Amithao staudingeri Schürhoff, 1935

Ratcliffe, Brett C., 2013, A Revision Of The Neotropical Genus Amithao Thomson, 1878 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae: Gymnetini), The Coleopterists Bulletin 67 (3), pp. 265-292 : 287-290

Amithao staudingeri Schürhoff, 1935 ( Figs. 59–62 )

Amithao staudingeri Schürhoff 1935: 24 (original combination). Holotype female at MGFT, examined. Type locality: “ Panzós , Guatemala.”

Description. Length 16.4–30.0 mm; width across humeri 13.5–16.7 mm. Color dorsally metallic dark green with usually strong copper reflections, cretaceous marks absent; pygidium, abdominal ventrites, and tibiae with coppery reflection. Head: Lateral margins weakly elevated. Frons and base of clypeus weakly, longitudinally tumescent at middle with small punctures moderately dense, glabous. Depression either side and in front of central tumescence vaguely rugulopunctate. Clypeus with apex weakly bilobed ( Fig. 59 ), reflexed. Eyes large, interocular width equals 3.0 transverse eye diameters. Antenna with 10 antennomeres, club distinctly longer than antennomeres 2–7. Pronotum: Surface with small, sparse punctures in central third, punctures becoming larger and denser on lateral thirds. Sides with thick marginal bead. Elytra: Surface with large, shallow punctures in incomplete rows, with 2 nearly obsolete, parallel costae terminating at prominent apical umbone. Apices behind apical umbone vaguely rugulose. Apices at suture subacutely produced. Pygidium: Surface concentrically, densely strigulose, glabrous. In lateral view, profile nearly flat in basal two-thirds, weakly convex in apical third. Venter: Setae distinctly tawny, almost orange. Mesometasternal process distinctly attenuate and protuberant in lateral view ( Fig. 60 ), apex rounded. Abdominal ventrites nearly smooth in central third; lateral thirds with moderate to large, sparse punctures. Legs: Protibia slender, with 2 lateral teeth. Parameres ( Figs. 61–62 ): Form subrectangularly elongate, apices rounded and with sharp tooth laterally.

Distribution. Amithao staudingeri is known only from Guatemala.

Locality Records. 71 specimens from ADMC, AJRC, BCRC, MGFT, UVGC, WBWC, WSUC. GUATEMALA (71): BAJA VERAPAZ (61): Biotopo del Quetzal, Finca Saboj, Hotel Ranchito del Quetzel, Posada Montaña del Quetzal, Purulhá (5 km S), Purulhá (6 km E), Purulhá (Parque Ecologico Cucumatz), Tres Cruces. HUEHUETENANGO (4): Barillas (aldea Malpaís), femora, and usually with cretaceous marks on the pygidium and abdominal ventrites. In addition, A. staudingeri has a pronotum with sparse, small punctures on its central third, whereas A. metallicus has moderately dense, moderately large punctures on the central third of the pronotum. Lastly, A. staudingeri is found only in Guatemala, while A. metallicus occurs in Costa Rica and Panama. Specimens of A. staudingeri were labeled as A. metallicum in the collections examined. Although seemingly locally abundant in Guatemala, the identity of this species had apparently been lost until the type was found in the Frey collection.

Natural History. Adults are attracted to lights (label data). Otherwise, nothing is known of the life history of this species.

Barillas (Nuevo San Mateo), Yolhuitz Grande (3 km NW). IZABAL (6): Above El Arenal (near Río Zarco).

Temporal Distribution. April (12), May (47), June (9), July (3).

Diagnosis. Amithao staudingeri is distinctive because of its lustrous, metallic dark green or copper coloration on both its dorsal and ventral aspects and absence of any cretaceous markings. In comparison, A. metallicus is a much darker (almost black), weakly metallic dark green or copper, usually with reddish brown coxae and

Amithao tristis (F., 1775), revised status

( Figs. 63–69 )

Cetonia tristis Fabricius 1775: 45 (original combination). Type originally at HMUG, now possibly at OUMNH (see nomenclatural remarks below). Type locality: “in America.” Fabricius (1775) indicated the specimen was in the Hunter Collection. Staig (1931) indicated that there were two specimens under the name of C. tristis F. in Cabinet A, Drawer 2 of the Hunterian Collection in Glasgow, Scotland, and neither was “that species.” Staig stated that “Apparently, the type is not now in Dr. Hunter’ s Collection.”

Gymnetis spence Gory and Percheron 1833: 70 (original combination). Holotype female ( Fig. 66 ) at OUMNH, examined. Type locality: “ Madagascar or Ile Maurice ” (= Mauritius). New synonymy.

Description. Length 14.0– 16.6 mm; width across humeri 7.4–10.5 mm. Color dark reddish brown to black (females usually lighter reddish brown), shiny (except elytra of females opaque, almost velutinous in pristine specimens), with cretaceous marks as follows: head with complete or broken, elongate band on frons and clypeus either side of middle, some specimens with small spot posteromesad of each eye; pronotum with narrow band on lateral margins mesad of bead and with cretaceous punctures (more pronounced in females); epimeron usually with band on posterior margin; elytra with band on lateral margins (narrow and short in males, wider and longer in females), and with cretaceous punctures (more pronounced in females); pygidium with band on base and each lateral margin or almost completely cretaceous; propleuron, metasternum, metepisternum, all coxae extensively cretaceous; profemur with long band on anterior margin, meso- and metafemora each with band on posterior margin; abdominal ventrites 1–5 each with broad, transverse band on anterior margin either side of middle, abdominal ventrite 6 with short, transverse band at about middle of lateral margin. Head: Lateral margins elevated. Frons and clypeus concave either side of weak, median, longitudinal tumescence. Surface densely punctate; punctures small, setigerous; setae pale, long, dense in pristine specimens, otherwise mostly abraded. Clypeus with apex bilobed, each lobe broadly rounded ( Figs. 63, 65 ), weakly reflexed. Eyes moderate in size, interocular width equals 4.0–4.3 transverse eye diameters. Antenna with 10 antennomeres, club distinctly longer than antennomeres 2–7 in males, subequal in length to antennomeres 2–7 in females. Pronotum: Surface with dense, moderately large punctures, punctures becoming denser, larger near lateral margins. Sides with thick marginal bead. Elytra: Surface punctate, with weak

