Tituboea lacordairei ( Pic, 1929 ) Bezdċk & Regalin, 2015

Bezdċk, Jan & Regalin, Renato, 2015, Identity of species-group taxa of the Western Palaearctic Clytrini (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) described by Maurice Pic and Louis Kocher, Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae (suppl.) 55, pp. 1-114 : 50-52

Tituboea lacordairei ( Pic, 1929) stat. nov.

( Figs 40–42 , 187–197 )

Antina [sic!] (Titubaea) arabica var. lacordairei Pic, 1929a: 14 (original description).

Type locality. ‘ Sinaï, etc.’ [sic!].

Type material examined. Antipa arabica var. lacordairei : SYNTYPE: 1♂, ‘Gebel Um Lehas / SINAI, 6.4.24 / plaine sablonneuse / et grand vert [w, h] // Coll. Alħeri / Egypte [w, p] // Titubaea / ( Antipa ) / arabica var. / lacordairei Pic / (det. Pic) [horizontally] / TYPE [vertically, w, h] // 1895 [w, h] // F. Monros / Collection / 1959 [w, p]’ ( USNM).

Additional material examined. EGYPT: SOUTH SINAI: Wadi Isla, Karm Alah, 680 m, at light, 10.–12.iv.1940, 1 ♂, A. Alħeri leg. ( USNM) ; Wadi Isla, Bir Tarfa , 1430 m, at light, 13.–14.iv.1940, 1 ♀, A. Alħeri leg. ( USNM); Bir Isla, 390 m, at light, 6.–9.iv.1940, 1 ♀, A. Alħeri leg. ( USNM). ISRAEL: JUDEA: Ein Gedi, Dead Sea , 19.v.2005, 1 ♀, L. Kantnerová leg. (FKCC); Ein Gedi, 1 ♂, Bytinski-Salz leg. ( TAU). JERUSALEM: Nahal Qidron, 7.vi.1996, 1 ♂ 1 ♀, A. Freidberg leg. ( TAU). SOUTHERN DISTRICT: Arugot valley , 26.x.1969, D. Furth leg. ( TAU) ; Nahal Hashitta, vi.1999, 1 ♀, I. Yarom & V. Kravchenko leg. ( TAU). ISRAEL/SYRIA: GOLAN HEIGHTS: Mt. Hermon, 1500 m, 22.iv.1973, 1 ♂, D. Furth leg. ( TAU). JORDAN: AQABA: Wadi Rum , 11.v.1995, 1 ♂ 1 ♀, P. Pucholt leg. ( JBCB). TAFILA: 20 km W of At Taħla, 30°52.906 ' N 35°26.015 ' E, - 280 m, 1.vi.2007, 5 ♂♂, F. & L. Kantner leg. ( FKCC), same data, 7 ♂♂2 ♀♀, J. Bezd Č k leg. ( JBCB). OMAN: DHOFAR: Ain Garziz dint., 17°06 ' 29 " N 54°04 ' 35 " E, 16.iii.2004, 2 ♂♂3 ♀♀, M. Dellacasa leg. ( CIUC) ; Al Mughsayl dint., 16°54 ' 10 " N 53°45 ' 54 " E, 50 m, 12.iii.2004, 1 ♂, M. Dellacasa leg. ( CIUC) ; Darbat pool, 17°05 ' N 54°26 ' E, 14.iii.2004, 1 ♂ 5 ♀♀, M. Dellacasa leg. ( CIUC) ; Jabal Samhan, Hyoor dint. , 17°07 ' 19 " N 54°42 ' 44 " E, 1320 m, 10.iii.2004, 1 ♂, M. Dellacasa leg. ( CIUC) ; Khor Rori dint. , 17°02 ' N 54°26 ' E, 10 m, 7.iii.2004, 1 ♂, M. Dellacasa leg. ( CIUC) ; 7 km of Tawi Atayr , 17°03 ' 46 " N 54°36 ' 15 " E, 9.iii. 2004, 600 m, 1 ♀, M. Dellacasa leg. ( CIUC) ; Wadi Darbat , 17°04 ' 27 " N 54°25 ' 53 " E, 2.iii.2004, 1♂, M. Dellacasa leg.( CIUC) ; Wadi Darbat, 17°05 ' 45 " N 54°26 ' 59 " E, 3.iii. 2004, 200 m, 1 m 1 ♀, M. Dellacasa leg. ( CIUC). YEMEN: SANA ̚ A: Haraz Mts., 80 km SE of Sana ̓ a, Manacha env., 15°03 ' 50 " N 43°44 ' 32 " E, 2600–2800 m, 11.vi.2009, 3 ♂♂, L. Purchart leg. ( JBCB) .

