Chlorophorus caragana Xie & Wang, 2012

Karpiński, Lech, Enkhnasan, Davaadorj, Boldgiv, Bazartseren, Kruszelnicki, Lech, Iderzorig, Badamnyambuu, Gantulga, Temerlen, Dorjsuren, Altanchimeg & Szczepański, Wojciech T., 2021, Longhorned beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) of southeastern Mongolia with particular emphasis on the genus Anoplistes Audinet-Serville, 1833 (Cerambycinae: Trachyderini), Zootaxa 5081 (4), pp. 451-482 : 457-458

§ Chlorophorus caragana Xie & Wang, 2012

Fig. 5D–G

New records. Ömnögovi: 40 km SE of Khatanbulag [Хатанбулаг] [42.795, 109.356], 1099 m a.s.l., 25.07.2019, 1 ex., leg. et coll. LKr .

Dornogovi: Burdene Bulag [БҮрдэнэ Булаг] env. [44.234, 110.850] , 985 m a.s.l., 21.07.2019, 1 ♂, 1 ♀, leg. et coll. WTS (1 ex. MIZ) ; 1 ♀, leg. et coll. LKr.

Övörkhangai: near the eastern shore of Taatsiin Tsagaan Lake [Таацын Цагаан Нуур] [ca. 45.179, 101.459], 2– 4.08.1969, 2 exx., leg. Gurjeva ( MAS) .

Literature data. Ömnögovi: eastern edge of Zöölön Uul mountains, 58 km WSW from Bayandalai [БаЯн- ДалаЯ] [43.300, 102.839], 1500 m a.s.l., 16.06.1967, 1 ex., exp. Dr. Z. Kaszab ( Heyrovský 1970: as Ch. diadema kaszabi ); 60 km S of Bulgan [булган] [43.568, 103.564], on Caragana , 15.07.1972, 3 exx. ( Namhaidorzh 1976a: as Ch. faldermanni ).

Remarks. The species was recently described from northwestern China (Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region) ( Zong et al. 2012) and it was later recorded also from the neighboring province— Inner Mongolia ( Lin 2014).

Chlorophorus caragana is a destructive wood-boring beetle that damages peashrub bushes. Zong et al. (2012) cited two host plants for this species: Caragana korshinskii Kom. and Caragana intermedia Kuang & H.C. Fu (Fabaceae) (currently, the latter is a synonym of the former). Zhang et al. (2018) stated solely Caragana davazamcii Sancz. as a host plant, which is another synonym of C. korshinskii . Zhang et al. (2015), in turn, mentioned that this cerambycid damages C. davazamcii but also another valid species, Caragana microphylla Lam.

Although this species is a serious pest of Caragana bushes, which are very common in this region, it was described only in 2012 because of its resemblance to the related Chlorophorus obliteratus (Ganglbauer, 1889) . However, the holotype of the latter was not presented or even mentioned in the original description of Ch. caragana . Therefore, considering the distribution of Ch. caragana also in Mongolia (the region from which Ch. obliteratus and two of its three synonyms were described), there is an urgent need to examine the holotype of Ch. obliteratus and all its synonyms to resolve whether Ch. caragana is a valid taxon. Since such scenario is quite likely, this taxonomic issue requires special attention in a separate study (in prep.) but in this work we adopt the current taxonomy until this matter is verified. Regardless of the problem with the unstudied type material, a high individual variability of Ch. obliteratus needs to be taken into account since the only diagnostic characters provided in the original description of Ch. caragana concern the pubescence, while the comparative material of the former shows high variability in this respect. According to Zong et al. (2012), Ch. caragana is distinguished by its uniformly clothed pronotum and non-contrast elytral pattern, while Ch. obliteratus has a transverse glabrous area on the pronotum and clearly contrasting elytral pattern ( Fig. 5H ). Although a single female collected by us ( Fig. 5G ), in the locality 40 km SE of Khatanbulag, fits the description of Ch. obliteratus sensu Zong et al. (2012) in having a hairless spot on the pronotum (relatively small though) and contrasting elytral pattern, it clearly differs in the type of body pubescence (density, thickness, length, and arrangement of hairs) and a few other characters, which in turn are identical as in our typical specimens of Ch. caragana from Burdene Bulag. Therefore, we presume that while indeed two taxa exist here, both can reveal some variability in the contrast of the elytral pattern and the presence (and size) of the pronotal spot.

