Pseudopyrochroa girardi, Young, 2001

Zhan, Zhihong, Jing, Kaixiang & Young, Daniel K., 2023, Descriptions of the mature larva and adult female of Pseudopyrochroa girardi Young from Southwest China (Coleoptera: Pyrochroidae: Pyrochroinae), with natural history observations, Zootaxa 5357 (3), pp. 434-444 : 435-442

Pseudopyrochora girardi Young, 2001

Vernacular Chinese name: ṀffiḿḢMƤ

Pseudopyrochora girardi Young, 2001: 273-278 , figs. 1–7

Specimens examined. [1 adult ♁] (ZZHC): CHINA: Sichuan Province // Ya’an City, [四njẘ，BṘm] 1810m. // 28.5941°N; 102.1749°E // 26 April 2022 // Zhihong Zhan [ḂAEḾ] and // Kaixiang Jing [ÐfflDz] leg.; [2 nd label]: adult collected beneath // bark & in moist rotting // wood/dead hardwood; [3 rd label]: Pseudopyrochroa // girardi // Young ♁ // det. D. K. Young and // Zhihong Zhan 2022; [1 adult ♀] (ZZHC): CHINA: Sichuan Province // Ya’an City, [四njẘ，BṘm] 1810m. // 28.5941°N; 102.1749°E // 26 April 2022 // Zhihong Zhan [ḂAEḾ] and // Kaixiang Jing [ÐfflDz] leg.; [2 nd label]: adult collected beneath // bark & in moist rotting // wood/dead hardwood; [3 rd label]: Pseudopyrochroa // girardi // Young ♀ // det. D. K. Young and // Zhihong Zhan 2022; [1 adult ♁ with exuviae] (DYCC): CHINA: Sichuan Province // Ya’an City [四njẘ，BṘm], Alt. 1830m. // 28.5939°N, 102.1744°E // 14 February 2022 // Zhihong Zhan [ḂAEḾ] and // Kaixiang Jing [ÐfflDz] leg.; [2 nd label]: collected as larva from // beneath bark and in // moist rotting wood of // dead hardwood; [3 rd label]: pupated (lab conditions): // 03 March 2022 // adult emerged // 20 March 2022; [4 th label]: Pseudopyrochroa // girardi // Young ♁ // det. D. K. Young and // Zhihong Zhan 2022; [1 adult ♀ with exuviae] (DYCC): CHINA: Sichuan Province // Ya’an City [四njẘ，BṘm], Alt. 1830m. // 28.5939°N, 102.1744°E // 14 February 2022 // Zhihong Zhan [ḂAEḾ] and // Kaixiang Jing [ÐfflDz] leg.; [2 nd label]: collected as larva from // beneath bark and in // moist rotting wood of // dead hardwood; [3 rd label]: pupated (lab conditions): // 03 March 2022 // adult emerged // 16 March 2022; [4 th label]: Pseudopyrochroa // girardi // Young ♀ // det. D. K. Young and // Zhihong Zhan 2022; [1 slightly teneral adult ♁; incompletely escaped from pupal exuviae] (DYCC): CHINA: Sichuan Province // Ya’an City [四njẘ，BṘm], Alt. 1830m. // 28.5939°N, 102.1744°E // 14 February 2022 // Zhihong Zhan [ḂAEḾ] and // Kaixiang Jing [ÐfflDz] leg.; [2 nd label]: collected as larva from // beneath bark and in // moist rotting wood of // dead hardwood; [3 rd label]: pupated (lab conditions): // 03 March 2022 // adults emerged // 16-20 March 2022; [4 th label]: Pseudopyrochroa // girardi // Young ♁ // det. D. K. Young and // Zhihong Zhan 2022; [2 adult ♀] (1 WIRC; 1 DYCC): CHINA: Sichuan Province // Ya’an City [四njẘ，BṘm], Alt. 1830m. // 28.5939°N, 102.1744°E // 14 February 2022 // Zhihong Zhan [ḂAEḾ] and // Kaixiang Jing [ÐfflDz] leg.; [2 nd label]: collected as larva from // beneath bark and in // moist rotting wood of // dead hardwood; [3 rd label]: pupated (lab conditions): // 03 March 2022 // adults emerged // 16-20 March 2022; [4 th label]: Pseudopyrochroa // girardi // Young ♀ // det. D. K. Young and // Zhihong Zhan 2022; [1 complete larva](DYCC – in EtOH vial): [bottom of EtOH label] CHINA: Sichuan Province // Ya’an City [四nj ẘ，BṘm], Alt. 1830m. // 28.5939°N, 102.1744°E // 14 February 2022 // Zhihong Zhan [ḂAEḾ] and // Kaixiang Jing [ÐfflDz] leg.; [top of EtOH label]: collected as larva from // beneath bark and in // moist rotting wood of // dead hardwood; [2 nd label]: Pseudopyrochroa // girardi // Young ♀ // det. D. K. Young and // Zhihong Zhan 2022.

