Hycleus marcipoli Pan & Bologna

Pan, Zhao, Carosi, Monica & Bologna, Marco A., 2014, A new Eastern Asian Hycleus and key to the Chinese species of the phaleratus group (Coleoptera, Meloidae, Mylabrini), ZooKeys 463, pp. 11-19 : 13-16

Taxon classification Animalia Coleoptera Meloidae

Hycleus marcipoli Pan & Bologna sp. n. Figures 1a, 2-9

Type specimens.

Holotype male (MAB), labelled "China, Kansu mer. Shinlong-Shan Mts. Yuzhong, 3200 m a.s.l., 6/7.VII.1998, L. Bieber leg." (white, rectangular, printed). Paratypes: 3 females (MAB) with the same label of holotype; 1 female (MAB), labelled “Formosa” (white, rectangular, printed); 1 male (MAB), labelled "Thailandia, Ghiang Dao, Chiang Mai" (white, rectangular, printed); 1 female (MAB) labelled "Nord Thailand, Doi Chiang Dao, 1300 m, 20.IX.1979, T. Racheli leg." (white, rectangular, printed); 1 female (MAB), labelled "Laos, Luang Prabang, 20.VII.1975, Rossetto leg." (white, rectangular, printed); 2 males and 1 female (MAB), labelled "Laos, Vientiane, Phu Khao Khoay, 15.V.2006, D. Macale leg." (white, rectangular, printed); 6 males and 7 females (MAB) labelled "Laos, Oudomxay prov., Namo distr., Phouxang, 10-26.VI.2008" (white, rectangular, printed). All types have additional labels "Holotypus (and Paratypus, respectively), Hycleus marcipoli sp. n. Z. Pan & M. Bologna det. 2014" (red, rectangular, printed and handwritten).

Type locality.

"China, Kansu mer. Shinlong-Shan Mts. Yuzhong". Shinlong-Shan Mts., as written on the label, is the transliterated name of the Xinglong-Shan Mts., located in the Yuzhong County, Lanzhou City, in Southeastern part of Gansu Province. These mountains represent the eastward extension of the Qilian-Shan Mts. This area is usually included in the Palaearctic region, but according to its animal and plant diversity, it belongs to the transitional Chinese area.

Diagnosis.

This is a species of the Mesoscutatus type lineage, belonging to the phaleratus group and phenetically similar to Hycleus phaleratus (Pallas, 1782). Body only with black setae except the elytral axillary fore spot, the protibiae and protarsi with mixed black and yellow-brown setae. Basal part of antennomere XI narrower than the apical part of antennomere X (Fig. 3). Elytral yellow-reddish fasciae wider and slightly flexuous (Figs 1a, 4). Fore margins of mesepisterna forming a median narrow groove, margins almost touching each other (Fig. 5). Apical setae on external side of protibiae distinctly longer than those on other parts of tibia, reaching the apical margin of protarsomere I. Proximal aedeagal dorsal hook positioned far from the distal one (Fig. 6).

Description.

Body (Fig. 1a) unicolour black, except elytra, which are black but with two testaceous fore spots (one axillary and one close to the scutellum), two slightly sinuate testaceous fasciae, a medial one and a subapical one (Fig. 4). Body with black setae, also on ventral side, but mixed with golden setae on the elytral axillary fore spot, on inner side of protibiae, and on protarsal pads. Body length (apex of mandibles-apex of elytra): 26-38 mm.

Head subquadrate, slightly longer than wide, with the maximum width at the level of eyes. Punctures shallow, medium in size and quite dense, in some specimens reduced near the frontal suture, with an inconspicuous depression in the middle, between eyes. Eye globose, with the antero-dorsal margin slightly sinuate, just behind the antennal insertion. Temple subparallel, only slightly curved posteriad and subequal in length to the longitudinal diameter of eye. Clypeus, narrower than the interocular width, rounded on sides, posteriorly with same punctures of frons and anteriorly almost smooth and slightly sloping; labrum subreniform, scarcely narrower than clypeus, rounded on sides, the fore margin moderately sinuate in both sexes, medially slightly depressed. Male maxillary galeae non modified in both sexes, laterally and ventrally, with a tuft of elongate robust setae, not thickened, on posterior half; maxillary palpomeres slightly enlarged apically, particularly II and III, palpomere IV suboval; labial palpomere II slightly widening (Fig. 2). Mandibles curved and progressively narrowed on the apical third. Antennae with 11 antennomeres (Figs 3): I-V more or less shiny, the remaining subopaque; antennomere I ca. as long as II-III together; II subglobose; III-IV subcylindrical and slender, III about 1.5 times as long as IV; V-VIII similar in length, subtrapezoidal, apically enlarged on external side, increasing in width from V to IX and then decreasing from X to XI, X subquadrate and slightly shorter than IX; antennomere XI distinctly narrower and ca 1.5 as long as X, subcylindrical but narrowed in the apical third.

Pronotum elongated, distinctly longer than wide, about as wide as head at eyes, subparallel on sides on the basal 2/3, and then distinctly narrowing anteriad; fore portion greatly depressed, as well as on the middle of base, just in front of mesonotum; punctures similar to that on head, with a longitudinal medial small furrow, almost impunctate. Elytral pattern as in Figs 1a, 4. Mesosternum of the Mesoscutatus-type (Fig. 5); fore margins of mesepisterna forming a median narrow groove, margins almost touching each other. Legs slender; protibiae with two spurs, both tibial spurs on all legs slender; protarsi in both sexes with a distinct golden ventral pad; apical setae on external side of male distinctly longer than those on other parts of the tibia, reaching the apical margin of protarsomere I; external side of male protibiae with scattered longer setae, and inner side on both sexes with dense golden setation. Protarsi as long as protibiae, protarsomeres always longer than wide, slightly widened apically and with dense and longer setae at apex.

Posterior margin of the penultimate male abdominal sternite sublinear, that of the last visible sternite only slightly emarginated. Parameres (Figs 7, 8) distinctly elongate with slender and elongate apical lobes, much narrower than basal third in ventral view; aedeagus with two slender hooks, proximal one positioned far from the distal one (Fig. 6); endophallic hook small and slender.

Etymology.

As a tribute to the collaboration established among the authors during the Ph.D. studies made in Italy by one of them (PZ), the new species is named after Marco Polo (1254-1324), the Venetian explorer who, during a long period of permanence in China in the late XIII century (1271-1284), established the first well documented relationships between the Chinese and European worlds and opened western culture to the wide and rich Chinese heritage.

Taxonomic remarks.

The species of the phaleratus group are phenetically similar in body shape, but variable in size and elytral colouration; Hycleus phaleratus is the most similar to Hycleus marcipoli . These species have been repeatedly confused due to their similar, but they can be identified by the following characters used in the key below: colour of setae on ventral side of body and on elytral yellow-reddish fasciae and spots, especially the axillary spot; length of setae on male protibiae and protarsi; shape of protarsi, mesosternum, and male genitalia; extension of the fore pronotal depression.

Distribution.

China (SE Gansu, Taiwan); Laos; Thailand.