Phyllocladus cinnabarus Young

Young, Daniel K., 2013, Two new species of Phyllocladus (Coleoptera: Pyrochroidae: Pyrochroinae) from China, with a key to males of the Chinese species, Zootaxa 3669 (1) : -

Phyllocladus cinnabarus Young , new species

(Figs. 7–11)

Description of Male. Length (L) from anterior of labrum to apex of elytra 15.9 mm (n = 1). Color of cranium, antennae, maxillary palpi, legs, and venter, including prothoracic ventrite piceous to black; labial palpi testaceous; mandibles black suffused with brownish-orange; pronotum, hypomera, mesothoracic scutum, scutellum, and elytra red-orange.

Head: Cranium (Figs. 8–10) with surface shallowly, moderately densely punctate, more sparsely but coarsely punctate on surface of labrum; surface of frons rough, rugulose, producing a “mat” finish; cranial apparatus with well developed anterior excavations extending beneath antennal insertions, posterior excavations much broader, deeper, nitid. Labrum with anterior margin gradually, shallowly emarginate; frontoclypeal suture complete, forming transverse ridge. Antennal scape and pedicel (Figs. 8–10) shallowly, moderately densely punctate, clothed with very short setae; scape with dorsoanterior edge broadly rounded distally, its length 2.1X its maximal width; pedicel expanded in distal half, its length 1.2X its maximal width. Antennomere three broadly triangular by virtue of flattened, broadly expanded ramus; antennomeres 4–10 with each ramus as long as or longer than that of preceding antennomere, sublamellate, antennomeres 3–11 bearing a dense vestiture of short, erect setae. Posterior excavations of cranial apparatus (Figs. 8–9) somewhat separated anteromesally by broad, relatively flat frontal process, partially concealed in dorsal view by strongly elevated, hood-like vertex, the margin of which is sinuate and moderately emarginate mesally, posterior inner rim of excavations beset with elongate, anteriorly directed, fine, yellowish to coppery-yellow setae; anterior excavations of cranial apparatus broad, delimited laterally by antennal insertions.

PLATE 3. Figures 7–9. Phyllocladus cinnabarus sp. nov., adult male: 7, habitus, dorsal view (scale bar = 10mm); 8, head, dorsal view (scale bar = 1mm); 9, head, left anterolateral view (scale bar = 1mm).

PLATE 4. Figures 10–11. Phyllocladus cinnabarus sp. nov., adult male: 10, left antenna, dorsal view (scale bar = 2mm); 11, abdominal apex (ventrites 5–6), ventral view (scale bar = 2mm). Figure 12. Phyllocladus grandipennis (Pic) , adult male, habitus, dorsal view (scale bar = 1mm).

Thorax: Pronotum (Fig. 7) shining, shallowly, sparsely punctulate, vestiture consisting of fine, semierect to decumbent yellowish setae; sides rounded, width greatest in apical third; disk slightly depressed basomesally; pronotal base with well developed bead, margin nearly straight. Scutellum widest basally, distal margin narrowly rounded, surface punctulate, covered with short fine, retrorsely decumbent, yellowish setae and a longer, decumbent apical setal fringe. Elytra elongate, fairly flat, covering abdomen, slightly explanate distally, apicolateral margin of each broadly rounded apically; densely clothed in vestiture consisting of fine, coppery-orange setae; elytral surface inconspicuously costate or ribbed; humeral width (HW) 3.6 mm; maximal width (W) 5.4 mm (Fig. 7).

Abdomen: Fifth and sixth ventrites with apical margins concavely emarginate (Fig. 11); that of fifth ventrite relatively deeply and abruptly so; apical margin of ventrites five and six densely clothed in moderately stout, elongate, mostly retrorsely decumbent, yellow to coppery-yellow setae.

Female: Unknown.

Larva: Unknown.

Type material. HOLOTYPE (3): CHINA Guizhou Pro.[vince] // Tongren Po.[Prefecture-level City] Jiangkou Co.[unty] // Huihsiangpin // VI/1/2002 // W. T. Yang // Sweeping Net; [Second label, pink card stock]: Auto-Montaged // digital image(s) // per D. K. Young; [Third label; pink card stock]: HOLOTYPE: // Phyllocladus // cinnabarus // Young // Daniel K. Young (NMNS).

Distribution. As noted above, P. cinnabarus is presently known from the vicinity of Tongren, in Guizhou Province, south-central China. Tongren is located in the northeastern part of the province, near the border with Hunan Province, at 27.731506°N, 109.189669°E. While the region is primarily at low elevations, it is also characterized by a significant amount of karst topology and steep, wooded hills, which is the most likely habitat for this species.

Etymology. The specific epithet, cinnabarus , was chosen for two coincidental reasons. Cinnabar, or “cinnabarite” an ore of mercury (red cinnabar: α-HgS), is well known from Guizhou Province, hence, a geographical-geological link. Also, the mineral form of cinnabar typically manifests a bright red-orange to brickred color, not unlike the dominant pronotal and elytral color of this, and many other Asian pyrochroines.

PLATE 5. Figures 13–15. Phyllocladus kasantsevi Young , adult male: 13, habitus, dorsal view (scale bar = 10mm);14, head, dorsal view (scale bar = 1mm); 15, head, left anterolateral view (scale bar = 1mm).

Diagnosis. Since it is presently known from a single male, and because females of Phyllocladus are as yet difficult to characterize, the diagnosis is limited to a comparison with males of the other species in the genus. Like P. kasantsevi and P. bilobatus , P. cinnabarus , has the vertex elevated, forming a “hood-like” extension partially concealing the posterior region of the cranial apparatus (Figs. 8–9). The cranial apparatus is entirely exposed in P. grandipennis (Fig. 12) as well as Phyllocladus magnificus (Blair) and P. costatus . [ Phyllocladus brevior is known only from the female.] Phyllocladus kasantsevi has a broadly emarginate vertex (Fig. 14), but it is not distinctly bilobed as is that of P. bilobatus (Figs. 1–2); that of P. cinnabarus is more gradually and shallowly emarginate (Figs. 8–9) than either of the other two species. The elytra of P. kasantsevi (Fig. 13) are distinctly ribbed, with the elytral apices individually, acutely rounded; the elytra are not more than inconspicuously costate in P. cinnabarus and the apico-lateral elytral apices are broadly rounded (Fig. 7).