Lacon salvazai (Fleutiaux, 1918)

Prosvirov, Alexander S., 2016, New and little-known species of the genus Lacon Laporte, 1838 (Coleoptera: Elateridae) of China, Zootaxa 4132 (3), pp. 373-382 : 378-379

Lacon salvazai (Fleutiaux, 1918)

( Figs. 3 , 6, 9)

Fleutiaux, 1918a: 184 ( Adelocera ); 1918b: 206 ( Adelocera salvazei [sic!]); 1920: 113, 114 ( Adelocera ); 1924: 34 ( Adelocera ); Schenkling, 1925: 12; Fleutiaux, 1927: 64, 68, pl. 2, fig. 42; 1947: 272, 276; Hayek, 1973: 81.

Material. 1 female: “Юньнань, 50 км южн. Чэли, 700 м, 11.4.57, Д. Панфилов” [ China, Yunnan, Xishuangbanna Prefecture, 50 km S of Tscheli (at present—Jinghong City County), 700 m, 11 April 1957, D. Panfilov leg.] ( ZMMU).

L. salvazai previously was known from Laos (provinces Luang Prabang, “Xieng-Khouang” [at present— Xiangkhouang], “Haut-Mékong” [at present—Luang Namtha]) and Thailand (“ Siam, Bangkok”) ( Fleutiaux 1920, 1947). Hayek (1973) erroneously attributed the type locality (“Xieng-Khouang”) to North Vietnam. First record for China.

Remarks. L. salvazai is rather distinctive species of the genus. According to Fleutiaux (1918, 1927), it is similar to L. robustus (Fleutiaux, 1902) and L. laoticus Fleutiaux, 1927 . The female specimen in my disposal complies well with the diagnosis of Fleutiaux (1918, 1947); it is 20.1 mm long and 6.1 mm wide.

Little is known about this species. The structure of the genitalia of both sexes is unknown, so I give additional notes on characters of the ovipositor and bursa copulatrix.

The ovipositor ( Fig. 9 ) is rather long; baculum long, strongly sclerotized (ratio length baculum/length ovipositor 0.79); coxite rather strongly sclerotized, with quite a few setae, slightly narrowed to apex, with small but distinct stylus. There are two plates inside the bursa copulatrix: large and small (Fig. 6). The large plate inside the bursa copulatrix has a rather specific shape and sculpture; in addition to small spinules it has only few long spines. In most of known Palaearctic Lacon species such plates bear many long spines (e.g. Fig. 4, 5) and usually have different shapes. The small plate is situated distally to the large one and bears short spinules. The general shape of the bursa copulatrix is also rather unusual for species of the genus, as it is not rounded or ellipsoidal as typically, but strongly oblong. It should be noted that the walls of the bursa copulatrix are visibly weakly sclerotized. According to Kishii (1995), similar structure of plates in the bursa copulatrix is also found in L. kintauroi Kishii, 1990 described from Taiwan. Otherwise this species is also similar to L. salvazai .

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 3. Habitus of Lacon species, dorsal view. 1. L. diqingensis sp. nov., female, holotype (13.2 mm). 2. L. lijiangensis sp. nov., female, holotype (9.5 mm). 3. L. salvazai, female (20.1 mm; China, Yunnan). Not to scale. FIGURES 4 – 6. Female genital tract of Lacon species, general view. 4. L. diqingensis sp. nov., holotype. 5. L. lijiangensis sp. nov., holotype. 6. L. salvazai (partially damaged; China, Yunnan). Not to scale.

FIGURES 7 – 9. Ovipositor of Lacon species, ventral view. 7 L. diqingensis sp. nov., holotype. 8. L. lijiangensis sp. nov., holotype. 6. L. salvazai (China, Yunnan). Not to scale.