Coptocephala dilatipes Pic, 1923

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 : 15-16

Coptocephala dilatipes Pic, 1923 stat. restit.

( Figs 4–5 , 78–81 )

Coptocephala dilatipes Pic, 1923: 11 (original description); PIC (1924b): 129 (extended description).

Type locality. ‘ Egypte: Mariout’ .

Type material examined. SYNTYPES: 1 ♂, ‘Mariout / (A Petrow) / 23-4-22 [w, h] // sur Ħeurs / d ̓ Odontaeum [w, h] // type [w, h] // Coptocephala / dilatipes n sp [w, h]’ ( MNHN – coll. Pic); 1 ♂, ‘Ikinghi Mariout / 7.4.1919 [w, h] // Coll. Alħeri / Egypte [w, p] // 1916 [w, h] // F. Monros / Collection / 1959 [w, p] // Coptocephala / dilatipes Pic / 1923 ( TYPE) re- / cu de A. Petrow [w, h] // BLNO / 002569 [b, p] // USNM ENT / 00871344 [w, p]’ ( USNM).

Additional material examined. EGYPT: Mariout, Ikinghi, 2.v.1927, 1 ♂ 1 ♀, A. Alħeri leg. ( USNM).

Redescription. Body length: ♂♂ 2.8–3.3 mm; ♀ 3.2 mm.

Male ( Fig. 78 ). Head black, last palpomere, labrum and apical third of mandibles brown. Antennomeres I and II orange, III brownish, rest black. Pronotum orange. Scutellum black. Elytra orange, each elytron with four black spots (2, 2), anterior pair not touching anterior margin, humeral spot slightly larger, elongate, spot between humeral calli and scutellum smaller, rounded, posterior pair situated just behind middle, both spots elongate, inner slightly larger than outer one. Meso-, metaventrite, abdomen and legs black, last two tarsomeres brownish.

Head ( Fig. 80 ) enlarged, lustrous, relatively Ħat. Left mandible longer and better visible than right mandible, simple, without inner concavity, with sharp long apex, in lateral view without tooth or concavity on dorsal margin. Labrum narrow, transverse, covered with several pale setae. Clypeus widely rounded, straight or slightly emarginated in middle, surface of clypeus covered with ħne shallow punctures bearing very short, almost invisible pale setae, clypeus separated from head by indistinct subtriangular suture. Eyes small. Frons very wide, 3.65 times as wide as diameter of eye, near eyes with larger punctures bearing longer pale setae, slightly wrinkled. Vertex lustrous, covered with ħne small punctures, glabrous. Antennae short, 0.27 times as long as body, antennomere I club-shaped; II small, subglobular, III and IV very short, Ħattened; antennae serrated from antennomere V; antennomeres V–XI slightly wider than long.

Pronotum strongly transverse, 2.0 times as wide as long, moderately convex, very sparsely covered with irregular punctures, lustrous.Anterior margins straight, lateral margins moderately rounded, posterior margin nearly straight but distinctly thickened in scutellar area.Anterior angles rounded with setigerous pore bearing long seta, posterior angles widely rounded. Lateral and posterior margins bordered, anterior margin indistinctly bordered. Scutellum triangular with sharp apex, lustrous, impunctate, scutellar apex elevated above level of elytra.

Elytra subcylindrical, 1.35 times as long as wide at humeral part, glabrous, lustrous, densely covered with confused punctures. Basal margin bordered, moderately swollen in middle part. Epipleura glabrous, impunctate, wide in humeral area, gradually thinner posteriorly, disappearing in midlength of elytra.

Legs. All tibiae very wide. Protibiae 5.85 times as long as wide, in lateral view of similar width in middle part but slightly Ħattened basally and apically. Protarsi: protarsomere I long, parallel, 3.15 times as long as broad, slightly shorter than two following tarsomeres combined, protarsomere II parallel, 2.33 as long as broad, protarsomere III very deeply incised, length ratios of protarsomeres I–IV equal to 100-64-45-82. Metatarsi: metatarsomere I short, parallel, 1.70 times as long as broad, 0.66 times shorter than two following tarsomeres combined, length ratios of metatarsomeres I–IV equal to 100-84-67-134. Claws simple.

Male genitalia. Aedeagus widest in preapical part, apex triangulary prolonged. Ventrally with simple median keel and lateral elevations, subapically separated by distinct impression ( Fig. 4 ).

Female ( Fig. 79 ). Head not enlarged, left mandible short. Frons narrower, 2.66 times as wide as diameter of eye. Pronotal punctures more distinct than in males. Tibiae less wide, protibiae 5.33 times as long as wide, in lateral view Ħat in whole length. Protarsi shorter than in males, length ratios of protarsomeres I–IV equal to 100-72-57-128. Spermatheca V-shaped with gradually convergent apex, spermathecal duct very long, ħliform ( Fig. 5 ).

Differential diagnosis. Coptocephala dilatipes belongs to the C. aeneopicta species group (see also comments under C. aeneopicta ) and is characterised by two anterior elytral spots. Within the C. aeneopicta species group, similar pattern can be found only in C. crassipes nepalica Medvedev, 1999 and rarely also in C. aeneopicta but the scutellar spot touches anterior elytral margin (never so in C. dilatipes ). Other species either have in anterior part of elytra only humeral spot and scutellar spot is absent ( C. brevicornis ; C. crassipes crassipes ; C. crassipes iranica ; C. normandi ; C. rungsi ) or humeral spot is enlarged covering most of anterior part of elytra (most of C. aeneopicta ; C. coptocephaloides ; C. crassipes vavilovi ; C. furthi ; C. maidaquensis ; C. panousei ).

Aedeagus of C. dilatipes with triangularly prolonged apex cannot be confused with any other species in the C. aeneopicta species group (cf. WARCHA Ł OWSKI 1991, DOGUET & BERGEAL 2007, LOPATIN 2008). Coptocephala dilatipes as well as most species in the group have completely black legs and almost impunctate pronotum, except C. aeneopicta and very rarely also C. crassipes with reddish tibiae, and C. furthi and C. panousei with pronotum densely punctate.

Distribution. Egypt ( PIC 1923, 1924b).

Comments. The original description of C. dilatipes is very short and uninformative ( PIC 1923). One year later, PIC (1924b) published somewhat extended description but because the type specimens were never revised by subsequent specialists, the true identity of C. dilatipes was unknown for many decades. WINKLER (1929) listed it as a valid species. WARCHA Ł OWSKI (1991) also treated it as valid but indicated possible relation to C. crassipes . As a possible synonym of C. crassipes it is suggested also in subsequent WARCHA Ł OWSKI ̓ s (2003, 2010) idenħcation keys. REGALIN & MEDVEDEV (2010b) listed C. dilatipes in synonymy of C. crassipes , however as a doubtful assignment.

Figures

Figs 4–6. 4–5 – Coptocephala dilatipes Pic, 1923: 4 – aedeagus (dorsal, lateral and ventral views); 5 – spermatheca. 6 – aedeagus of Coptocephala massiliensis Pic, 1914 (dorsal, lateral and ventral views). Scale bars: 0.5 mm for Figs 4 and 6, 0.25 mm for Fig. 5.

Figs 78–86.78–81 – Coptocephala dilatipes Pic, 1923:78 – habitus of male (syntype, 3.2 mm); 79 – habitus of female (3.2 mm); 80 – head of male (syntype); 81 – labels of syntype;82–86 – Coptocephala massiliensis Pic, 1914 (syntype, male, 5.0 mm): 82 – habitus; 83 – head; 84 – labels; 85 – aedeagus in ventral view; 86 – aedeagus in lateral view.