Tetraonyx angulicollis Haag-Rutenberg, 1879

Bologna, Marco A. & Riccieri, Alessandra, 2023, Taxonomic and faunistic study of four almost unknown Brazilian Meloidae (Coleoptera), Revista Brasileira de Entomologia (e 20230041) 67 (3), pp. 1-7 : 2-3

Tetraonyx angulicollis Haag-Rutenberg, 1879

Tetraonyx angulicollis Haag-Rutenberg, 1879: 253 , 270; Champion, 1892: 392; Selander, 1983: 279; García-París et al., 2007: 242.

Figures 1 a-c.

Material examined. 4 exx., “Faz. (= Fazenda) Sta. (= Santa) Carlota, Cajuru, SP, BR ”, with different dates (1 ex. 25.X.1988; 1 ex. 10.10.1989; 1 ex. 29.III.1991; 1 ex. without date) .

Taxonomy. The description of this species made byHaag-Rutenberg (1879) is clear and permitted the identification of our specimens. The genus Tetraonyx includes two described subgenera, the nominate and the monotypic Paratetraonyx Kaszab, 1959 ( Pinto and Bologna, 1999).

The nominate subgenus was divided by Haag-Rutenberg into two lineages: one (A) characterized by the sides of pronotum concave in middle and with more marked angles; the second (B) with pronotum not incised medially and obtuse angles. According to the shape of pronotum ( Figure 1c), T. angulicollis belongs to the lineage A and it is the only species with the dorsal body colour totally ochre-brown ( Figure 1a).

Among the examined specimens, the abdomen could be entirely black or with the last three ventrites orange; meso- and metapleures totally or partially black; mesosternum orange or partially black; antennae black and antennomeres similar in both sexes.

Remarks. Haag-Rutenberg (1879) cited “ Mexico?” as type locality of T. angulicollis , but expressed doubts about it. Subsequently, this uncertain range was quoted in all papers and catalogues in which the species was mentioned ( Champion, 1892; Borchmann, 1917; Denier, 1935a; Blackwelder, 1945; Selander, 1983; García-París et al., 2007). Nevertheless, none of these authors examined the type or additional specimens and, after the examination of the new material, we can define that the range of T. angulicollis certainly includes the south-eastern Brazil (São Paulo State) rather than Mexico.