Redescription. Body length: ♂♂5.7–8.0 mm; ♀♀ 6.0– 7.2 mm.

Male (syntype, Fig. 196 ). Body almost completely brownish-orange, each elytron with 4 black spots (2, 2), scutellum darkened in middle part (or only laterally), apices of mandibles brown, antennae with darkened apices of last four antennomeres, mesoventrite laterally with ill-deħned darkened areas.

Head. Mandibles slightly enlarged, inner margin with small tooth, outer side below upper margin with small obtuse tooth. Labrum with anterior margin shallowly incised, lateral margins rounded and convergent anteriorly, disc covered with several long pale setae. Clypeus with anterior margin subtriangularly emarginated, lustrous, impunctate, laterally with pale setae. Eyes large. Frons and vertex subopaque, covered with large punctures and short pale setae. Frons narrow, 1.50 times as wide as diameter of eye, in middle with shallow impression. Antennae short, 0.22 times as long as body, antennomere I club-shaped; II subglobular, III as long as II but subtubular, IV triangular; V–X serrated.

Pronotum transverse, 1.72–1.90 times as wide as long, convex, covered with irregular mixture of ħne and larger punctures, lustrous, posterior margins distinctly elevated above elytra level. Anterior margin straight, lateral margins moderately rounded, widest in middle, posterior margin bisinuate.All margins thinly bordered. Anterior angles widely rounded, posterior angles nearly rectangular with rounded apex, all angles with setigerous pore bearing long pale seta, posterior pore placed on lateral margin near posterior angle. Scutellum triangular with transversely cut apex, medially lustrous, impunctate, laterally with small puncture and short setae, scutellar apex not or only slightly elevated above level of elytra.

Elytra subcylindrical, 0.55 times as long as body, 1.50 times as long as wide in humeral part, glabrous, lustrous, densely covered with small confused punctures. Basal margin with complete thin border. Epipleura glabrous, impunctate, wide in humeral area, short, disappearing in 1/4 of elytral length.

Legs. All tibiae narrow. Protarsi ( Fig. 42 ) very long and thin, protarsomere I long, parallel, ħve times as long as broad, slightly shorter than two following tarsomeres combined, protarsomere II parallel, three times as long as broad, length ratios of protarsomeres I–IV equal to 100-60-50-45. Length ratios of metatarsomeres I–IV equal to 100-64-45-91. Claws simple.

Male genitalia. Aedeagus with triangular apical third, margin at anterolateral angles with small shallow impressions. Ventrally with three small shallow impressions ( Fig. 40 ).

Female ( Fig. 195 ). Head of same development as in males, only mandibles are smaller. Frons 1.75–1.90 times as wide as diameter of eye. Pronotum 1.80–2.00 times as wide as long, widest in basal third and more convergent anteriorly. Protarsi shorter than in males, length ratios of protarsomeres I–IV equal to 100-67-56-122. Length ratios of metatarsomeres I–IV equal to 8-5-4-10. Spermatheca U-shaped with distinctly wider apical part, proximal duct long and thin ( Fig. 41 ).

Variability. Tituboea lacordairei is widely distributed through the Arabian Peninsula and forms many local populations which vary in the colouration, intensity of pronotal punctation and particularly in the size of male eyes, while the shape of aedeagus, mandibles and male protarsi are almost the same. Width/length ratio of pronotum in males varies from 1.70–2.00. Elytra of males are 1.45–1.55 times as long as wide in humeral part. Below are given the differences found among the populations:

Specimens from Sinai and Jordan (Wadi Rum) ( Figs 187, 195, 196 ): body completely orange except for four spots on elytra; pronotum with dense double punctation, glabrous or posteriorly and laterally with traces of very short setae; males with large eyes (ratio frons width/diameter of eye 1.50–1.66) ( Fig. 188 ).

