Cyphochilus proximus Sharp, 1876

Sabatinelli, Guido, 2020, Taxonomic notes on the genus Cyphochilus Waterhouse, 1867 (Coleoptera, Scarabaeoidea, Melolonthinae) with description of 10 new species, Revue suisse de Zoologie 127 (1), pp. 157-181 : 173

Cyphochilus proximus Sharp, 1876

Figs 5, 7 , 17 , 53-55

Cyphochilus proximus Sharp, 1876: 83 .

Cyphochilus cylindricus Brenske, 1903: 381 . new synonym

C. proximus type material examined: Holotype: MNHN: 1 ♂; MYANMAR: // Cyphochilus proximus / Burmah Type / D. S. ( H) // Burmah ( H) // Ex Musaeo / D. Sharp ( P black border) // Muséum Paris / 1952 / Coll. R. Oberthur ( P) // Typus ( H on red) // ( Fig. 5 ).

C. cylindricus type material examined: Lectotype by present designation: ZMHB: 1 ♀; // Cyph. cylindricus / Type Brsk / 1093 ( H) // India or. / Speyer ( H) // Coll. Brenske ( P) //. ( Fig. 7 ) . – Paralectotype by present designation: ZMHB: ♂; // Cyph. cylindricus / Type Brsk / 1093 ( H on white) // India or. / Speyer ( H on white // Coll. Brenske ( P) //.

Additional material examined: 74 specimens.

MYANMAR: BMNH; 1 ♂; Burma . – BMNH; 3 ♂; Birmanie , Theinzeik; P. Lofzeau, 1913 . – ISNB; 5 ♂, 10 ♀; same data as previous . – ZMHB; 4 ♂, 20 ♀; same data as previous . – MHNG; 3 ♂, 5 ♀; same data as previous . – HNHM; 15 ♀; same data as previous .

EAST INDIES (generic): MTD; 8 ♀; Ind. Or. [= Indes Orientales , East Indies] .

Redescription of the holotype male: Size – BL: 17.4 mm, BW: 7.5 mm, BWX: 9 mm, situated at midpoint of elytra. Color – Integument light brown; dorsal surface with yellowish scales not aggregated along sides of pronotum and margins of elytra. Head – CW/L: 3.1; clypeus with frontal margin straight and lateral convergent; (F/O: 3.6); antennal club longer than antennomeres 2-7 (A2-7/CL: 0.7). Pronotum – (PnW/L: 1.9); apical angles and lateral margins flattened, apical angles right and slightly protuberant; basal lateral margins straight, basal angles obtuse. Elytra – Without any visible striae. Thoracic sterna – Surface with scales and sparse short white hairs; mesosternum feebly developed (MstL: 0.56 mm) however, visible in lateral view between the mesocoxae ( Fig. 17 ). Abdomen – Sternites with uniformly sparse scales; pygidium convex with apical margin narrowly reflected. Legs – Protibia tridentate with basal tooth vestigial; slender apical tooth as long as middle tooth. Aedeagus – Parameres strongly asymmetric with 5 appendices ( Figs 53-55 ).

Variability: BL: 16.5-19 mm. All the males collected in Theinzeik have, in contrast to the type, the antennal club shorter than antennomeres 2-7; however, the parameres have same shape and I consider, for the time being, these specimens conspecific.

Females: BL: 16.5-21 mm; antennal club ovoid, shorter than preceding antennomeres (A2-7/CL: 1.7); generally in the females the scales are white while in males the scales are generally yellowish.

Type locality: The type locality is given as Burma, presently Myanmar.

Distribution: Apart from the type locality, a long series of specimens was collected in Theinzeik, situated (17°4’N, 97°18’E) in Thaton District of the Mon State in southern Myanmar Tenasserim plains.

Remarks: Sharp (1876) thought that the holotype of Cyphochilus proximus he described was a female, however it is a male. In the original description of C. cylindricus Brenske mentioned only a single female specimen, however, the ZMHB holds two specimens and both labeled as type. I therefore designated as lectotype the female specimen, and the male specimen, despite this is not mentioned in the description, as paralectotype. Moreover, the comparison of the type series shows that C. cylindricus is a junior synonym of C. proximus that can be readily separated from all other congeners by the unique form of the parameres ( Figs 53-55 ).

Figures

Figs 1-14. Original labels of type material. (1) Cyphochilus pygidialis Nonfried, 1893. (2) C. pygidialis Brenske [sic]. (3) C. septentrionalis Waterhouse, 1867. (4) C. obscurus Sharp, 1876. (5) C. proximus Sharp, 1876. (6) C. flavomarginatus Frey, 1971. (7) C. cylindricus Brenske, 1903. (8) Melolontha candida (Olivier, 1789). (9) Cyphochilus pygidialis v. angeri Nonfried, 1893. (10) C. feae Brenske, 1903. (11) C. vestitus Sharp, 1876. (12) C. tricolor Waterhouse, 1867. (13) C. testaceipes Fairmaire, 1902. (14) C. peninsularis Arrow, 1938.

Figs 15-22. General morphology of Cyphochilus. (15) Labrum, in frontal view of Cyphochilus farinosus Waterhouse, 1867. (16) Mesosternum, in ventral view of C. farinosus. (17) C. proximus Sharp, 1867. (18) C. candidus (Olivier, 1789). (19) Lateral side of right elytra of C. septentrionalis Waterhouse, 1867. (20) C. farinosus. (21) Antennal club ♂ of C. hmong n. sp. (22) C. septentrionalis ♂.

Figs 47-58. Parameres in right, dorsal, and left view. (47-49) Cyphochilus carinchebanus Brenske, 1903. (50-52) C. obscurus Sharp, 1876, holotype. (53-55) C. proximus Sharp, 1876, holotype. (56-58) C. tricolor Waterhouse, 1867, lectotype. – Scale bars = 1 mm.