Diagnosis: Larva. Young (1991) established a familial diagnosis for pyrochroid larvae. Like those of other known pyrochroine Pyrochroidae , including recent species described from China (Young et al., 2016, Young and Hsiao 2016), larvae of P. girardi can be characterized as follows: 1) mandibles asymmetrical, with well-developed right mandibular mola and left mandibular tooth; 2) maxillary articulating area well-developed ( Fig. 5 ); 3) maxillary mala with uncus; 4) divergent hypostomal rods ( Fig. 5 ); 5) a single arch of asperities along the ventro-anterior margin of the 9 th abdominal sternite ( Figs. 2 , 8 ); 6) 9 th tergum hinged, capable of considerable dorso-longitudinal movement, extending ventrally to form the entire terminal urogomphal plate ( Figs. 7–8 ); 7) urogomphal plate possessing a urogomphal lip and paired urogomphal pits ( Figs. 1 , 7 ). Like the other described Pseudopyrochroa larvae from mainland China, including P. reni Pan & Young , and P. facialis Fairmaire , larvae of P. girardi also lack distinct urogomphal pit microsculpturing.

The urogomphi of P. girardi are short and distinctly incurved distally ( Figs. 1–3 , 7–8 ) while those of P. facialis (Zhan, et al. 2022, Figs. 4–5 ) and P. reni ( Pan et al. 2021, Fig 5A–C ) are elongate and nearly straight.

Descriptions.Adult Female. [n = 4] Length (head in normal, partially deflexed position) 10.6–13.4 mm, humeral width (across apex of scutellum) 12.8– 3.4 mm; elytra length (apex of scutellum to distal margin) 8.1–10.4 mm; maximal elytral width 4.5–5.8 mm ( Fig. 11 ). Head. Color of antennae, mouthparts, pronotal disc, scutellum, disc of each elytron, and venter, excluding postocular region of cranium, rufopiceous to black; otherwise, cinnamomeus, reddish-orange. On average, slightly larger and stouter than male, lacking cranial pits, interocular region broadly, bilaterally, shallowly impressed posterio-mesad antennal insertions ( Fig. 12 ). Cranial surface sparsely, shallowly punctate, with conspicuous semierect to antrorsely directed yellowish-amber setae between eyes and posteriad cranial impression. Antennae densely setose, velvet-like in appearance; pedicel small, subquadrate, flagellum pectinate, flagellomeres larger, more robust than those of male; ramus of each flagellomere distinctly shorter than those of male, each subequal to or slightly longer than that of preceding flagellomere. Thorax. Pronotum transversely quadrate, densely, shallowly punctate, disc broadly impressed, anterior margin broadly, shallowly emarginate, posterior with well-developed marginal bead. Scutellum with mesal length slightly greater than basal width, shield-shaped. Elytra long, covering abdomen, explanate beyond basal ¼, widest at distal 3/5, maximal width 1.5× humeral width at apex of scutellum; apex of each elytron acutely, separately rounded. Abdomen with five exposed ventrites, ventrite 5 narrowing distally, with apical margin entire, broadly rounded to nearly truncate.

Larva. Width (across widest portion of abdominal segment VIII) 2.5 mm; maximal width across basal urogomphal lobes 2.5 mm; mesal length of urogomphal plate from base to apex between urogomphal pits 2.5 mm; width between urogomphal apices 2.5 mm. Body orthosomatic with sides subparallel ( Figs. 1–2 ); moderately sclerotized except parts of cranium, mandibles, and urogomphal plate more heavily sclerotized; body vestiture consisting of short to moderately elongate, scattered setae. Thoracic and abdominal terga I–IX lacking distinct parabasal ridges. Head and body creamy-yellowish to amber, much darker in areas of heavy sclerotization such as tips of mandibles, urogomphi, urogomphal lip, and urogomphal pits.

