Tituboea saadensis ( Pic, 1894 )

Bezdċk, Jan & Regalin, Renato, 2015, Identity of species-group taxa of the Western Palaearctic Clytrini (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) described by Maurice Pic and Louis Kocher, Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae (suppl.) 55, pp. 1-114 : 58-60

Tituboea saadensis ( Pic, 1894)

( Figs 57–60 , 214–222 )

Melitonoma saadensis Pic, 1894a: 221 (original description).

Melitonoma saadensis var. sefrensis Pic, 1897: 82 (original description).

Coptocephala volatica Normand, 1949: 92 (original description), syn. nov.

Coptocephala adrarensis Pic, 1942a: 78 (original description), syn. nov.

Antipa reymondi Kocher, 1956: 127 (original description), syn. nov.

Type localities. Melitonoma saadensis : ‘Bou-Saada’ [ Algeria]. Melitonoma saadensis var. sefrensis : ‘Aïn-Sefra’ [ Algeria]. Coptocephala volatica : ‘Gafsa’ [ Tunisia]. Coptocephala adrarensis : ‘Adrar des Iforas (Sahara central)’ [northeastern Mali]. Antipa reymondi: ‘Oum-Jerane, dans le pré-Sahara marocain, au N.-E. du coude du Drâ’ [ Morocco].

Type material examined. Melitonoma saadensis : SYNTYPES: 1 ♀, ‘Bou / Saada / 1873 [w, h] // Macrolenes / ♀ nov. sp.! [b, h] // [illegible, w, h] // Biskra in / coll. Chobaut [w, h] // type [w, h] // Le Nat. No. 182 / (… 94) p. 221 [partly illegible, w, h] // saadensis [w, h] // TYPE [r, p]’ ( MNHN – coll. Pic) ; 1 ♀, ‘ Bou / Saada / 1873 [w, h] // Serait ce la ♀ d ̓ une / nouvelle espèce de / Macrolenes? [w, h] // type [w, h] // saadensis /n sp Pic / descrip. incompl. [w, h] // TYPE [r, p]’ ( MNHN – coll. Pic).

Melitonoma saadensis var. sefrensis : HOLOTYPE: ♂, ‘ AÏN-SEFRA / Mai-June 1896 / L. BLEUSE [w, p] // saadensis / v. sefrensis / Pic [w, h] // Type [red letters, w, p] // Melitonoma / saadensis / v. sefrensis / Chob. [w, h]’ ( MNHN – coll. Chobaut).

Coptocephala volatica : not examined. Described based on holotype (♂), probably deposited in Institut National Agronomique in Tunis.

Coptocephala adrarensis : SYNTYPES: ♂, ‘ Coptocephala / adrarensis / n sp [w, h] // Kidal / Adrar des Iforas / aout 1941 / Volkonsky [w, h] // TYPE [r, p] // Museum Paris [p] / C. adrarensis / C. Peyer. [w, h]’; ♀, ‘ Adrar des Iforas / Od Tin Biden / (s. sahélo-sahar.) / 6-8 aout 1941 / Volkonsky [w, h] // Museum Paris [p] / C. adrarensis / C. Peyer. [w, h]’; ♀, ‘ Adrar / des Iforas / Volkonsky [w, h] // Museum Paris [p] / C. adrarensis / C. Peyr. [w, h] // TYPE [r, p]’ (all specimens in MNHN – coll. generale, box ‘ Coptocephala pre-etude Rapilly’).

Antipa reymondi: HOLOTYPE: ♂, ‘ Oum Jerane [h] / SUD MAROCAIN / Reymond coll. [p] 4. 52 [w, h] // TYPE [r, h] // [blank blue round label] // Antipa / Reymondi m. [h] / Kocher det. [w, p]’ ( PJCP). PARATYPES: 2 ♂♂, ‘Oum Jerane / Gora Mimoun [h] / SAHARA MAR. / (Reymond) [p] 4. 52 [w, h] // [blank blue round label] // PARATYPE [r, p]’ ( PJCP). POSSIBLE PARATYPE: ♂, ‘Oum Jerane [h] / SUD MAROCAIN / Reymond coll. [p] 4. 52 [w, h] // 19 [w, h] // Antipa / Reymondi / Kocher [w, h] // COLLEZIONE / M. DACCORDI [b, p]’ ( MDCV).

Additional material examined. ALGERIA: Ghardaia ( Mzab ), without additional data, 2♀♀ ( MNHN) . TUNISIA: Bau Abdalah env., 40 km SE of Gafsa, Jebel Hachichina , 2.vi.1994, 1 ♂, F. Kantner leg. ( FKCC) ; Bled Thalah , pays des gommiers, without additional data, 1 ♂ ( MNHN) ; N Jebel Cherichira, 10 km E Haffouz (W Kairouan), 9.–10. vi. 1994, 1 ♂, S. Be č vá ř leg. ( RRCM) .

Redescription. Body length: ♂♂ 3.9–5.5 mm; ♀♀ 4.2–6.2 mm.

Male ( Fig. 217 ). Head orange with apices of mandibles black, antennae with darkened antennomeres V–XI, pronotum orange, scutellum dark with orange apex, elytra orange usually with 4 small black spots (2, 2), underside orange, metasternum darkened. Legs orange, claws infuscate.

