Eulichas gigantea ( Fairmaire, 1891 )

Hájek, Jiří, 2009, Revision of the genus Eulichas Jacobson, 1913 (Coleoptera: Eulichadidae) II. E. dudgeoni species group, Zootaxa 2192, pp. 1-44 : 26-27

Eulichas gigantea ( Fairmaire, 1891)

( Fig. 10 )

Lichas giganteus Fairmaire, 1891 : CXXVIII (orig. description, Kaschmir). Eulichas gigantea ( Fairmaire, 1891) : Pic 1914: 11 (catalogue); Jäch 1995: 363 (catalogue); Jäch & Hájek 2006: 455 (catalogue).

Type locality. “Kashmir” [Kulu, Himāchal Pradesh, India].

Type material. Holotype Ƥ ( MNHN): “Kulu [printed] // Lichas / giganteus / Fairm. K. [handwitten, Fairmaire] // ex Musaeo / W. Rotschild / 1899 [white label with black frame, printed] // TYPE [red label with black frame, printed] // MUSÉUM PARIS / 1952 / COLL. R. OBERTHUR [yellow label, printed] // Holotypus / LICHAS / giganteus Fairmaire, 1891 / Jiří Hájek det. 2005 [red label, printed] // EULICHAS / gigantea ( Fairmaire, 1891) / Jiří Hájek det. 2005 [printed]”.

Description of holotype female. Habitus elongate, fusiform. Body colouring brownish-red. Setation consists of recumbent sparse yellowish setae forming very indistinct ocellations on pronotum and elytra ( Fig. 10 ). [The type specimens is worn dorsally, originally the body pubescence was probably more distinct.]

Measurements. Female: 31 mm.

Head punctation consists of irregularly distributed moderately large setigerous punctures. Antenna short, last antennomere elongated, ca. 2.8 times as long as wide.

Pronotum transverse, twice as wide as long. Lateral sides regularly rounded. The disc convex. Punctation consists of moderately large setigerous punctures on the disc, which become coarser and denser laterally.

Elytra with numerous longitudinal rows of large setigerous punctures, and interstitial very fine punctures.

Ventral part uniformly densely punctured with fine punctures. Last abdominal ventrite laterally almost regularly rounded to apex.

Male. Unknown.

Remarks. Without a male available for study, the classification of E. gigantea in E. sikkimensis species complex is problematic. The only reason for its preliminary classification here is the similarity in habitus with E. robusta sp. nov.

Distribution. So far known only from the type locality in Himāchal Pradesh, India.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 12. Habitus of Eulichas. 1 — E. alesbezdeki sp. nov. (holotype); 2 — E. bertiae (paratype, Suisapa); 3 — E. dudgeoni (paratype, Hong Kong); 4 — E. jendeki (Sa Pa); 5 — E. siamensis sp. nov. (paratype, Ban Bo Klua); 6 — E. similis sp. nov. (paratype, Soppong); 7 — E. uniformis (Dolakha); 8 — E. baeri (Luzon); 9 — E. baeri (Crocker Range); 10 — E. gigantea (holotype); 11 — E. incisicollis ♂ (Tanah Rata); 12 — E. incisicollis Ƥ (holotype).