Head. Prognathous, flattened, exerted from prothorax. Epicranial suture lyriform with stem short, frontal arms complete nearly to antennal insertions; endocarinae absent. Labrum symmetrical; frontoclypeal region fused into single plate. Four stemmata located behind each antennal insertion, configured in groups of two each below and proximad antennal insertion, and above and distad each antennal insertion. Antennal insertions completely exposed, antennae filiform, 3-segmented, sensorium of segment II arising dorsolaterally near apex of II, campaniform, maximum basal width 0.3× width of II at its point of origin, sensorium length 2× basal width. Mouthparts ( Figs. 4–6 ) retracted. Mandibles heavily sclerotized, movable, asymmetrical, molar area of mandibles well-developed, left mandible ( Fig. 6 ) bearing a prominent molar tooth; mandibular apices with 3–4 well-developed subapical teeth. Maxillae each with 1-segmented cardo which is diagonally folded anteriorly upon itself toward the stipes and thus appearing 2-segmented; maxillary articulating area well-developed, undivided, pad-like ( Fig. 5 ); ventral surface of stipes with dense, largely double row of stout setae mesad palpifer along adoral margin; galea and lacinia fused to form maxillary mala; mala bearing stout apical and adoral setae and spinose dentiform uncus at apico-adoral margin; maxillary palpus 3-segmented, filiform, palpomere II approximately 0.8× length of I, III 1.3× length of II, slender, tapering distally, acutely rounded apically. Labium with mentum ovate-subquadrate, submentum elongate with sides shallowly sinuate basally, apical margin slightly more heavily sclerotized, convexly rounded; ligula well-developed, elongate, mesal length 1.7× basal width; each labial palpus short, 2-segmented. Hypopharyngeal sclerome well-developed, heavily sclerotized, molar like, transverse; proximal region of hypopharynx with setal brushes. Hypostomal rods ( Fig. 5 ) well developed, divergent; gular sutures separate.

Thorax. Thoracic segmentation well-developed, sides parallel; cervicosternum divided into three plates. Legs well-developed, moderately short, 5-segmented including tarsungulus, vestiture consisting of sparse, short setae; coxae large, separated by 2–2.5 coxal diameters. Abdomen. Flattened, moderately sclerotized, tergites I–VII subequal in length and width; VIII longitudinally sub-rectangular, approximately combined length of VI+VII, sides parallel. Sides of abdominal segments I–VIII with clustered, elongate setae laterally; segments II–VII each with a post-basal and post-medial lateral cluster of 2–3 setae. Sternite VIII ( Fig. 8 ) emarginate apically. Tergite IX forming urogomphal plate ( Figs. 3 , 7–8 ), widest basally where it forms well developed rounded lateral lobes; lateral lobes slightly, obtusely acuminate caudally; surface of urogomphal plate bearing numerous, well-developed callosities and several larger, dorsal and lateral setigerous calli on dorsal and lateral surfaces (setae absent on exuviae); urogomphi strongly sclerotized, moderately short and stout, conspicuously incurved apically; ventral surface of urogomphal plate shallowly, but abruptly excavate basally at articulation with sternites IX and X, excavation narrowing distally to bases of urogomphi and urogomphal lip. Urogomphal plate possessing a heavily sclerotized, broadly emarginate urogomphal lip caudally, widely and distinctly separating urogomphal pits; paired urogomphal pits widely opened, ( Fig. 7 ) well developed, heavily sclerotized, arising distally between the heavily sclerotized, fixed urogomphi; without apparent microsculpturing. Sternite IX ( Figs. 2 , 8 ) broadly, transversely U-shaped, rounded anteriorly, largely recessed into emargination of sternite VIII, possessing continuous semicircular arch of approximately 38 well-developed asperites along anterior and lateral margins, as well as several minute asperities along arch. Segment X strongly reduced, transverse, recessed into emargination of sternite IX, visible ventrally anteriad and opening. Lateral faces of urogomphi bearing clusters of 3–5 yellowish setae.

Spiracles: One pair of well-developed ovate thoracic spiracles, situated ventro-laterally on laterotergite along anterior end of mesothorax. Ovate-annular abdominal spiracles subequal in size, located on dorsolateral margin of abdominal segment I and ventrolateral margins of abdominal laterotergites II–VII; large, annular spiracles located ventrally on laterotergite VIII ( Fig. 8 ) at distal 0.4 of its length.

Figures

FIGURES 4–6. Mature larva (exuviae) of Pseudopyrochroa girardi Young: 4. Head capsule, dorsal; 5. head capsule, ventral; 6. Mouthparts, dorsal.

FIGURES 1–3. Mature larva of Pseudopyrochroa girardi Young: 1. Habitus, dorsal; 2. Habitus, ventral; 3. Last instar exuviae, dorsal.

FIGURES 7–8. Mature larva (exuviae) of Pseudopyrochroa girardi Young: 7. Urogomphal plate, dorsal; 8. Abdominal segments VIII–IX, ventral.

FIGURES 11–12. Pseudopyrochroa girardi Young, adult female: 11. Dorsal habitus; 12. Head and pronotum, dorsal.