Danilevsky (2021b) considered all the specimens of Chlorophorus diadema kaszabi Heyrovský, 1970 and “ Ch. diadema ab. artemisiae ” identified by Heyrovsky in Kaszab collection (HNHM) from a single locality just as pale and dark forms of Ch. obliteratus and, consequently, he proposed the synonymisation of these taxa. It is important to emphasise, however, that despite this publication provides the latest updated remark documenting Mongolian species, this particular opinion was made many years earlier and has not been updated after the description of Ch. caragana . Regarding the locality 58 km WSW from Bayandalai ( Heyrovský 1970), a single individual collected there is one of the paratypes of Ch. diadema kaszabi . This specimen and the rest of the type series seem to be identical to Ch. caragana .

Regarding the locality 60 km S of Bulgan ( Namhaidorzh 1976a), although we failed to track down and examine the three specimens that were collected there, it seems they also belong to Ch. caragana since they were separated by Namhaidorzh and incorrectly identified and published as Chlorophorus faldermanni (Faldermann, 1837) . We verified that another two unpublished records of Chlorophorus from Övörkhangai aimag (Taatsiin Tsagaan Lake) were also labelled as Ch. faldermanni by Namhaidorzh, while they clearly represent Ch. caragana . However, Ch. faldermanni , due to its geographical range, is rather impossible to occur in Mongolia and all such identifications are certainly wrong. In the MAS collection, there is a single specimen of another enigmatic Chlorophorus species that also has been identified as Ch. faldermanni by Namhaidorzh, which does not belong to any of herein discussed taxa (see more in the Discussion).

We collected Ch. caragana close to Burdene Bulag, in a semi-desert habitat ( Fig. 9A ). The imagines were sitting on twigs of Haloxylon ammodendron (C. A. Mey.) (Amaranthaceae) ( Fig. 9B ). Only three individuals (representing both sexes; Fig. 5D, F ) were found on July 21 despite conducting the detailed investigation of the entire plot. This may indicate the end of the season for this species in nature. A single female was also collected on July 25 in southernmost Mongolia, about 80 km from the Chinese border. The habitat in this locality ( Fig. 9C ) is strongly desertified, with numerous rather small Caragana bushes, on which the female was found. Since this is the first record for Mongolia, we also present additional data (Övörkhangai aimag) from outside the region covered in this paper, which relates to the two specimens from the same locality that were subsequently found in the MAS collection ( Fig. 5E ).

Figures

FIGURE 5. Habitus of longhorned beetle taxa distributed in the region of SE Mongolia (subfamilies Apatophyseinae and Cerambycinae). A, Apatophysis serricornis (female); B, Polyzonus fasciatus (male); C, P. fasciatus (female); D, Chlorophorus caragana (male); E, Ch. caragana (male); F, Ch. caragana (female); G, Ch. caragana (female, atypical form with hairless spot on pronotum and contrasting elytral pattern); H, Ch. obliteratus (female); I, Anoplistes halodendri minutus (male, rock ecotype); J, A. halodendri minutus (male, rock ecotype); K, A. halodendri minutus (female, rock ecotype); L, A. halodendri minutus (female, rock ecotype with intermediate elytral pattern). Scale bar: 5 mm.

FIGURE 9. Photographs of adults in situ and habitats of typical SE Mongolian cerambycid species. A, semi-desert near Burdene Bulag, habitat of Chlorophorus caragana; B, shrubs of Haloxylon ammodendron in habitat of Ch. caragana; C, strongly desertified land with Caragana bushes in southernmost Mongolia, habitat of Ch. caragana; D, area of type locality of Anoplistes gobiensis in southernmost Mongolia; E, stony hills with diverse bush vegetation, most likely habitat of A. gobiensis; F, small canyon at the foot of rocky slopes overgrown with Caragana shrubs, habitat of Anoplistes halodendri minutus; G, copulating pair of A. halodendri minutus (rock ecotype); H, male of A. halodendri minutus (sand ecotype) on Caragana leucophloea steam.