Aegus kuangtungensis Nagel, 1925

Cao, Yuyan, Webb, Michael D., Bai, Ming & Wan, Xia, 2016, New synonymies and records of the stag-beetle genus Aegus MacLeay from Chinese fauna (Coleoptera: Lucanidae), Zoological Systematics 41 (3), pp. 261-272 : 266-267

Aegus kuangtungensis Nagel, 1925 ( Figs 10–13 , 16 , 19 )

Aegus kuangtungensis Nagel, 1925 . Ent. Mitt., 14(5): 170.

Aegus dispar Didier, 1931 . Librairie speciale Agricole, Paris Fascicule 9: 211. syn. nov.

Type material examined. Syntype ♂ of Aegus kuangtungensis Nagel ( ZMHB), labelled : Holotypus [red label] / Lung tao shan, Kuang tung, 28. VI., Mell. S. leg. / Aegus sinensis Type Det. P. Nagel Nagel. [handwritten] / Zool. Mus. Berlin / H. Bomans det., 1983 Aegus kuangtungensis Nagel , ♂ . Syntype ♂ of Aegus dispar Didier ( MNHN), labelled: “ Holotype [red lable] / TYPT [red] / 30 lieues de Fo-kien [handwritten] / DR [or Dk]. 24.7.15 / Fukien [handwritten] / dispar Didier [handwritten] / Ex coll. Boileau / MUSEUM PARIS coll. Didier / MUSEUM PARIS Coll. R. DIDIER 1937 / H. Bomans det., 1986, Aegus dispar Did. , ♂ HOLOTYPE ” . Syntype ♀ of Aegus dispar Didier ( MNHN), labelled: “ Allotype [red label] / TYPE [red] / 30 lieues de Fo-kien [handwritten] / Fukien [handwritten] / DR [or Dk]. 24. 7. 15 / Ex coll. Boileau / MUSEUM PARIS coll. Didier / MUSEUM PARIS Coll. R. DIDIER 1937 / H. Bomans det., 1986, Aegus dispar Did. , ♀ ALLOTYPE ” . Syntype ♂ of Aegus dispar Didier ( MNHN), labelled: “ Cotype [brown label, printed] / 30 lieues de Fo-kien [handwritten] / Fukien [Handwritten] / D. R.[or Dk ] 24. 7.15 / MUSEUM PARIS coll. Didier.

Additional material examined. China, Hunan, Runshun, Shamuhe linchang, 600 m, 9.VIII.1988, 3♀ 5♂, leg. Shuyong Wang ( NZMC) ; Hunan, Dong’an, Damiaokou Linchang , 10. VI.1981, leg. Xiaosheng Du ( NZMC) ; Hunan, Mangshan, Pingkeng , VII.1978, 1♂, leg. Chuncai Yin ( NZMC) ; Zhejiang, Mt. Tianmushan , 29.VII.1996, 1♂, leg. Jiang Xianlian ; Zhejiang, Sanmuping, Mt. Tianmushan , 29. VI.1996, 1♂, leg. Mingshui Zhao ( NZMC) ; Fujian, Shanghang , 23.VII.1988, 2♂, collector unknown ( NZMC) ; Fujian, Mt. Wuyishan , 18.VII.2013, 3♂ 2♀, leg. Yuyan Cao & Yuanyuan Wu ( MAHU) ; Guangxi, Jinxiu, Dayaoshan , 8♂ 2♀, 23.VII.2011, leg. Xiaoyan Hu ( MAHU) .

Distribution. China (Zhejiang, Hunan, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi).

Remarks. Two males (syntypes) of A. kuangtungensis was described by Nagel with the following habitat data: “Hab.: in monte draconis apud Siu-dsau, Kuangtung prov. China meridion. (Dr. R. Mell legit 2♂)”. The place name showed that the type locality could be the current Mt. Dragon in Siu-dsau, Kuangtung (around the area of Shaoguan, Guangdong). One syntype was figured originally ( Fig. 16 ), which was very helpful to diagnosis this species due to the type depository was not given. According to Krajcik (2003), the private collection of Nagel was possibly donated to the Hannover Museum in Germany and destroyed in the World War II. However, one male labelled “ Holotypus ” in ZHMB is in accordance with the original description (body 19 mm, mandible 6 mm, width 8 mm). Possibly, Nagel donated one male syntype to ZHMB but did not mention in the paper. We also found a name label of “ A. sinensis ” attached to this male ( Fig. 10b ). It seemed that Nagel once intended to name this specimen as “ sinensis ” but eventually replaced it with kuangtungensis . Female of this species was said as unknown in the description of Nagel. Bomans (1989) incorrectly reported a female from Mt. Wuyishan (Fujian Porvince) as the “ Allotype ” of A. kuangtungensis .

