Mylabris (Mylabris) madani ( Escalera, 1909 )

Pan, Zhao & Bologna, Marco A., 2014, Taxonomy, Bionomics and Faunistics of the Nominate Subgenus of Mylabris Fabricius, 1775, with the description of five new species (Coleoptera: Meloidae: Mylabrini), Zootaxa 3806 (1), pp. 1-78 : 30-31

Mylabris (Mylabris) madani ( Escalera, 1909)

Figs. 1 N, 17A–G

Zonabris madani Escalera, 1909: 246 ; 1914: 396.

Zonabris tahari Escalera, 1909: 246 ; 1914: 396.

Zonabris madani var. transversalis Escalera, 1914: 396 .

Mylabris madani, Sumakov, 1915: 25 ; 1930: 40; Borchmann, 1917: 41; Mader, 1927: 858. Mylabris tahari, Sumakov, 1915: 25 ; 1930: 40; Mader, 1927: 858. Mylabris variabilis var. tahari, Borchmann, 1917: 57 .

Mylabris madani ab. transversalis, Mader, 1927: 858; Sumakov, 1930: 40.

Mylabris (Mylabris) madani, Kuzin, 1954: 355 ; Pardo Alcaide, 1954a: 341; 1954b: 74; Bologna, 2008: 397. Mylabris tahari ab. transversa Kaszab, 1958b: 190.

Type locality. “Marráques” ( Escalera, 1909). The type locality is a town of central Morocco.

Type specimens. Types of this species and of its synonym M. tahari (also described from “Marráques”), previously studied by Pardo Alcaide (1954a), were re-examined at MNCN.

Description. Body length: 9.5–16 mm; setae only black, but mixed golden and black on legs; antennomeres uniformly black, III almost twice as long as IV, XI less than twice as long as wide ( Fig. 17 A); pronotum clearly narrowed anteriorly and with evident fore transverse depression; elytra without black apical fascia and with four (2:2) parallel spots ( Fig. 17 B); setated posterior portion of the mesosternal “scutum” widely extended on the whole posterior half of “scutum” ( Fig. 17 C); male gonoforceps in lateral view slender ( Fig. 17 E), fused ventrally in basal two-fifths ( Fig. 17 D); aedeagal distal hook slightly far from apex and clearly distanced from the proximal one ( Fig. 17 F).

Taxonomic remarks. This species was sometimes confused with M. schreibersi , which is sympatric in Morocco, and has a similar elytral pattern. It differs from M. schreibersi in the following features: body relatively shorter; antennomere III ca. twice as long as IV, XI less than twice as long as wide; elytra without black apical narrow fascia; setated posterior portion of the mesosternal “scutum” widely extended on the whole posterior half of “scutum”.

The variation of elytral black pattern is represented in Fig. 17 B. One uncommon form with very elongate inner posterior spot was erroneously described as a distinct species ( tahari ), but its synonymy was defined by Pardo Alcaide (1954a).

Distribution. Morocco.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Habitus of the Mylabris (Mylabris) spp., dorsal view: A. M. alpicola, ♂; B. M. amorii, ♀; C. M. apiceguttata, ♂; D. M. apicenigra, ♂; E. M. barezensis, ♂; F. M. batnensis, ♂; G. M. cernyi, ♂; H. M. ciliciensis, ♂; I. M. concolor, ♂; J. M. desertica, ♀; K. M. emiliae, ♂; L. M. guerini, ♂; M. M. kodymi, ♂; N. M. madani, ♂; O. M. madoni, ♂; P. M. mediorientalis, ♂; Q. M. olivieri, ♂; R. M. parumpicta, ♀; S. M. poggii, ♂; T. M. pseudoemiliae, ♂; U. M. quadripunctata, ♂; V. M. schreibersi, ♂; W. M. tauricola, ♂; X. M. tricincta, ♂; Y. M. variabilis, ♂. Scale bar = 5 mm.

FIGURE 17. Mylabris (M.) madani Escalera: A. antenna; B. elytral pattern; C. mesosternum; D. tegmen, ventral view; E. tegmen, lateral view; F. aedeagus, lateral view; G. spiculum gastrale, dorsal view. Scale bar = 1 mm.