Leptinopterus tibialis ( Eschscholtz, 1822 )

Grossi, Paschoal Coelho, 2009, Description of two new species of Leptinopterus Hope (Coleoptera: Lucanidae: Lucaninae) with notes on the taxonomy and natural history of the genus, Zootaxa 2172, pp. 32-44 : 33-35

Leptinopterus tibialis ( Eschscholtz, 1822)

( Fig. 7 )

Lucanus tibialis Eschscholtz, 1822: 5 , Fig. 1 , male (illustration); Eschscholtz 1835: 4; Westwood 1845: 5 (51); Burmeister 1847: 379; Harold 1868: 954; Heyne & Taschenberg 1908: 54, plate 8; Boileau 1913: 237; Lüderwaldt 1930: 124 –125; Lüderwaldt 1935: 492 –494, plate 3; Blackwelder 1944: 196; Didier & Séguy 1953: 131 (486); Martinez 1953: 43; Benesh 1960: 53 –54; Klausnitzer 1982: 43; Maes 1992: 64; Mizunuma & Nagai 1994: 278, plate 116; Krajcik 2001: 28; Krajcik 2003: 94; Baba 2003: 28 (Figs. 38–45).

synonym: Leptinopterus femoratus Thomson 1862: 397

nomen nudum: Leptinopterus ochraceus Hope (ined.), Harold 1868: 954

nomen nudum: Leptinopterus ochropterus Hope (ined.), Boileau 1913: 237

nomen nudum: Leptinopterus tibialis ab. fulvus Lüderwaldt 1930: 125

nomen nudum: Leptinopterus tibialis ab. castaneus Lüderwaldt 1930:125

nomen nudum: Leptinopterus tibialis var. bucki Lüderwaldt 1935: 493

synonym: Leptinopterus rotundicollis Lüderwaldt, 1930: 124

synonym: Leptinopterus luederwaldti de Moraes in Lüderwaldt, 1935: 506

Leptinopterus tibialis is probably the most common species in the genus, found especially from southern Brazilian States to southern São Paulo State. Based on the examination of the type specimens, two available names, L. rotundicollis Lüderwaldt and L. luederwaldti de Moraes are here synonymized with L. tibialis (Eschscholtz) new synonymies. The two species here synonymized were both described from Santa Catarina State, where hundreds of L. tibialis have been either collected or examined from the main Brazilian Lucanidae collections (MZSP, MNRJ, IOC, DZUP, MCN).

The holotype of L. rotundicollis is a very small female (less than 13 mm in length), and was apparently found dead. The specimen lacks the left mandible, right antennal flagellum, right protibia, three last anterior left tarsomeres, four last median left and right tarsomeres, left metatarsus, last right metatarsomere, and some tibial spurs.

The species name of L. rotundicollis was given with reference to the rounded sides of pronotum, lacking the lateral angles. This condition is commonly found in small female specimens of Leptinopterus , and was also observed in L. tibialis . Larger females always have well pronounced median angles.

Since its description, no additional specimens of L. luederwaldti have been collected, which is certainly due to the fact that the single specimen of L. luederwaldti is a damaged female of L. tibialis . There is a handwritten label below the holotype indicating “ Leptinopt. female symbol / sp. nov. / Lueder. det. 1930” which probably induced de Moraes to describe the specimen in the Lüderwaldt monograph after his death. The specimen is very oily, dark colored, and somewhat shiny, but clearly morphologically a specimen of L. tibialis . Fatty specimens are commonly found in Leptinopterus probably because of their usual habit of feeding on sap flows or fruits.

Figures

FIGURES 5 – 8. Left mandible of male majors of four species of Leptinopterus: 5) L. assimilis; 6) L. femoratus; 7) L. tibialis; 8) L. nitidus.

FIGURES 1 – 4. Dorsal habitus of Leptinopterus species: 1 and 3) L. asketus, male and female; 2 and 4) L. assimilis, male and female.