Liogenys pallens Blanchard, 1851

Cherman, Mariana Alejandra, Basílio, Daniel Silva, Mise, Kleber Makoto, Frisch, Johannes & Almeida, Lúcia Massutti De, 2021, Liogenys Guérin-Méneville, 1831 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae Diplotaxini) from the Chacoan Province and its boundaries: taxonomic overview with four new species, Zootaxa 4938 (1), pp. 1-59 : 39-41

Liogenys pallens Blanchard, 1851

Figs. 17 ; 25 .

Liogenys pallens Blanchard, 1851: 167 ; Lacordaire 1855: 269 (revision, systematics); Harold 1869: 1140 (checklist); Bruch 1911: 200 (checklist); Dalla Torre 1913: 318 (checklist); Blackwelder 1944: 227 (checklist); Frey 1969: 49, 61 (key, redescription); Krajčík 2012: 145 (checklist); Evans 2003: 212 (checklist); Evans & Smith 2009: 180 (checklist).

Liogenys fulvescens Blanchard, 1851: 167 ; Lacordaire 1855: 269 (revision, systematics); Harold 1869: 1140 (checklist); Dalla Torre 1913: 318 (checklist); Blackwelder 1944: 227 (checklist); Frey 1969: 50, 61 (key, redescription); Evans 2003: 209 (checklist); Evans & Smith 2009: 178 (checklist); Krajčík 2012: 145 (checklist) New synonym.

Liogenys flavicollis Frey, 1964: 693 ; Frey 1969: 40 (key); Evans 2003: 209 (checklist); Evans & Smith 2009: 177 (checklist); Krajčík 2012: 144 (checklist). New synonym.

Type material. Liogenys pallens male lectotype here designated ( MNHN): [white handwritten] “ Montevideo. / 7 bre 8 bre / 1820.”, [light green, typeset and handwritten] “MUSÉUM PARIS / Montevideo ”, [green handwritten] “ L. pallens / Cat. Mus. / Montevideo / M. A. St Hilaire. ”, [red typeset] “ SYNTYPE ”, [white, outlined red, typeset] “ LECTOTYPE / Liogenys pallens / Blanchard, 1851 / Cherman M. A. 2015”, genitalia mounted .

Liogenys fulvescens female lectotype here designated ( MNHN): [white handwritten] “ Montevideo. / 7 bre 8 bre / 1820.”, [light green, typeset and handwritten] “MUSÉUM PARIS / Montevideo ”, [green handwritten] “ L. fulvescens / Cat. Mus. / Montevideo / M. A. St Hilaire.”, [red typeset] “ SYNTYPE ”, [white, outlined red, typeset] “ LECTOTYPE / Liogenys fulvescens / Blanchard, 1851 / Cherman M. A. 2015”. Paralectotype (1): One female ( MNHN) with the labels: [white handwritten] “Del’emb. / del’uruguay / jusqu’aux / missions”, [light green typeset] “MUSÉUM PARIS”, [red typeset] “ SYNTYPE ”, [white, outlined red, typeset] “ PARALECTOTYPE / Liogenys fulvescens / Blanchard, 1851 / Cherman M. A. 2015”.

Liogenys flavicollis female holotype ( NHMB) : [white typeset] “ ♀ ”, [white handwritten] “ Formosa / Gran Guardia / XI.52”, [red typeset] “TYPE”, [white handwritten] “ Typus ♀ / Liogenys flavicollis / n. sp. / [typeset] det. G. Frey 1964 ”. Paratypes (2): One female with the same label as the holotype ( NHMB) . One female with the labels: [white handwritten] “ Formosa / Gran Guardia / XI.52”, [red typeset] “TYPE”, [white handwritten] “Typus F / Liogenys flavicollis / n. sp. / [typeset] det. G. Frey 1964 ”, [white typeset] “H. & A. HOWDEN / COLLECTION / ex. A. Martínez coll.”, [white typeset] “Canadian Museum of / Musée Canadian de la / NATURE / CMNEN 00018922” ( CMNC) .

Non-type material (79). Without country locality, date, and collector, 2 females ( ZMHB). PARAGUAY: Asunción, IX.1952, M. Alvarenga, 3 females ( DZUP). ARGENTINA: without locality: Stempelm, 3 females ( MZSP); Kraatz , 1 male and 5 females ( SDEI); Formosa: Clorinda , 26.IX.1937, without collector, 2 males ( MLPA); Chaco: Antequera , Departamento Primero de Mayo , 27°26.500’S 58°51.459’W, 52 m, 22.XII.2014, M. Ibarra Polesel, 1 specimen; Estación San Francisco, Departamento San Fernando , 27°30’35.90’’S 59° 4’47.60’’W, 54 m, 16– 17.X.2013, M. Ibarra Polesel, 1 specimen (CARTROUNNE); Santiago del Estero: without locality, E.R. Wagner, 1 female ( MLPA); 7.XI.1963, Cartwright, 1 female ( NHMB); Girardet, without date and collector, 1 male ( MLPA); Choya , 27.XI.1962, without collector, 1 male ( NHMB); Catamarca: without locality, date, and collector, 1 male ( MLPA); La Rioja: 20 km N La Rioja, 25.IX.1968, without collector, 5 males and 1 female ( AMNH), Córdoba: without locality, date, and collector, 3 males and 6 females ( ZMHB); without locality, date, and collector, 2 females ( MLPA); Córdoba, 10.XI.1903, C. Bruch, 1 male ( ZMHB); San Luis: Potrero de los Funes , 20.XII.2012, M.A. Cherman, 1 female ( DZUP); El Milagro , Ayacucho , XI.1966, A. Martínez, 1 female ( CMNC); Mendoza: without locality, date, and collector, 5 males and 11 females. ( ZMHB), without date, Jensen-Haarup , 1 female ( ZMUC); Pedregal Railway Station , El Pedregal , Maipú , without date, Jensen-Haarup , 6 males and 8 females ( ZMUC); Santa Rosa Railway Station , Santa Rosa , Jensen-Haarup , 1 female ( ZMUC); Santa Rosa , Ñancuñan , 33º50’81.5’’S 67º53’71.7’’W, 5.I. 2005, 540 m, E. Ruiz, 1 male ( IADIZA); Santa Rosa , Ñancuñan , 34°2’57.840’’S 67° 58’0.480’’W, 11.II.1982, S. Claver & S. Roig, 1 male ( IADIZA); La Pampa: Santa Rosa, XI.1961, Daguerre, 1 female ( NHMB); (1) Buenos Aires: La Plata, without date and collector, 1 female ( ZMHB).

