymized by Csiki (1929:379).

Type Locality.

"Capite bonae spei" (= Cape of Good Hope).

Type Depository.

Carabus thoracicus and Carabus fimbriatus , Uppsala University, Museum of Evolution, Zoology Section; Anthia portentosa , formerly in the Museum für Naturkunde Stettin, and apparently lost in World War II; Anthia thoracica var. stigmodera, South African Museum, Iziko Museums of Cape Town.

Diagnosis.

Easily separated from sympatric species of Anthia by the large round or ovate patches of yellow or brown setae on the lateral flanges of the pronotum. Anthia thoracica is the most widespread species of Anthia in South Africa and although adults are usually encountered singly, the species can be locally abundant.

Description.

Body size massive, length of male (exclusive of mandibles) 46.8-52.8 mm, length of female 40.5-50.3 mm. Integument black.

Head elongate, prognathous. Mandibles elongate and sickle-shaped in male, short and stout in female. Male mandibles asymmetrical, with left mandible more markedly recurved than right. Length of right mandible in male 9.9-14.7 mm. Palpi elongate, slender, terminal segment securiform. Antennae elongate, antennomeres 1-3 and the base of 4 with small white reclinate setae dorsally; antennomeres 5-11 with brown pubescence. Eyes small, moderately convex. Frons markedly impressed, with fine scattered round punctures and an irregular median tubercle. Vertex smooth, with small scattered round punctures.

Pronotum cordiform, with broad lateral flanges, distinctly broader than head in both sexes. Two well-defined round or oval patches of short reclinate yellow setae present, one patch on each of the lateral flanges of the pronotum. Pronotum in male with large longitudinal median impression and with two large basal flanges projecting over base of elytra, lateral margins of flanges markedly elevated, apical margins oblique. Pronotum in female markedly impressed medially, lacking basal flanges but with two large, broad tubercles at base. Pronotal surface rugosely punctate medially, smooth with scattered small round punctures otherwise. Scutellum triangular, small and nearly obsolete. Elytra ovate, moderately convex. Elytral surface smooth, with 8 linear striate interneurs (feebly impressed or nearly obsolete in South African specimens) and scattered small round punctures. Elytral disc with short, scattered brown setae. Lateral margins of elytra with a well-defined band of short white reclinate setae. Femora large, massive, with large round punctures. Tibiae elongate, slender, with lateral carinae, protibiae with antennal cleaner notch and a single stout subtending seta, meso-and meta-tibiae thickened at end, with dense reclinate brown setae towards apices and an apical setal fringe, tibial spurs 1-2-2. Tarsi stout, densely setose, protarsi in male broadly expanded, with comb-like setae ventrally.

Abdomen convex, shining, with numerous small round punctures and transverse wrinkles, especially towards lateral margin of ventrites. Apex of sternum VII feebly emarginate in male and broadly rounded in female. Male aedeagus stout, thick (Figure 28).

Variation.

Males exhibit considerable variation in the size and length of mandibles and in the size of the basal flange on the pronotum (Figures 3-8). Females also exhibit some variability in overall body size (Figures 9-11).

Adult activity patterns.

Unimodal, with greatest activity from October to March (Figure 36).

Material Examined.

164 pinned adult specimens from the following localities: Republic of South Africa: Eastern Cape Province: Algoa Bay, Despatch, Grahamstown, Port Elizabeth, Port St. Johns, Queenstown, Willowmore. Free State Province: Bothaville, Hendrik Verwoerd Dam, Krugersdrift Dam, Vanwyksfontein Farm, Winburg. Gauteng Province: Boksburg, Cullinan, Florida, Heidelberg, Johannesburg, Pienaars River, Pretoria, Thabina, Valhalla, Zoutpan Pta. KwaZulu-Natal Province: Hluhluwe, Ndumu, Pongola River, "E. Zululand," “Zululand.” Limpopo Province: Groblersdal, Leydsdorp, Messina, Mogaladi, Mokeetse, Pietersberg, 20-26 miles NE of Pietersberg, Pumbe Sands, Shilouvane, Shingwedzi, Warm Baths, Zebediela, Zoutpansberg. Mpumalanga Province: Barberton, Bushbuckridge, Farm Alfa, Elands River/Middelburg, Groot draai on the Olifants River, Hazyview, vic. Hazyview, Malelane, Nelspruit, Numbi Gate, N’waswitshaka Research Camp, Skukuza, Stolsnek,Waterval pass, Waterval river pass. Northern Cape Province: De Aar, Kimberley. North West Province: Hartebeespoort Dam, Lichtenburg, Mafeking, Rustenburg, 14 miles E Ventersdorp. Western Cape Province: Cape of Good Hope, Cape Town, Dendron. [Additional material was examined from Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.]

Notes on Taxonomy.

Carabus thoracicus and Carabus fimbriatus are the names given by Thunberg in the same paper to male and female specimens of the present species, a fact which was first noted by Dejean (1825). The name Carabus thoracicus has page priority and was selected by Dejean (1825) as the valid name for the species. Dohrn (1882) described a form of this species with slender elytra from South Africa under the name Anthia portentosa . Because the name Anthia portentosa was already occupied, Rousseau (1905) in the Genera Insectorum proposed the replacement name Anthia dohrni . However, no replacement name is needed, as individuals with slender elytra occur throughout the range of the species and thus Anthia portentosa Dohrn should simply be treated as a synonym of Anthia thoracica . The name Anthia thoracica var. stigmodera was a manuscript name of Chaudoir’s which Péringuey published in 1896; it refers to a form of this species in which the elytral interneurs are more markedly impressed.