Specimens from Jordan (At Taħla) ( Fig. 189 ): body completely orange except for four spots on elytra; pronotum glabrous, punctation ħner but well visible; males with small eyes (ratio frons width / diameter of eye 2.50–3.22) ( Fig. 190 ).

Specimens from Oman ( Fig. 191 ): body completely orange except for four spots on elytra; pronotum covered with short ħne setae, punctation ħner but well visible; males with moderate size of eyes (ratio frons width / diameter of eye 2.10–2.57) ( Fig. 192 ).

Specimens from Yemen ( Fig. 193 ): head either completely orange with black spot on inner margin of eye or with black band between eyes, pronotum orange or with posterolateral black spots, elytra with four black spot, scutellar spot sometimes indistinct, posterior pair of spots sometimes enlarged, connecting and forming band, meso- and metaventrite black, abdomen orange or black with posterior half of last ventrite and whole pygidium orange; pronotum glabrous, punctation very ħne, almost invisible in some specimens; males with small eyes (ratio frons width / diameter of eye 2.85–3.15) ( Fig. 194 ).

Specimens from Israel: body orange, 4 spots on elytra black, meso-, metaventrite and abdomen (except for most part of last ventrite) darkened.

Differential diagnosis. Tituboea lacordairei is similar to T. pindai Bezd Č k, 2011 from the United Arab Emirates and to T. ogloblini (Medvedev, 1962) from Yemen in having long thin protarsi in males. Because the size of eyes in T. lacordairei is variable, all three species can be separated with certainty only based on the shape of aedeagus ( Figs 40, 43 , cf. with BEZ-D Ċ K & BATELKA 2011). Additionaly, males of T. pindai have somewhat longer protarsi than T. lacordairei . Tituboea ogloblini has aedeagus very similar to T. lacordairei except for two bulges on ventral side near the apex ( Fig. 43 ) which are missing in T. lacordairei ( Fig. 40 ).

Distribution. Egypt (Sinai), Israel, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen (present paper).

Comments. The drawing of the aedeagus of T. ogloblini published in the original description (MEDVEDEV 1962) is very simpliħed but two ventral bulges situated near the apex are explicitely mentioned in the text. Although we did not examine the holotype of T. ogloblini which was not found in ZIN (Moseyko, pers. comm. 2014) and Medvedev ̓ s collection (Medvedev, pers. comm. 2014), we examined one male from the same material as the holotype (Filippov ̓ s expedition), which has the aedeagus with two ventral bulges. The aedeagi of T. lacordairei and T. ogloblini are very similar and differ only in absence ( T. lacordairei ) or presence ( T. ogloblini ) of ventral bulges.As we did not examine any transitional forms between both types we treat them as distinct species.

Figures

Figs 40–45. 40–42 – Tituboea lacordairei (Pic, 1929): 40 – aedeagus (dorsal, lateral and ventral views); 41 – spermatheca; 42 – right male protarsus. 43–45 – Tituboea ogloblini (Medvedev, 1962): 43 – aedeagus (dorsal, lateral and ventral views); 44 – spermatheca; 45 – right male protarsus. Scale bars: 1 mm for Figs 42 and 45; 0.5 mm for Figs 40 and 43, 0.25 mm for Figs 41 and 44.

Figs 187–197. Tituboea lacordairei (Pic, 1929): 187– male (Jordan: Wadi Rum, 6.9 mm); 188 – its head; 189 male (Jordan: At Taħla, 8.0 mm); 190 – its head; 191 – male (Oman, 6.7 mm); 192 – its head; 193 – male (Yemen, 5.8 mm); 194 – its head; 195 – female (Jordan: Wadi Rum, 6.4 mm); 196–197 – Syntype of Antipa arabica var. lacordairei (male, 5.8 mm): 196 – habitus; 197 – labels.