Ponyalis himalejica ( Bourgeois, 1885 )

Fang, Chen, Yang, Yuxia, Yang, Xingke & Liu, Haoyu, 2024, Taxonomic review of the genus Ponyalis Fairmaire, 1899 (Coleoptera, Lycidae), with descriptions of six new species from China, ZooKeys 1203, pp. 325-354 : 325-354

Ponyalis himalejica ( Bourgeois, 1885)

Figs 1 , 3 G – I , 4 A – C

Lyponia himalejica Bourgeois, 1885: 79; Bocak 1999: 94, figs 52, 53.

Lyponia waterhousei Gorham, 1890: 543. Synonymized by Bocak 1999: 94.

Lyponia ochraceicollis Pic, 1923: 9. Synonymized by Bocak 1999: 94.

Lyponia aurantiaca Pic, 1927: 5. Synonymized by Bocak 1999: 94.

Lyponia robusticollis Pic, 1939: 165. Synonymized by Bocak 1999: 94.

Ponyalis himalejica : Kazantsev 2002: 205, fig. 30; Li et al. 2015 a: 17.

Material examined.

China: 1 ♂ 1 ♀ ( IZAS), Yunnan, Menghai, Nannuoshan , 1100–1200 m, 28. IV. 1957, leg. G. J. Hong ; 2 ♂ ( IZAS), same locality as the preceding, 1600 m, 25. IV. 1958, leg. G. J. Hong ; 1 ♀ ( IZAS), same locality as the preceding, 1100–1500 m, 27. IV. 1957, leg. F. J. Pu ; 1 ♀ ( IZAS), Yunnan, Menghai, Chachan , 1200–1450 m, 24. IV. 1957, leg. S. Y. Wang ; 1 ♂ 1 ♀ ( IZAS), Yunnan, Xishuangbanna, Mengsong , 1600 m, 26. IV. 1958, leg. Y. R. Zhang ; 2 ♂ 2 ♀ ( MHBU), Yunnan, Yingjiang, Xima , 20. VII. 2019, leg. P. Wang .

Differential diagnosis.

This species differs from all others of Ponyalis by the combination of the following characters: pronotum uniformly red, or present with a dark brown to black patch in center of disc, but never extending to anterior or posterior margin, elytra red (Fig. 4 A – C ); male antennomere I flattened dorsally, III and IV long-triangular, lamellae of V – X extended along whole length of corresponding stem and tapered laterally (Fig. 4 A ); elytra 5.0 × longer than pronotum, primary costae nearly as strong as secondary ones, cells transverse (Fig. 4 A – C ); phallus strongly widened at middle part and arcuate at lateral margins, moderately projected distad at apical margin and narrowly rounded at apex in dorsal and ventral views (Fig. 3 G, H ).

Descriptive notes.

Male (Fig. 4 A ). Antennae reaching basal 3 / 5 length of elytra when inclined, antennomere I flattened dorsally, III and IV long-triangular, 1.3–1.5 × as long as wide, with outer apical angles strongly protruding laterally, lamellae of V – X extended along whole length of corresponding stem and tapered laterally, 1.8–3.8 × longer than the corresponding antennomere itself, XI fusiform and 5.3 × as long as wide.

Aedeagus: phallus stout, 2.0 × as long as wide, strongly widened at middle part and arcuate at lateral margins, moderately projected distad at apical margin and narrowly rounded at apex in dorsal and ventral views, with acute latero-apical angels, between which the distance much smaller than maximal width of trunk (Fig. 3 G, H ), weakly bent dorsally and tapered distad in lateral view (Fig. 3 I ).

Female (Fig. 4 B, C ). Similar to male, but body stouter, antennae shorter and reaching elytral mid-length when inclined, antennomeres III – V triangular, lamellae of VI – X 1.1–1.5 × as long as its corresponding antennomere itself, XI fusiform and 3.0 × as long as wide.

Distribution

(Fig. 1 ). China (Yunnan), Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, India.

Remarks.

We provide different habitus macrophotographs (Fig. 4 B, C ) for this species to show its variability of appearance, probably due to its wide distribution ( Bocak 1999).

Figures

Figure 1. Distribution map of Ponyalis in the world.

Figure 3. Aedeagi of Ponyalis alternata (Pic, 1927) (A – C); P. fukiensis (Bocak, 1999) (D – F); P. himalejica (Bourgeois, 1885) (G – I); P. gracilis (Bocak, 1999) (J – L). A, D, G, J ventral views B, E, H, K dorsal views C, F, I, L lateral views. Scale bars: 0.5 mm.

Figure 4. Habitus, dorsal view: Ponyalis himalejica (Bourgeois, 1885) (A – C); P. gracilis (Bocak, 1999) (D). A, D males B, C females. Scale bars: 2.0 mm.