The extant syntype of A. kuantungensis ( Fig. 10 ) is a dark brown medium-sized male. Head is transverse, scattered with minute punctures, slightly concaved centrally with two small frontal tubercles flattened horizontally and projected as small horns. Mandibles are well developed, about as 1.5 times as the length of head, each mandible with a small triangular basal tooth ventrally and a large triangular dorsal tooth near midlength. Labrum is laminated over short distance, almost V shape with deep emargination in middle. Pronotum transverse, slightly wider than head, mainly smooth except for densely punctured margins; anterior angles thorn-like strongly truncate, hind angles quite rounded; lateral margins slightly serrated; posteriorly median longitudinal depression not pronounced with few small punctures. Elytra are bright brown with seven deeply dorsal striae and a weak lateral one. Legs short, finely serrated along outer margin of tibiae; front tibiae with 5–6 large teeth laterally; middle tibiae with 2 small ones; hind tibiae with a single very minute tooth, with long dense yellow hairs along the inner margin of tibia.

A. dispar was described from an unknown number of female and small male (“ ♂ (min)”) specimens (syntypes) in the following way: “Types ♂ et ♀, de Fukien, ex collection Boileau” ( Figs 12–13 ), Fukien (=Fujian, China). Two specimens (syntypes) in MNHN match this data but a further specimen ( MNHN) labelled with a “Cotype” label is of uncertain status as it is a large male ( Fig. 11 ). The very small male syntype of A. dispar is distinctly different from large males of A. kuantungensis (including its syntype) in a few head characters. For example, its head has scattered deep dense punctures, frontal tubercles absent; mandibles poorly developed with only small basal teeth ventrally, the dorsal teeth absent; especially the left one is abnormally during the development and with another small median tooth ventrally; pronotum evenly covered with dense punctures; lateral margins markedly serrated; the middle depression posteriorly deeply and densely punctured. However, some important characters are common to both species, i.e., ventral basal teeth of mandibles are short and small; labrum laminated, almost V-shaped with deep medial emargination; elytra with seven deep dorsal striae and a weak lateral one; hind tibiae with quite long dense yellow hairs laterally; aedeagus very similar: PA laminated, about 1/2 length of BP, apex quite broad in lateral view; BP almost parallel-sided in basal 2/3 and much thinner and narrower in distal 1/3, with two finger-shaped stripes on membranous surface; ML almost symmetrical, with bent lateral margins and very small, sharp and incurved apex; PES very long and thin with very soft tip, almost transparent and membranous, about four times as long as length of tegmen ( Fig. 19 ). The two species are not highly similar in morphology but were originally collected from almost the same area: A. kuantungensis from north of Guangdong not far from the type locality of A. dispar , Fujian. Other collection records show that A. kuantungensis is widely distributed in the South China, such as Hunan, Fujian, Zhejiang and Guangdong Provinces. Based on the above findings, A. dispar is proposed as a new junior synonym of A. kuantungensis ; the type series of both species essentially exhibiting the phenotype variations of A. kuantungensis , i.e., the syntype of A. kuantungensis is a medium-sized male, the syntype male of A. dispar is a small male with left mandible abnormality and the remaining syntype of A. dispar is a female. The specimen of A. dispar in MNHN with a “Cotype” label is a large male from Didier collection and therefore its status is uncertain. Some additional large and small specimens from Fujian Province are here identified as A. kuantungensi based on the above finding.

Figures

Figures 10–13. Aegus kuangtungensis. 10. Syntype of A. kuangtungensis, medium-sized ♂. 11. A. dispar (synonym of A. kuangtungensis), “Cotype”, large ♂. 12. A. dispar (synonym of A. kuangtungensis), syntype, small ♂. 13. A. dispar (synonym of A. kuangtungensis), syntype, ♀. a. Dorsal view. b. Labels. c. Ventral view. Scar bars =10 mm.

Figures 14–16. Syntypes. 14. A. laevicollis, large ♂, from Saunders (1854, plate IV, fig. 8). 15. A. punctiger (synonym of A. laevicollis), ♀, from Saunders (1854, plate III, fig. 6). 16. A. kuangtungensis, large ♂, from Nagel (1925). Scale bars=10 mm.

Figures 17–19. Aedeagus. 17. Aegus laevicollis. 18. A. taurus. 19. A. kuangtungensis. a. Ventral view. b. Lateral view. Scar bars= 1 mm.