Coptocephala peresi ( Vauloger de Beaupré, 1895 )

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 : 20

Coptocephala peresi ( Vauloger de Beaupré, 1895)

Clytra (Coptocephala) peresi Vauloger de Beaupré, 1895: 194 (original description).

Coptocephala ssavolimbata Pic, 1905a: 122 (original description).

Coptocephala perezi var. maculicollis Pic, 1919a: 14 (original description).

Type localities. Clytra peresi : ‘ Tunisia: Kairouan’. Coptocephala ssavolimbata : ‘ Algérie: Biskra’. Coptocephala perezi var. maculicollis : ‘Egypte’ [from footnote].

Type material examined. Clytra peresi : not examined.

Coptocephala ssavolimbata : SYNTYPE: 1 ♀, ‘ Algérie / Biskra [w, h] // type. [w, h] // TYPE [r, p] // Muséum Paris / Coll. M. Pic [w, h] // Coptocephala / Ħavolimbata Pic [w, h] // HOLOTYPUS / Coptocephala / Ħavolimbata / Pic, 1950 [sic!] [r, h] // Coptocephala (s. str.) / peresi Vauloger / (= Ħavolimbata / Pic) [h] / R. Regalin det. 199 [p] 7 [w, h]’ ( MNHN – coll. Pic).

Coptocephala perezi var. maculicollis : SYNTYPE: 1 ♂, ‘Coll. A. Petroff / Mariut / 18-3-17 [w, h] // Coll. Alħeri / Egypte [w, p] // Coptocephala / Perezi Var. Nov. / maculicollis Pic / TYPE [w, h] // 1917 [w, h]’ ( NHMB).

Distribution. Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia ( REGALIN & MEDVEDEV 2010b).

Comments. Pic ̓ s collection in MNHN contains two specimens (♂and ♀) of the species from ‘Djilma ( Tunisie)’ with subsequent red type labels and one male from ‘Les Lacs’ with red label ‘? TYPE’. However, the localities Djilma and Les Lacs do not ħt the original description, and in our opinion these specimens are not the true types of this species. PIC (1897c) published the information that C. peresi was described based on one male given by M. J. Perez to captain de Vauloger and also mentioned an additional male from Lacs.

Dorsal colouration of C. peresi is variable, particularly the pronotum, which is either metallic blue with thin pale margins in dark specimens, or the metallic pattern is reduced to large central spot with two small spots laterally, or reduced to four ( var. maculicollis ) or two ( ssavolimbata ) small metallic spots. Elytra are metallic blue with thin orange lateral margin and larger apical orange spot, or orange colour extends also to sutural margin and scutellar area ( ssavolimbata ). Coptocephala ssavolimbata and C. perezi var. maculicollis are conħrmed as synonyms of C. peresi .