Cycadophila (Cycadophila) nigra (Gorham)

Skelley, Paul, Xu, Guang, Tang, William, Lindström, Anders J., Marler, Thomas, Khuraijam, Jibankumar Singh, Singh, Rita & Rich, Stephen, 2017, Review of Cycadophila Xu, Tang & Skelley (Coleoptera: Erotylidae: Pharaxonothinae) inhabiting Cycas (Cycadaceae) in Asia, with descriptions of a new subgenus and thirteen new species, Zootaxa 4267 (1), pp. 1-63 : 35

Cycadophila (Cycadophila) nigra (Gorham)

Thallis ? nigra Gorham 1895: 324 .

Pharaxonotha nigra (Gorham) ; Arrow 1925: 255; Schenkling 1928: 31; Chûjô 1964: 224, pl. 14, fig. 7; Chûjô 1967: 41.

Pharaxonotha indica Grouvelle 1903: 127 ; Grouvelle 1916: 62 (sp. bona); Schenkling 1923: 15 (sp. bona); Arrow 1925: 255 [syn.]; Schenkling 1928: 31; Chûjô 1964: 224.

Cycadophila nigra (Gorham) ; Xu et al. 2015: 17 –20 (lectotype designation).

Adult diagnosis. A member of the C. ( Cycadophila ) nigra species group as discussed above distinguished from related species by its larger entirely brown body, weakly depressed submental-gular region, distinct supraocular stria that is half length of the eye, and male with large angulate swelling at the middle of the inner mesotibial margin. A full description and images are presented in Xu et al. (2015).

Type locality. Kanara, S. India.

Range. China, S. India, Thailand, Vietnam.

Material examined. Lectotype and paralectotype of Thallis nigra Gorham , holotype of Pharaxonotha indica Grouvelle , and other materials as detailed in Xu et al. (2015). Others examined: CHINA, Yunnan Province, Red River Valley , nr. Man Hao , 23°01'N, 103°24'E, 955m, 12 May 1996, W. Tang, ex near receptive ♀ strobilus of Cycas diannanensis (type locality), WT 50 (2); Guanping Reserve, 22°10'N, 110°50'E, 10 May 1996, W. Tang, ex spent ♂ strobilus of Cycas dolichopylla [ Cycas sp. aff. collina ], WT 44 (3) ; VIETNAM, Son La Prov., near Mai Son , 21°08'N, 104°11'E, 4 Apr. 1996,S. – L. Yang, ex ♂ strobilus of Cycas collina in monsoon forest, SLY 777 (19) ; Hoa Binh Prov., LacThuy Dstr., Phu Lao comm., Thuy Dstr., Phu Lao comm., 20°33'19″N, 105°45'42″E, 50–100m, 25-IV-2015, N. S. Khang, ex Ƌ Cycas hoabinensis cone ( NSK 795 b) (1). This additional material examined is deposited at ANIC and FSCA .

Remarks. Adult specimens matching this species were found in small numbers in cones of one of two populations of Cycas debaoensis surveyed in China ( Xu et al. 2015). These authors found no matching larvae in the cones and suggested that this species does not reproduce in Cycas cones as do some other species of Cycadophila . Their apparent distribution into southern India, well beyond the range of C. debaoensis or related species, suggest that this beetle is not a specialist on C. debaoensis , but an opportunistic visitor that may feed and reproduce on alternative hosts. It is unclear if specimens presently considered C. nigra represent one widespread species or a couple of regional species. The female types of C. nigra are from southern India, while other available materials are from northern India, southern China and northern Vietnam. Additional series of specimens from other areas are needed to better understand sexual dimorphisms, population variations, and molecular relationships to decide if only one species is present. For now, C. nigra is considered a single widespread species needing more research.

Arrow (1925) pointed out that the types of Gorham’s T. nigra and Grouvelle’s P. indica are identically labeled and synonymized them. They are all females with quite similar morphology; Gorham’s specimens being larger and darker and Grouvelle’s specimen being smaller and teneral. These differences probably led to the early confusion and separate generic placement in the original descriptions. We have no doubt that they belong in Cycadophila ; however, there is doubt in the species synonymy of P. indica with C. nigra . Our key characterizes P. nigra to be a larger species (>4.00 mm), but the type of P. indica is only 3.00 mm. This smaller size and other subtle yet variable characters are like C. yunnanensis or C. vittata . It is well documented that more than one species can be found on the same cycad cone, thus locality of capture is not a valid reason to synonymize species. Unfortunately, the type of P. indica is a female and males are needed to confidently characterize the species. Until additional series of specimens are available from southern India to know the taxa that occur there, we can only guess the true identity of P. indica . For now, we leave it as a synonym of C. nigra , pending future work with additional materials.