Calleida rapax Andrewes, 1933

Casale, Achille & Shi, Hongliang, 2018, Revision of the Oriental species of Calleida Latreille (sensu lato). Part 1: Introduction, groups of species, and species of six species groups (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Lebiini), Zootaxa 4442 (1) : 37-38

[11] Calleida rapax Andrewes, 1933

Calleida rapax Andrewes, 1933: 399 (Type locality: India: Dehra Dun, Lachiwala; holotype deposited in NHML).

Type material examined: Holotype, male, “ Lachiwala, Dehra Dun U.P., C.F.C. Beeson., 6.IV.1923 ”, “Tectona grandis”, "Under bark ", "326", " India. Dehra Dun Coll. B.M 1932-26 ", " Calleida rapax Andr. Type H.E. Andrewes det.", "Type" (NHML, fig. 78). Paratypes: one male, "Nauri, 2,500’ Landsdowne. B.M. Bathia. 18.III.1926 ”, “For. Res. Inst. Dehra Duna”, “dry ex Bamboo”, "305", "Co-type", “Andrewes coll. B.M. 1945-97 ”, “ Calleida rapax Andr. Cotype H.E Andrewes det.” ( MHNL); one female, "New Forest, Dehra Dun, U.P. R.N. Mathur. 6.IX.1932 ", "1590", "Co-type", "For. Res. Inst. Dehra Dun ", " Calleida rapax Andr. Cotype, Andrewes det.", "H.E. Andrewes Coll. B.M. 1945-97." ( MHNL).

Non-type material examined: 1 ex., “ India, Dehra Dun. G. Rogers 1906-202” ( CCA, ex S.L Straneo).

Taxonomic note. This taxon is very similar to C. doriae . They only have small differences in colour and in the apex of the aedeagal median lobe. Considering their allopatric distribution, C. rapax could be treated as a mere northwestern isolated subspecies of C. doriae , or a synonym of it. However, owing to the scarce examined material, at the moment we treat it as a valid species.

Its relationships suggested by Andrewes (1933) are wrong: “very closely allied to femoralis Chaud., sultana Bates , and pallipes Andr. ”. This species was not cited by Jedlička (1963) in his monograph.

Diagnosis. See above, in the key to the species of the C. doriae species group and diagnosis of C. doriae .

Description. The original description provided by Andrewes (1933), here completed with some additional characters, is enough to distinguish this species.

General features: As in fig. 78. Large sized species: L: 12.0–13.0 mm.

Colour: Piceous to reddish brown, shiny; head reddish brown, occiput darker; antennomere 1 yellowish brown, antennomeres 2, 3 and basal half of 4 reddish, apical half of antennomere 4 and lateral sides of remaining antennomeres dark; base and apex of palpomeres yellowish; pronotal disc dark brown, with sides widely reddish; elytra metallic green with faint bluish purple discal patch, sometimes the marginal furrows greenish blue or violet; major parts of legs blackish, trochanters reddish, fourth and fifth tarsomeres reddish brown; underside brownish or black.

Lustre and microsculpture: microsculpture vanished on head and pronotum; faint, formed by isodiametric meshes on elytra.

Head flat and impunctate; frontal foveae shallow and uneven; eyes prominent; neck constriction evident; antennae reaching backwards to the basal fifth of elytra.

Pronotum rather flat and cordate, transverse (ratio PW/PL: 1.13-1.19), a little wider than the head; base oblique at sides, wider than anterior margin. Anterior angles rounded; lateral sides moderately explanate and slightly reflexed, rounded in front, then nearly straight to the posterior angles which are obtuse, not projecting laterally. Disc smooth; median furrow and basal foveae fairly deep, the foveae continued forward on each side forming shallow sulci, parallel with lateral sides.

Elytra depressed, three-fifths wider than pronotum, nearly four-fifth longer than wide; lateral sides slightly compressed behind shoulders and then a little dilated, so that the widest point is behind middle. Elytral apex obliquely truncate, the outer apical angles markedly widened, obtusely rounded, not angulate. Striae moderately deep, very finely punctate; intervals moderately convex, with some sparse minute punctuation.

Underside with very fine scattered punctuation and pubescence on metasternum, more developed in males. Abdominal sternum VII in males notched at middle, with one seta on each side, two setae in females.

Male genitalia very similar to that of C. doriae , but apex of the median lobe of aedeagus a little shorter ( fig. 77); median lobe slightly bent, its middle part strongly expanded in dorsal view; dorsal and ventral margins slightly curved in lateral view, ventral surface markedly concaved in the middle; apical orifice pleuropic left, with a triangular chitinized piece; apical lamina flat, rounded at apex, expanded and thickened, basal width greater than length (W/L about 1.4); endophallus with two chitinized copulatory pieces, located in the middle area near the left lateral margin, long and narrow, close to each other at base, V shaped; left paramere depressed on the dorsal side; right paramere not curved at apex.

Female genitalia: not examined.

Geographical Distribution and habitat. Only known from northwestern India ( map 6 ): Uttarakhand (Dehra Dun, Lansdowne). Andrewes (1933) reported that the holotype was collected under bark of Tectona grandis, and several paratypes were in bamboo leaf roll, predaceous on Hyblaea puera (Cramer) and Hapalia machaeralis Walker.

Figures

MAP 6 Distributions for species in the C. doriae group: C. doriae Bates (blue); C. rapax Andrewes (red).