Head and mandibles only slightly enlarged ( Figs 218, 221 ). Mandibles small, left mandible slightly longer, sharp. Labrum transverse, anterior margin concave, lateral margins convergent and rounded, surface with row of pale setae along anterior margin. Head covered with dense short setae and small ħne punctures, only clypeus nearly impunctate and glabrous. Clypeus widely shallowly concave. Eyes small. Frons very wide, 3.50 times as wide as diameter of eye, interocular space shallowly depressed. Antennae short, 0.25 times as long as body, antennomere I club-shaped, II and III very small, IV small, triangular, antennae serrated from antennomere V, antennomeres V–X wider than long.

Pronotum strongly transverse, 1.75–1.80 times as wide as long, widest in basal third, moderately convex, lustrous, covered with very ħne punctures (sometimes almost indistinct), glabrous. Anterior margin slightly concave, lateral margins moderately rounded, posterior margin nearly straight but moderately bisinuate in scutellar area. Anterior angles nearly rectangular with tip rounded, posterior angles obtusangulate with tip rounded. All angles with setigerous pore bearing long pale seta. Lateral and posterior margins bordered, anterior margin bordered only in lateral parts. Posterior angles elevated above elytral base. Scutellum triangular with rounded tip, glabrous, smooth, but with large punctures along lateral margins, scutellar apex elevated above elytral level.

Elytra subcylindrical, 0.67–0.72 times as long as body, 1.35–1.45 times as long as wide in humeral part, glabrous, lustrous, densely covered with small confused punctures. Basal margin with complete thin border, in middle distinctly elevated forming narrow keel. Epipleura impunctate, glabrous, very wide in anterior quarter, suddenly narrowed and disappearing in 1/4 of elytral length. Lateral margin of elytra widely concave in lateral view.

Legs. Protibiae prolonged. Protarsi ( Fig. 60 ): protarsomere I elongate triangular, 2.20 times as long as broad, protarsomere II elongate triangular, 1.60 times as long as broad, length ratios of protarsomeres I–IV equal to 100-80-70-90. Metatarsi short and slender, length ratios of metatarsomeres I–IV equal to 100-67-67-133. Claws simple.

Male genitalia. Aedeagus with triangular apex, in lateral view S-shaped ( Figs 57–58 ).

Female (Fig. 2014). Head and mandibles not enlarged ( Fig. 215 ). Frons 2.90–3.15 times as wide as diameter of eye. Protibiae not enlarged, protarsi short, length ratios of protarsomeres I–IV equal to 100-60-60-120. Spermatheca: cornu C-shaped, apically slightly wider, spermathecal duct slightly longer than cornu ( Fig. 59 ).

Variability. Head orange or with ill deħned transverse dark stripe between eyes ( Figs 215, 218, 221 ). Antennae usually with darkened antennomeres V–XI, rarely almost completely orange with only apical antennomeres slightly infuscate. Elytra usually with four black spots, rarely humeral or scutellar spots missing ( Figs 214, 217, 220 ), posterior pair of spots may be connected. Underside either completely orange, orange with ill-deħned darkened lateral sides or metasternum completely darkened.

The populations in Morocco and Mali are on average larger and the aedeagus is more curved in lateral view ( Fig. 58 ) than in those from Algeria and Tunisia.

Distribution. Algeria ( PIC 1894a, 1897, present paper), Tunisia ( NORMAND 1949, present paper), Morocco ( KOCHER 1956), Mali ( PIC 1942a).

Comments. Type specimens of Melitonoma saadensis , M. saadensis var. sefrensis , Coptocephala adrarensis and Antipa reymondi were examined and are treated as conspeciħc. The holotype of Coptocephala volatica is probably deposited in the Institut National Agronomique in Tunis and is currently inaccessible. The description of C. volatica is accompanied with a photo of habitus and a drawing of the aedeagus ( NORMAND 1949) – both well ħt other known specimens. In sum, all the above mentioned taxa are synonymized with Tituboea saadensis .

The specimen found in MDCV has a questionable type status. Evidently, it originates from the same series as the original Kocher ̓ s type material as the locality label is identical to the holotype. However, we are not sure if Kocher had this specimen in hands when describing Antipa reymondi.

Figures

Figs 57–62. 57–60 – Tituboea saadensis (Pic, 1894): 57 – aedeagus (dorsal and lateral views, from Algeria); 58 – aedeagus (dorsal and lateral views,from Mali); 59 – spermatheca; 60 – right male protarsus.61–62 – Tituboea carmelica (Lopatin & Chikatunov, 2001):61 – aedeagus (dorsal and lateral views); 62 – right male protarsus.Scale bar: 0.5 mm.

Figs 214–222. Tituboea saadensis (Pic, 1894). 214–216 – Syntype of Melitonoma saadensis (female, 4.7 mm): 214 – habitus; 215 – head; 216 – labels. 217–219 – Holotype of Melitonoma saadensis var. sefrensisPic, 1897 (male, 4.2 mm): 217 – habitus; 218 – head; 219 – labels. 220–222 – Possible paratype of Antipa reymondi Kocher, 1956 (male, 5.5 mm): 220 – habitus; 221 – head; 222 – labels.