Pityophthorus deodara ( Stebbing, 1903 )

Buhroo, Abdul Ahad, 2024, A taxonomic monograph of subfamily Scolytinae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in the Western Himalaya, Zootaxa 5533 (1), pp. 1-82 : 10

3. Pityophthorus deodara ( Stebbing, 1903)

( Figure 5 )

= Cryphalus deodara Stebbing, 1903

= himalayensis Stebbing, 1914 ( Cryphalus )

= sampsoni Stebbing, 1914 ( Cryphalus )

This species is diagnosed by the following morphological characters: frons convex, finely punctate and reticulate, subglabrous, with conspicuous, acute median carina; the anterior margin of compound eye emarginate; pronotum slightly wider than long; basal margin fine, truncate, sides behind very slightly oblique, rounded in front and sinuate before apex; apical margin obtusely rounded and scarcely serrate; anterior half with a number of asperities arranged concentrically, most prominent anteriorly; the posterior half rugose punctate, disc shiny, closely and deeply punctured with a median impunctate area; pronotal surface with short, recumbent, setae prominent laterally; scutellum shiny, wide; elytra 1.60× as long as wide, slightly narrower at base than pronotum, wider apically, twice as long as pronotum; sides almost straight up to apical fourth, then constricted towards broadly rounded apex; the basal area with transverse rugosities in between the strial punctures, rest glabrous; strial punctures moderately large, deep becoming minute on declivity; interstriae glabrous, impunctate twice as wide as striae, sutural interstriae somewhat raised; declivity rather steep, sulci weaker than other two species; declivital surface moderately shining, with a few weak tubercles apically, the outer margin raised; vestiture of minute strial hairs on elytra, and a few short, erect, interstrial setae on declivity; body length: 1.7 mm.

Material examined: Lectotype (here designated). Label information: Pityophthorus deodara, Konain, Jaunsar, N.W. Himalaya, E.P. Stebbing , 26.05.1902 ( FRI)

Distribution: India: Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir, Uttarakhand

Hosts: Abies pindrow , Cedrus deodara , Pinus gerardiana , P. roxburghii , P. wallichiana ( Pinaceae ) Phylogenetic assessment:

A phylogenetic analysis of Himalayan species Pityophthorus cedri along with other closely related species in the genus was carried out using the COX-1 gene ( Fig. 6 ). The NJ tree revealed that Pityophthorus cedri formed a distinct clade from the other species, including Pityophthorus pulchellus Eichhoff, 1869 , Pityophthorus sp. , and Pityophthorus carmeli Swaine, 1918 . It varied from P. pulchellus of North America by an interspecific nucleotide difference that ranged from 14.83 to 15.02%. The clades of Pityophthorus sp. and Pityophthorus carmeli were monophyletic in this analysis.

Figures

FIGURE 5. Pityophthorus deodara. Lectotype dorsal view A, lateral view B.

FIGURE 6. A phylogenetic tree obtained from the NJ for the COX-1 genes of P. cedri (in blue) and related species. Numbers at the branches represent bootstrap values.