Tricondyla (Stenotricondyla) conicicollis Chaudoir, 1844: 458

Anichtchenko, Alexander & Wiesner, Jürgen, 2024, Tiger beetles of the genus Tricondyla Latreille, 1822 (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae) of the Philippines, with some considerations of the taxonomy of the genus, Zootaxa 5397 (3), pp. 351-376 : 362-363

Tricondyla (Stenotricondyla) conicicollis Chaudoir, 1844: 458

Loc. typ.: “ Manille ”. Holotype in MNHN.

Tricondyla (Tricondyla) huloti Naviaux, 2009 , syn. nov.

Tricondyla cyanipes fuscilabris Mandl, 1964: 78

Type material. Paratypes, 2 males: “ S. slope Mt. Balabag , / Mantalingajan Range , / Palawan Is., / 42-4500ft, V.10 -16.47 // CNHM-Philippine / Zool. Exped. (1946-47) / F.G. Werner leg. // Paratypus / Tricondyla cyanipes / fuscilabris m. / det. Dr. Ing. K. Mandl 1959 [red label] // Coll. G. Frey / NMB // Tricondyla (s.str.) / b. beccarii Gestro, 1874 / det. R. Naviaux, 2001” ( NHMB) .

Holotype male: “Island of / Basilan / Baker // Guy Babault // Tr. planiceps / Schau. / G. Babault det. // HOLOTYPE / Tricondyla (s.str.) / huloti NAVIAUX, 2010 [red label]” ( MNHN).

Additional material. MINDANAO: 1m, 2f: “ Philippines, Mindanao , Agusan del Sur, Esperanza, 03.2014” ( DUBC) ; 1f: “ Philippines, Mindanao, Compostela valley, Masara , viii.2014 ” ( DUBC) ; 1m: “ Philippines, Mindanao, Cabalinan Creek, Nabunturan , 10.x.2019, Anichtchenko A. leg” ( AAc) ; 1m, 2f: “ January 2019, Marihatag , Surigao , Mindanao, Philippines ” ( WJc) . PANAY: 1m: “ Mataas, Antique, Panay , Nov. 2017 ” ( DUBC) . POLILLO: 1m, 1f: “ Philippines, Polillo, Bordeus , Oct. 2018 ” ( DUBC) . SAMAR: 1f: “ Philippines, E Visayas, Samar, Hinabangan , I.2015 ” ( DUBC) ; 1f: “ Philippines, Samar, Lope de Vega, vii.2016 ” ( DUBC) .

Differential diagnosis. Habitus elongated, body size 16–20 mm, dorsally olivaceous or dark blue, shiny; slightly variable in shape but consistent in size; head broad with prominent eyes and long temples; neck narrow; interocular cavity deep with the bottom flat; pronotum long, smooth; medial lobe conical, rather broad near the base, then regularly shaped and narrowed anteriorly, feebly inflated above; collum narrowly long and rounded; apical lobe long; basal lobe narrower than the medial one; elytra oval-shaped without obvious lateral constriction; apex slightly truncated and rounded; gibbosity moderately high, mainly in the males; sculpture shallow, punctate-rugate near the base, then punctate, the posterior half smooth. Aedeagus ( Figs 121–123 ). Endophallus ( Figs 50–56 ), endophallus extremely similar to that of T. elongata . Protuberances: VB relatively small; pair of laterally protruding BL; DB relatively large and weakly biforked at apex; median part of endophallus short in comparison to other species of subgenus; V small, directed towards the apex of endophallus; VA relatively large, directed towards the base of endophallus, and overlap with V; A transverse, with 2–3 apices; DA long; flagellum long and thin.

Comments. Study of type specimens T. cyanipes fuscilabris showed that they were erroneously synonymized by Naviaux (2002: 72) with T. beccarii beccarii . Paratype specimens, studied by Naviaux in 2001, look slightly depigmented, brownish, and by coloration similar to T. beccarii , but the wide and flat interocular cavity and elytral structure show them to be identical to T. conicicollis . Unfortunately, both aedeagi are damaged and a study of endophalli is therefore impossible. A new combination of synonymy is proposed here. T. huloti was described by Naviaux (2009: 108–109) based on a male from Basilan, as its pronotum and elytra should be different in shape from T. conicicollis . However, the differences observed in the holotype from the MNHN are within the range of variation of C. conicicollis , and thus T. huloti is put into synonymy with this species.

Distribution. Philippines (Mindanao, Palawan, Panay, Polillo, Samar). Previous site for Luzon need confirmation.

Figures

FIGURES 112–129. Aedeagus of Tricondyla species. 112—T. aptera (Samar); 113—Holotype of T. johnsoni sp. nov.; 114—T. ovicollis (Ditumabo); 115—Holotype of T. aptera lumawigi syn. nov. = T. ovicollis; 116—T. ventricosa (Sta Ana); 117—T. elongata (Kalatungan); 118—T. elongata (Misamis Or.); 119—T. gracilis syn. nov. = T. elongata (Lake Holon, Mindanao); 120 - T. gracilis syn. nov. = T. elongata (Bataugan, Mindanao); 121—T. conicicollis (Mindanao); 122—Paratype of T. cyanipes fuscilabris Mandl, 1964 syn.; 123—Holotype of T. huloti syn. nov.; 124—Holotype of T. cavifrons syn. nov. = T. cyanipes; 125—T. cavifrons (Negros); 126—Holotype of T. genieri; 127—T. planiceps; 128—Holotype of T. oblita; 129—Paratype of T. beccarii cassolai.

FIGURES 43–56. Variability of Tricondyla (Stenotricondyla) conicicollis (43–49) Habitus: 43—Cabalinan, Mindanao (male); 44—Esperanza, Mindanao (female); 45—Polillo (female); 46–47—Paratype of Tricondyla (Stenotricondyla) cyanipes fuscilabris Mandl, 1964 syn. nov.; 48–49 Holotype of Tricondyla (Tricondyla) huloti Naviaux, 2009 syn. nov. (50-56) Aedeagus and endophallus: 50–52—Mataas, Panay; 53-56—Nabunturan, Mindanao.