Elmomorphus bryanti Hinton, 1935

Selnekovič, Dávid, Jäch, Manfred A. & Kodada, Ján, 2024, Taxonomic revision of the genus Elmomorphus Sharp, 1888. II. Redescription of the genus and review of the species from India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, China, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam (Coleoptera: Dryopidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 957, pp. 1-229 : 81-84

Elmomorphus bryanti Hinton, 1935

Figs 38 , 110D

Elmomorphus bryanti Hinton, 1935: 171–172 (original description).

Elmomorphus bryanti – Shepard & Sites 2016: 93.

Differential diagnosis

Elmomorphus bryanti resembles E. montanus , E. paramontanus sp. nov., and E. prosternalis but differs in the smaller body size, TL: 2.6–2.8 mm versus TL: 3.20 in E. prosternalis, TL 3.35 mm in E. montanus , and TL: ♂♂ 2.90–3.33 mm (3.07± 0.12, n=26), ♀♀ 2.88–3.35 mm (3.20 ± 0.14, n =9) in E. paramontanus . In E. bryanti , the elytral plastron bands are wider, occupying approximately two-thirds of the elytral width, while in the other mentioned species, they are narrower (up to one-third of the elytral width, measured at elytral midlength). Elmomorphus bryanti further differs in the presence of long setae on the labrum and in two clusters on the male prosternal process, and in the unique shape of the aedeagus ( Fig. 38 ).

Type material

Holotype

MALAYSIA – Selangor State • ♀; “MALAYA Kuala Lumpur at light April 8th 1932 H.M. Pendlebury ”; NHMUK.

Paratypes

According to the original description: “Three with same data as above [holotype], but collected on different dates, as follows: one on 1 Aug., 1929; two in Feb., 1931” ( Hinton 1935). There is one female in the Hinton collection in NHMUK, with labels corresponding to the data mentioned above and the date “Feb. 1931”. However, this specimen is labelled “Paratype, pusillus, H.E. Hinton”. It is quite possible, that this specimen is a paratype of E. bryanti . Maybe Hinton had originally planned to name this species “pusillus”.

Additional material examined

MALAYSIA – Selangor State • 1 ♂; “ Gombak R. Malaya 1969 J.E. Bishop ”; NHMUK .

Type locality

Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur.

Redescription

Body elongate oval, moderately convex dorsally, TL: 2.6–2.8 mm. Colouration brown; head and pronotum darkened; legs, anterior pronotal margin, antennae, and mouthparts paler.

Cranial surface covered with plastron, except for narrow strip along anterior clypeal margin and wedge-shaped area on vertex and frons reaching to approximately midlength of eyes; round setiferous punctures separated by 1–2 × puncture diameters, each smaller than eye facet. Labrum transverse, anterior margin slightly emarginate, exposed portion with small setiferous punctures; males with long setae extending beyond anterior margin.

Pronotum transverse, weakly convex, disc nearly flat, PW/PL 1.66–1.91; plastron present on triangular areas in antero-lateral angles; punctures approximately as wide as on vertex; lateral sides weakly curved before anterior angles. Prosternal process without plastron; lateral sides rounded; lateral portions slightly raised, each with cluster of long setae in male; median keel flat. Metaventrite flat; narrow lateral sides of metaventral process raised. Elytra widest in middle, moderately convex, EL/EW: 1.64–1.70; punctures scattered; plastron forming posteriorly expanding lateral band on each elytron extending to two-thirds of elytron width in dorsal aspect. Tibiae approximately as long as lateral pronotal side, weakly bent. Each tarsus approximately two-thirds as long as corresponding tibia; terminal tarsomere as long as preceding segments combined; claws strongly bent, not expanded in male.

Ventrites covered with plastron except for middle of ventrites 1–2. Intercoxal process of ventrite 1 very feebly punctate in holotype, without admedian keels. Ventrite 5 rounded at apex and with short longitudinal keel in female, truncate and without keel in male.Aedeagus ( Fig. 38 ): phallobase moderately long and slender, PhL/PrL: 1.36; parameres slightly bent ventrad, apices rounded; sclerotised fibula slender.

Secondary sexual dimorphism

The single male specimen known possesses clusters of long setae on labrum and prosternal process. Ventrite 5 rounded at apex; with short subapical keel in females, truncate and without keel in the male specimen examined.

Distribution

Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, Selangor),? Thailand (checklist published by Shepard & Sites 2016, without any further locality details; identification needs confirmation; it cannot be excluded that the specimens recorded from Thailand actually belong to the closely related E. paramontanus sp. nov. described herein) ( Fig. 110D ).

Figures

Fig. 38. Elmomorphus bryanti Hinton, 1935, male from Gombak River, Malaysia (BMNH), aedeagus. A. Lateral aspect. B. Ventral aspect. Scale bar: 0.1 mm.

Fig. 110. Distribution maps.A. Elmomorphus corpulentus sp. nov.B. E. ellipticus sp. nov.C. E. mazzoldii sp. nov. D. E. bryanti Hinton, 1935. E. E. prosternalis Hinton, 1935. F. E. montanus (Grouvelle, 1913).