Eucorydia maxwelli (Hanitsch, 1915)

Qiu, Lu, Che, Yan-Li & Wang, Zong-Qing, 2017, Revision of Eucorydia Hebard, 1929 from China, with notes on the genus and species worldwide (Blattodea, Corydioidea, Corydiidae), ZooKeys 709, pp. 17-56 : 46

Eucorydia maxwelli (Hanitsch, 1915) stat. rev. Fig. 13 H–K

Corydia maxwelli Hanitsch, 1915: 126 (2 males respectively from Maxwell’s Hill, Perak and Lingga Mt., Sarawak; 2 females from Bukit Kutu, Selangor); Hanitsch 1923: 466.

Eucorydia maxwelli : Hebard 1929: 14.

Eucorydia westwoodi : Hanitsch 1932: 80 (1 male from Siboga, Sumatra); Bruijning 1948: 149; Princis 1963: 83.

Type material examined.

TYPE of Corydia maxwelli , female (OUM, TYPE ORTH 251), two identical labels: "April 1915./ SELANGOR, F. M. S., 3457 ft, 35 m N. N. E. of Kuala Lumpur, Bukit Kutu./ R. Hanitsch."; "Bukit Kutu/ Selangor/ April 1915/ 3457"; "♀ TYPE/ HANITSCH./ Corydia maxwelli (handwritten)/ J.S.B., R.A.S./ No. 69. p 126, pl.ii, fig.10.1915."; "Corydia maxwelli, Han: (handwritten)"; "Eucorydia westwoodi Princis, 1963 (handwritten)"; "TYPE ORTH: 251/ Corydia maxwelli Hanitsch/ HOPE DEPT. OXFORD".

Diagnosis.

This species may show sexual dimorphism. Male overall length about 11.0 mm (including tegmina); head orange, pronotum black; tegmina orange, each tegmen with a round black spot in the center, and with apex blackish; coxae, femora and abdomen orange, tibiae, tarsi and cerci black. Female overall length about 11.0 mm; head, pronotum, legs and cerci black, tegmina orange; lateral of tegmen with a stripe occupying the entire half of basal margin, and curved inward near the median, the curved part slightly enlarged and quadrate, the entire anal areas are encircled by the two stripes, apex of tegmina blackish; abdomen black, lateral margins orange.

Remarks.

Hanitsch (1915) described Corydia maxwelli from southeast Asia. He realized this species showed sexual dimorphism, and later synonymized it under E. westwoodi (Hanitsch, 1932) based on the female tegmina pattern. However, this was in error: E. westwoodi indeed is similar to E. maxwelli by the lateral blackish strips and the blackish apex on tegmina; but the former had an additional large oval spot near the anal area, while the later lacks a spot near the anal area. In addition, E. westwoodi is distributed in North India and Nepal, while E. maxwelli is in southeast Asia. Since the two species are geographically disjunct we believe they are unlikely to be the same species, and we suggest restoring the status of E. maxwelli .

The sexual dimorphism of this species is unusual in Eucorydia . Other Eucorydia species show weak sexual dimorphism; the female generally resembles the male, but with shorter tegmina and wings. Hanitsch (1915) at first has stated that the female he described may be another species. Later, he correctly treated it as sexual dimorphism and synonymized C. maxwelli under E. westwoodi (Hanitsch, 1932), but without convincing reasons. According to the collection data in Hanitsch (1915), the males and females are not from the same place, which could lead to false pairing. We consider the female more likely to be a separate species.

Distribution.

Malay Peninsula; Sumatra and Borneo.