Psalidognathus erythrocerus Reiche, 1840

Santos-Silva, Antonio & Komiya, Ziro, 2012, Contribution towards the knowledge of Psalidognathus Gray, 1831 (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Prioninae), Insecta Mundi 2012 (247), pp. 1-28 : 7-9

Psalidognathus erythrocerus Reiche, 1840

( Fig. 8-10 )

Psalidognathus erythrocerus Reiche, 1840: 358 ; White 1853: 8; Thomson 1859: 39; 1877: 260; Kirsch 1889: 53 (distr.); Blackwelder 1946: 555 (checklist); Jeniš 2010: 21 (male), 92.

Psalidognathus erythrocerus erythrocerus ; Quentin and Villiers 1983: 442 (neotype); Monné and Giesbert 1994: 16 (checklist); Monné 1995: 58 (cat.); Monné and Hovore 2005: 21 (checklist); 2006: 20 (checklist); Monné 2006: 88 (cat.).

Psalidognathus (Psalidognathus) erythrocerus ; Lameere 1913: 64 (cat.); 1919: 120.

Redescription. Male ( Fig. 8, 9 ). (Description based on photos of the neotype). Integument dark-brown, almost black; antennomere III dark-brown, gradually lighter to V, VI-XI becoming reddish-brown.

Dorsal surface of head strongly rugose. Cephalic carinae wide up to posterior edge of eyes; narrow from this point, slightly elevated throughout (sub-uniform height along entire length); divergent towards the apex, with small and slightly elevated projection at apex. Area between carinae slightly longitudinally sulcate. Distance between upper ocular lobes equal to about 1.7 times width of one lobe. Antennal tubercles separated at base; basal two thirds coarsely, confluently punctate; apical third smooth. Head, behind eyes, with two large lateral tubercles (apex narrow), punctate on dorsal surface. Genal apex not strongly elongate. Mandibles shorter than head, dorsally coarsely, confluently punctate; apex of both mandibles very broad. Scape slightly enlarged towards apex; dorsal surface coarsely, abundantly, confluently punctate. Antennomere III about 2.5 times length of scape. Inner apices of antennomeres III- V rounded; outer apices projected, without spine.

Pronotum rugose; lateral margins with two large wide teeth between anterior and posterior angles; posterior angle projected, somewhat rounded at apex. Elytra rugose (coarser on basal half and gradually finer towards apex); humeri with short, but very distinct spine; sutural apex projected. Apical half of dorsal surface of profemora coarsely scabrous. Protibiae uniformly enlarged from base to apical third, narrowed from this point to near apex, and then somewhat enlarged again; ventral surface abundantly pilose.

Female ( Fig. 10 ). Body broad, color as in males. Head, without mandibles, slightly wider than long. Distance between upper ocular lobes slightly shorter than scape. Cephalic carinae as in males but more distant and less developed. Antennae reach about apical two fifths of elytra; scape clearly surpasses posterior edge of eye; antennomere III about 1.7 times length of scape. Elytral lateral margins divergent from base to middle, convergent from middle to apices; humeral angle with spine; sutural angle slightly projected but not spined; sculpture as in males. Fore tibiae slender and widened towards apices. Metatarsomere I as long as II-III together; metatarsomeres II and III moderately spinose at apex; metatarsomere V (without claws) slightly longer than I-III together.

Variation. Male: antennae sometimes not bicolored and black throughout. Female: elytra brown-reddish.

Dimensions in mm (male/female). Total length (including mandibles), 58.0/58.0; length of prothorax, 7.0-8.0/8.0; width of prothorax between the apices of the anterior angles, 14.0-15.0/15.0; width of prothorax between the apices of the posterior angles, 12.0/12.0; humeral width, 20.0/19.0; elytral length, 37.0- 38.0/37.0.

Geographical distribution. Described and known only from Colombia.

Material examined. COLOMBIA, 1 male, 1 female, I-V.1980, [no collector indicated] ( ZKCO). Valle del Cauca : Cali, male, V.1980, [no collector indicated] ( ZKCO).

Remarks. Quentin and Villiers (1983: 442) discussed on the types of P. erythrocerus (translation): “The syntypes disappeared with part of Sédillot’s Collection, before to be deposited in the Museum of Paris”. Also according to Horn and Kahle (1935: 221) (translation): “Clerid, Thorictid and Cerambycid via Sedillot (Paris)”. However, Cambefort (2006: 279) noted (translation): “Most species outside Europe went to England. The following groups (Paleartic species) reached the Museum: cerambycids via Sédillot…”. Thus, if only the Paleartic species of Cerambycidae were deposited in the MNHN via Sédillot, it is not possible to affirm that the syntypes of P. erythrocerus (Neotropical) are lost. It is possible that the specimens of Cerambycidae from outside Europe were bought by someone else (not Sédillot). But it is also true that the syntypes could have been destroyed while in Sédillot’s Collection, because, according to Cambefort (2006: 291) (translation): “But that does not facilitate the maintenance of a body as important, also greatly neglected by its owner. Also various damages (degradation, depredation or theft), relatively severe, were recognized when Sédillot’s sons donated the collection to the Museum, on December 19, 1935 ”.

Quentin and Villiers (1983) did not redescribe P. erythrocerus , but provided some details in the key to the species (translation): “Antennae with antennomeres inermis or, at most, with a single tooth from III”; “Antennae narrow, bicolor, with antennomeres III-V not depressed”; “Antennae reaching the apex of elytra (male) or distinctly surpassing the middle (female). Cephalic carinae obliterate and finished by a mucro ( Colombia).”

According to Reiche (1840), P. erythrocerus has the following features (translation): “Dark, mandibles projected, bent; palpi reddish; head grooved; antennae as long as body, scape rugose, dark; antennomeres III-IV smooth, black-reddish; remaining reddish, all inermis; prothorax transversal, rugose, laterally trispinous, anterior spine lobiform, anterior edge sinuous, lateral edges emarginated, posterior edge sub-square spinous at both sides: scutellum semirounded, rugose. Elytra as an inverted cone, granulose, rugose on base, humeri narrow, spinous towards apex. Ventrally black-reddish, legs of uniform color throughout; protibiae dilated, inside hirsute. Female unknown. – From Colombia. Sent by Dom. Lebas”. The neotype agrees very well with the original description. However, the original description does not completely rule out the possibility that the types belong to a different and closely-related species.

We tried to find the syntypes of P. erythrocerus in other collections, based on Cambefort’s affirmation, but without success. Thus, we assume that the syntypes are really lost and that the designation of neotype ( Fig. 8 ) by Quentin and Villiers (1983) is valid.

Figures

Figure 8-13. Dorsal habitus. 8) Psalidognathus erythrocerus, neotype male. 9) P. erythrocerus, male from MNHN. 10) P. erythrocerus, female. 11) P. onorei, holotype male. 12) P.onorei, male. 13) P. onorei, female. Photos 8 and 9 from Eugenio Nearns. Photo 12 by Ivo Jeniš.