Bombardier beetles of the genus Pheropsophus Solier 1833 (Carabidae: Brachininae: Brachinini) from Indian subcontinent
Author
Venugopal, Akhil S.
Author
Thomas, Sabu K.
text
Zootaxa
2019
2019-05-17
4608
1
65
89
journal article
21232
10.11646/zootaxa.4608.1.3
c4d067fa-4c56-4248-8084-caf4dd1eea21
1175-5326
3993611
3540218C-34FA-4D91-925A-3E89C6C3A7C1
Pheropsophus sobrinus
(
DEJEAN, 1826
)
(
Fig. 3 F, 3 G, 3 H
,
5 G
)
=
Pheropsophus desbordesi
MAINDRON, 1899
Brachinus sobrinus
Dejean, 1826: 462
;
Chaudoir, 1876: 25
;
Arrow, 1901: 202
;
Andrewes, 1930: 273
;
Felix
et al.
2012: 77
;
Hrdlička, 2017: 480
;
Ullah
et al.
2017: 180
.
Pheropsophus desbordesi
Maindron, 1899: 16
;
1905: 95
;
Arrow, 1901: 202
;
Bedel, 1914: 310
;
Andrewes, 1930: 273
.
Specimens examined (n= 83)
:
Holotype
(by monotypy). labelled “in
India
Orient,
Ex. Musaeo Chaudoir D. Dupont
, sobrinus” in
MNHN
.
Other specimens examined:
3 exs.
,
India
:
Bengal
,
Coll. Lamarc Piqot
;
1 ex.
,
India
: Pondicherry
;
2 exs.
India
:
Madras
;
1 ex.
India
:
Calcutta
,
Coll. Thieme
;
2 exs.
India
:
Calcutta
;
1 ex.
,
India
: S. Indien:
Coimbatore
,
1400 ft.
XII.69,
Coll. P.S. Nathan
;
1 ex.
India
: Pondicherry
;
22 exs.
India
:
South
India
: Pondicherry:
Karikal
,
Coll. P.S. Nathan
;
2 exs.
India
:
South
India
:
Tamil Nadu
:
Coimbatore
, 1400
Ft.
, coll.
P.S. Nathan
;
1 ex.
,
India
:
South
India
:
Anamalai Hills
:
Cinchona
, 3500
Ft.
,
Coll. P.S. Nathan
;
2 exs.
India
: S. Indien:
Coimbatore
,
1400 ft.
, IV.68,
Coll. P.S. Nathan
;
1 ex.
,
India
:
Tamil Nadu
:
Tranquebar
(now Tharangambadi),
V.1951
,
Coll. H. Korge
;
44 exs.
India
:
Coimbatore
: TNAU
;
1 ex.
,
India
:
Kerala
:
Palakkad
,
Hand
picking,
27.XII.2016
, coll.
M.Divya
;
2 exs.
,
India
:
Kerala
:
Palakkad
,
Hand
picking,
26.XI.2017
, coll.
M. Divya.
Description.
Length:
15.8 mm
; TW:
6.8 mm
Colour:
Head, pronotum, humeral spots, elytral median transverse bands, elytral apical band, femur, tibia, reddish yellow; antennal segments 1, 3, 4 with middle reddish yellow and anterior and posterior margin reddish brown, segments 2, 5–11 entirely reddish brown; elytra black; legs with apex of femur with small black spot; underside of head and thorax (including prosternum) entirely reddish yellow; mesosternum and metasternum reddish brown.
Head:
Small, stout, smooth, pentagonal; eyes protruding.
Pronotum:
Square shaped, anterior and posterior margins straight, lateral margin with apical 2/3
rd
convex, basal 1/3
rd
straight; disc glabrous with deep puncture marks in basal part, median furrow shallow; lateral beads present, but not prominent.
Elytra:
Rectangular, lateral margins subparallel, basal margin straight, humerus pronounced, apical margin straight truncate; humeral spot small, median transverse band broad and rounded with serrated edges, reddish yellow apical band wide, broad, a reddish yellow line running along the lateral sides of the elytra connecting the median transverse band and apical band; striations narrow, intervals flat, broad.
Geographical distribution.
INDIA
:
Tamil Nadu
: Coimbatore, Tharangambadi, Anaimalai hills (
Andrewes 1930
);
Pondicherry
: Karaikal (
Andrewes 1930
);
Kerala
: Palakkad (New record); Bengal: Kolkata (
Andrewes 1930
);
Arunachal Pradesh
(
Hrdlička 2017
);
Himachal Pradesh
(
Hrdlička 2017
); Kashmir (
Hrdlička 2017
); Bengal: Darjil- ing (
Hrdlička 2017
);
Uttarakhand
(
Hrdlička 2017
);
PAKISTAN
: Rawalpindi. Chakwal. Poonch (
Ullah
et al.
2017
);
NEPAL
(
Felix
et al.
2012
);
SRI LANKA
(
Felix
et al.
2012
);
TAIWAN
(
Felix
et al.
2012
);
BHUTAN
(
Felix
et al.
2012
);
YEMEN
(
Andrewes 1930
).
Remarks.
Pheropsophus sobrinus
is closely related to
P. bimaculatus
but differs by its smaller size, narrower elytra and pronotum, head without black spot, humeral spot very small and wide elytral apical spot.
The specimen based on which
Pheropsophus sobrinus
was described by
Dejean (1826)
has pronotum completely reddish yellow (
Fig. 3 F
). Specimens with middle of pronotum reddish yellow and anterior and posterior margin black (
Fig. 3 H
) are also frequent among
P. sobrinus
(
Felix
et al.
2012
)
. However, the variants of
P. sobrinus
could be misidentified as
P. hilaris
when the brief
type
description of
Fabricius (1798)
alone is considered without comparing with the
type
specimen of
P. hilaris
(refer the remarks of
P.hilaris
and misplacement of
type
specimens). This error might have lead
Chaudoir (1876)
to synonymise
P. sobrinus
with
P. hilaris
.
It is this variant character seen in
P. sobrinus
along with the non-availability and misplacement of the
type
series of
P. hilaris
that caused subsequent workers (
Arrow 1901
,
Andrewes 1921a
,
Felix
et al.
2012
,
Ullah
et al.
2017
) to misidentify
P. sobrinus
as a variant subspecies of
P. hilaris
(
Fabricius 1798
)
. Comparison of the tracked down
type
series of
P.hilaris
at ZMUK (in Fabricius Collection) with the
type
of
P. sobrinus
showed that
P. sobrinus
is entirely different from
P. hilaris
in having completely reddish yellow head, rectangular, reddish yellow pronontal marking covering the lateral margins, convex pronotal disc, narrower and subparallel elytra with prominent squared humerus, very minute humeral spot (absent in many cases) and broad, yellow elytral apical band. Hence the species status of
P. sobrinus
(
Dejean 1826
)
is reinstated.