Limnobaris dolorosa (Goeze, 1777)

Prena, Jens, Korotyaev, Boris, Wang, Zhiliang, Ren, Li, Liu, Ning & Zhang, Runzhi, 2014, A taxonomic revision of Limnobaris Bedel in the strict sense (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Baridinae), with particular emphasis on the species found in China, ZooKeys 416, pp. 41-66 : 47

Taxon classification Animalia Coleoptera Curculionidae

Limnobaris dolorosa (Goeze, 1777)

"17. Curculio". Geoffroy (1762: 285) [nomenclaturally unavailable work, species names not binominal].

Curculio dolorosus Goeze, 1777: 411. Description from Geoffroy (1762) in combination with available name. Neotype designated by Dieckmann (1991: 305), male, Lagny, France (MNHN).

Curculio funereus Geoffroy in Fourcroy 1785: 121. Description from Geoffroy (1762) in combination with species name. Objective synonym of Curculio dolorosus Goeze.

Curculio dolorosus Gmelin, 1790: 1804. Description from Geoffroy (1762) in combination with species name. Homonym and objective synonym of Curculio dolorosus Goeze.

Curculio funereus Herbst, 1795: 164. Lectoype designated by Dieckmann (1991: 307), male, vicinity of Brunswick [Braunschweig], Germany (MNKB). Homonym of Curculio funereus Geoffroy, synonymized with Curculio dolorosus Goeze by Dieckmann (1991).

Baris pilistriata Stephens, 1831: 10. Lectoype designated by Dieckmann (1991: 308), sex not determined, vicinity of London, England (BMNH). Synonymized with Curculio dolorosus Goeze by Dieckmann (1991).

Limnobaris koltzei Faust, 1892: 333. Syntypes at least 6, Dalmatia (SDEI, SNSD). Synonymized with Curculio dolorosus Goeze by Dieckmann (1991).

Limnobaris koltzei Reitter, 1895: 31. Syntypes 2, Dalmatia (SDEI). hom. n., syn. n.

Limnobaris barbiellinii Leoni, 1907: 196. Holotype, sex not determined, Rome, Italy (probably in IEGG or OMPB). Synonymized with Curculio dolorosus Goeze by Dieckmann (1991).

Limnobaris jucunda Reitter, 1910: 202. Holotype, sex not determined, Ussuri, Russia (HNHM). syn. n.

Diagnosis.

Limnobaris dolorosa has characteristic ventrolateral vestiture of dense, squamiform setae, which occurs also in Limnobaris t-album and Limnobaris japonica . All three species can be distinguished from each other based on details of the male genitalia and vestiture. In addition, Limnobaris japonica is allopatric (see under this species for further details). The safest way to separate Limnobaris dolorosa from Limnobaris t-album is the short and wide penis (Figs 6, 7). Moreover, Limnobaris dolorosa has evenly dense vestiture on the entire flank, whereas Limnobaris t-album usually has less dense vestiture on the first ventrites and the metasternum.

Notes.

Specimens with a dolorosa-type of aedeagus show regional variation in size, body shape, vestiture and surface sculpture. Dieckmann (1991) mentioned disjunct, aberrant populations of unusually large specimens, one of which was found on Cladium mariscus (L.) Pohl rather than Carex . This scarce material was collected at sites with mild winters and cool summers (Swedish Baltic islands and Adige River valley in South Tyrol). Our own study showed that the East Asian Limnobaris jucunda is a population with a dolorosa-type of aedeagus that is morphologically indistinguishable from European Carex -associated specimens. However, small, densely squamose specimens with the same male genitalia occur in Transbaikal, Mongolia and adjacent Northeast China. Further studies with inclusion of molecular and ecological data of geographically representative material are needed to better understand the nature of this variation. We therefore follow Dieckmann (1991) and consider Limnobaris dolorosa (and, likewise, Limnobaris t-album ) as a morphologically and ecologically polytypic species.

Distribution.

The range of Limnobaris dolorosa extends from Western Europe (without Iberian Peninsula) to the Pacific coast (apparently without offshore islands, although Legalov (2010) reported the species from the Kuril Islands, possibly a misidentification of Limnobaris japonica ). In China, the species has been found in Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia and Jilin (Fig. 13).

Biology.

Because of taxonomic confusion with Limnobaris t-album , published life history data are unreliable and need verification. Specimens of the typical size range occur on Carex rostrata Stokes ex With. in Scotland ( Cawthra 1957; see Morris 2009 for weevil identification) and Northern Germany (J. Prena, unpubl. data). Palm (1957) found very large specimens (up to 7 mm) on Cladium mariscus in the Baltic islands Öland and Gotland. Hoffmann (1955) mentioned Scirpus sylvaticus L. as a host plant. In Jilin Province, we found Limnobaris dolorosa in mixed stands of Scirpus and tall Carex species (mostly Carex rhynchophysa C. A. Meyer, some Carex drymophila Turczaninow ex Steudel), occasionally in pure Carex stands. Feeding occurred on leaves of Carex rhynchophysa and Scirpus . Life history data published by Kleine (1910), Hoffmann (1955) and Cawthra (1957) on Limnobaris t-album almost certainly apply to Limnobaris dolorosa . According to Kleine (1910), the larva develops in the stem of Cladium mariscus . Cawthra (1957) reported that eggs are laid in the basal part of the leaf of Carex rostrata and that the larva bores down to the rhizome, overwinters, and pupates inside the plant in late May. Hoffmann (1955) described an almost identical development in Schoenoplectus lacustris (L.) Palla.

Material examined.

CHINA. Heilongjiang: 哈尔滨 [Haerbin], 31.v.1943 (IZCAS 2); 虎林 [Hulin], 9.vi.1971 (IZCAS 3); 虎林虎头 [Hutou, Hulin], 9.vi.1971 (IZCAS 2); 二層甸子 [Ercengdianzi, =Yuquan], 15.vi.1941, 30.vi.1941 (3x) (IZCAS 4). Inner Mongolia: 海拉尔嵯岗 [Cuogang, Hailaer], 22.vi.1994 (IZCAS 1). Jilin: Changbai Mts., Dongwo, 8.-11.vi.2013 (IZCAS 11, JPPC 8). MONGOLIA. Dornod Aymag: Duro-Nur Lake [ Dörgön núr], 15 km W Khukh-Nur Lake, 28.vi.1976 (ZIN 1). RUSSIA. Zabajkal’skij Kraj: Darasun, 28.vi.1975 (ZIN 2); Soktuj, 23.vi.1925 (ZIN 1). Irkutskaya Oblast: Irkutsk, vii.1994 (JPPC 1). Kemerovskaya Oblast: Tyazhin, 17.vi.1958 (IZCAS 1). Republic of Buryatia: Kjakhta District, NW Kiram, 27.vi.1999 (JPPC 1); Barun-Torej Lake, Ulza River, 29.vi.1925 (ZIN 2).