Diagnosis. Length: 12.0– 15.5 mm; width 5.7–7.3 mm. Body elongate, dull yellow, more uniform in color in males ( Fig. 17A ) than in females ( Fig. 17 B–C) semi-opaque to shiny, head and base of elytra darker; distance between eyes twice as wide as one eye in males, wider in females; clypeus in males long, clypeal emargination shallow, rounded, almost straight, wider than the frons; outer sides of anterior teeth parallel; outer margin of anterior teeth shorter than the eye; clypeal lateral margin convex, projection sharp or blunt; distance between clypeal lateral projection and anterior margin of eye as long as one eye; distance between clypeal lateral projection and the adjacent anterior tooth equal to the basal width of the anterior tooth; obtuse angle between outer side of anterior teeth and clypeal lateral projection; in females, clypeal emargination deep, rounded, wide; outer sides of anterior teeth parallel; outer margin of anterior teeth shorter than the eye; clypeal lateral margin convex, projection sharp; distance between clypeal lateral projection and anterior margin of eye longer than one eye; distance between clypeal lateral projection and the adjacent anterior tooth equal to or longer than the basal width of the anterior tooth; right angle between outer side of anterior teeth and clypeal lateral projection; antenna with 10 antennomeres; pronotal posterior corners rounded; scutellum ogival, finely punctate throughout; three dark protibial teeth, middle and apical equally large; distance between basal and middle teeth longer than between middle and apical; mesotibia cylindrical in cross section, with two transversal carinae, the apical carina incomplete in males, complete in females; inner margin of male metatibia not carinate; two metatibial transverse carina present posteriorly; metatarsomere I shorter than metatarsomere II; in males protarsomeres and mesotarsomeres I to IV strongly enlarged; claw bifid, symmetrical, inferior tooth strongly reduced; pygidium convex, pygidial disc glabrous or slightly with bristles on apex, finely punctate, coarser in females; pygidial apex rounded ( Fig. 17H ); parameres, basal region equal in width to the parameres at the midline; parameral split at the apical third; inner margins of parameres straight; parameres narrower subapically; apex strongly bent downwards, ventral surface expanded laterally forming an acute angle ( Fig. 17I ); parameres in lateral view straight, not coplanar ( Fig. 17J ).

Type locality. Liogenys pallens and L. fulvescens : URUGUAY, Montevideo; L. flavicollis : ARGENTINA, Formosa, Gran Guardia.

Geographical distribution. PARAGUAY (Asunción); ARGENTINA (Formosa, Chaco, Santiago del Estero, Catamarca, La Rioja, Córdoba, San Luis, Mendoza, La Pampa, Buenos Aires); URUGUAY (Montevideo).

Remarks. Frey (1969) designated a neotype for L. pallens , which is housed at the NHMB. As we found the primary type of Blanchard (1851) at the MNHN ( Fig. 17A, D ), the former must be invalidated (Article 75.8, International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature 1999). Despite Blanchard (1851) mentioned a range of length in L. pallens description, we found a single type specimen, which is here designated as the lectotype. This species has a strong sexual dimorphism and many characters vary within its distribution. A large series with males and females from the same collection event from Mendoza ( Argentina) allowed the association of males and females. After comparing the male lectotype of L. pallens , the female lectotype of L. fulvescens ( Fig. 17B, E ) and the female holotype of L. flavicollis ( Fig. 17C, F ), we propose that both latter names are synonyms of L. pallens .

Figures

FIGURE 17. Liogenys pallens Blanchard, 1851 male lectotype: A) dorsal, D) labels, G) lateral, H) pygidium, and parameres: I) dorsal, J) lateral. Liogenys fulvescens Blanchard, 1851 female lectotype: B) dorsal, E) labels. Liogenys flavicollis Frey, 1964 female holotype: C) dorsal, F) labels.

FIGURE 25. Geographical distribution of four known Liogenys species occurring in the Chacoan province and its boundaries. Shaped points: previously known species; colors: Neotropical provinces (Morrone 2014) and Monte province from the South American Transition Zone (Roig-Juñent et al. 2018).