or obsolete discal costae; punctures moderate to large, moderately dense (usually larger, denser in females), some with long, tawny setae. Apices at suture subacute in pristine specimens, otherwise subquadrate. Pygidium: Surface in both sexes with moderately large, dense punctures; punctures with short, pale setae in pristine specimens. In lateral view, profile nearly flat to weakly convex. Venter: Setae long, pale. Mesometasternal process rounded, slightly protuberant in lateral view ( Fig. 67 ). Abdominal ventrites nearly smooth in central third, lateral thirds with moderately large, moderately dense punctures. Legs: Protibia slender in males, broader in females, weakly tridentate in both sexes. Parameres ( Figs. 68–69 ): Form short, subrectangular, apices subquadrate, diverging. In lateral view, phallobase about 3 times longer than parameres.

Distribution. Amithao tristis occurs only in Jamaica.

Locality Records. 32 specimens from BCRC, BMNH, CASC, CNCI, FMNH, FSCA, MGFT, MNHN, MHNG, USNM, ZMHU, ZSMC. JAMAICA (32): KINGSTON (4) : Kingston, Liguanea. SAINT ANDREW (2): Long Mountain , Mona. SAINT CATHERINE (4) : Port Henderson, Spanish Town . SAINT JAMES (4) : Montego Bay , Retirement. SAINT MARY (1) : Oracabessa. TRELAWNY (6): Baron Hill, Falmouth (3 mi. S), Jacksontown. WESTMORELAND (2): Negril. NO DATA (9).

Temporal Distribution. January (1), April (2), May (5), June (5), July (1), October (1), November (1). Too few specimens have label data with the month of collection to indicate a reliable temporal distribution.

Diagnosis. Amithao tristis is distinguished from other species of Amithao by its small size (less than 17 mm); parameres with subrectangular, diverging apices ( Fig. 68 ); basal piece about three times longer than the parameres ( Fig. 69 ); and occurrence in Jamaica.

Nomenclature. Gymnetis spence was the original spelling (Gory and Percheron 1833: 70). It was then later referred to in the same work (p. 338) as G. spencer but then corrected to G. spence in the Errata (p. 406). Since it was originally proposed as G. spence , we can assume that G. spencer was a lapsus, and that G. spence in the Errata is not a justified emendation.

All catalogs (e.g., Schenkling 1921; Blackwelder 1944; Krajcik 1998), possibly some simply repeating others, indicated that Gymnetis spence Gory and Percheron, 1833 was the correct name, and that the older name of Cetonia tristis F., 1775 was a junior synonym. There is no other cetoniine epithet of tristis that pre-dates Fabricius (1775), and so C. tristis cannot be a junior homonym of anything else, hence rejected. The description of C. tristis by Fabricius was based upon a specimen in the Hunter collection, and the brief description by Fabricius is accurate for this Jamaican species. Why, then, was the older name listed as a junior synonym in all catalogs?

Interestingly, Gory and Percheron’ s (1833) description of G. spence was based upon a specimen ( Fig. 66 ) in the Hope collection, and that specimen is now at Oxford University (OUMNH). I believe it might be possible that Fabricius and Gory and Percheron may have based their two names on the same specimen, and that specimen is at Oxford rather than in the Hunter collection (HMUG) in Glasgow, Scotland as indicated by Fabricius for C. tristis . A specimen with the name of C. tristis , and matching Fabricius’ description of that species, is not now in the Hunter collection with the many other Fabrician types that still reside there ( Staig 1931). When Fabricius described C. tristis from the Hunter collection in 1775, the collection was then in London, and the collection was placed on display about 1807 (Geoff Hancock, Curator of the Hunter Collection, personal communicaton).

Schaum (1849) thought that Cetonia tristis was identical with Gymnetis spence , and he had hoped to receive more specific information about specimens in the Hunter collecton in Glasgow. However, the scarabs were then in such disarray that no clarification was forthcoming.

Olivier (1789) described a Cetonia tristis which is a primary junior homonym of C. tristis (F.) and now a junior synonym of Gymnetis marmorea (Olivier) , and Burmeister (1842, 1847) referred to a Gymnetis tristis sensu Olivier (1789) .

Natural History. Howden (1970) observed adult activity between May to August when adults were seen commonly flying around flowers on certain trees at localities less than 1,000 m.

Figures

Fig. 59. Amithao staudingeri, dorsal view.

Figs. 60–62. Amithao staudingeri. 60) Form of mesometasternal process, lateral view; 61) Parameres, dorsal view; 62) Parameres, lateral view.

Figs. 63–65. Amithao tristis. 63) Male, dorsal view; 64) Male, ventral view; 65) Female, dorsal view.

Fig. 66. Holotype of Gymnetis spence at Oxford University, possibly also the holotype of Amithao tristis (image courtesy of K. Child, Oxford University, UK).

Figs. 67–69. Amithao tristis. 67) Form of mesometasternal process, lateral view; 68) Parameres, dorsal view; 69) Parameres, lateral view.