Longizonitis semirubra (Pic, 1911) Pic, 1911

Pan, Zhao, Ren, Guodong & Bologna, Marco A., 2018, Longizonitis, a new nemognathine genus from the Himalayas (Coleoptera, Meloidae), ZooKeys 765, pp. 43-50 : 43

Longizonitis semirubra (Pic, 1911) comb. n.

Zonitis semiruber Pic, 1911: 101 (type locality: Yunnan, China; type depository: MNHN); Borchmann, 1917: 164; 1941: 23.

Zonitis semirubra : Hua, 2002: 131.

Zonitis (Zonitis) semirubra : Bologna, 2008: 411.

Diagnosis.

This species, the only known member of the genus Longizonitis , can be diagnosed by the generic diagnosis given above. Because Pic’s (1911) description is very short and provides limited morphological data, a detailed re-description of the species based on new specimens from Xizang, Yadong (China) and Uttarakhand, Kumaon (India), is provided below.

Re-description.

Characters of the genus (see above) with the following details. Body (Figs 1-3) without metallic reflections, black except elytra reddish brown and last three or all abdominal ventrites yellow. Body with dense, yellow-brown, short setae. Body length (apex of mandibles - apex of elytra): 9.4-12.0 mm; body width (elytral width at widest point): 2.7-3.1 mm.

Head slightly wider than long (from fronto-clypeal suture to posterior margin of head), with maximum width at level of temples (Fig. 4). Punctures separated by less than their width, with a longitudinal impunctate area on centre of frons and around eyes (Fig. 4). Temple curved posteriorly and almost as long as length of eye. Clypeus slightly narrower than interocular width, rounded on sides, posteriorly with punctures similar to those of frons and anteriorly almost smooth and slightly sloping; labrum scarcely narrower than clypeus, rounded on sides, fore margin almost straight in both sexes, medially not depressed. Mandibles curved and progressively narrowed on apical half. Antennomere I longer than II, III–X subcylindrical and slender, similar in length, XI nearly 1.5 times as long as X, subcylindrical but narrowed in apical third; male antennomeres I and II as long as in female, III–XI considerably longer than in female (Figs 5, 6).

Pronotum slightly wider than head at temples, widest just in front of middle, rounded on sides, distinctly narrowed anteriorly and slightly posteriorly; two bulging areas behind the widest point (Fig. 7). Elytra unicolourous, elongate, approximately 2.8 times as long as wide. Legs slender; protibiae and mesotibiae with two spurs in both sexes, both slender, pointed apically and similar in length; metatibial spurs both spatulate in female, male external metatibial spur as similar as female, inner one stick-like and only half width of external one; tarsomeres in both sexes without pads; protarsi evidently longer than protibiae, protarsomeres longer than wide; teeth on ventral margin of dorsal blade of tarsal claws present only in basal half on outer row.

Male gonoforceps (Fig. 8) in ventral view subtriangular; spiculum gastrale Y-shaped (Fig. 12).

Material examined.

Type. Holotype female, "P. Guerry // Roanne " (white, rectangular, printed), “Yunnan” (white, rectangular, handwritten), " Zonitis n. sp." (white, rectangular, handwritten), " Z. semiruber Pic" (white, rectangular, handwritten), “TYPE” (red, rectangular, printed, added subsequently) (MNHN; as Fig. 3).

Other specimens. 1 male, 2 females, "2005-7-22 // 西藏亚东 // 石爱民 // 河北大学博物馆 [2005-7-22 // China, Xizang, Yadong // Shi Aimin // Hebei University Museum]" (white, rectangular, printed) (HBUM; as Figs 1-2). 1 male, 1 female, "2017-VI-23 // 西藏亚东下亚东 // 邱见玥 、许浩 // 河北大学博物馆 [2017-VI-23 // China, Xizang, Yadong, Xiayadong // Qiu Jianyue & Xu Hao leg. // Hebei University Museum]" (white, rectangular, printed) (HBUM). 1 male, "Kumaon Ramgahr, 6000' [= 1828 m ca.], 21-26.viii.(19)18, Fletcher coll:, ex coll. Pasa Inst., B.M. 1924-220" (BMNH).

Distribution.

(Fig. 13) CHINA: Fujian? ( Borchmann 1941, Hua 2002), Yunnan ( Pic 1911, Borchmann 1917, Hua 2002; MNHN), SE Xizang (HBUM). INDIA: Uttarakhand (BMNH).

Remarks.

The holotype and one of the female specimens from Yadong have a dark reddish body colouration that could be caused by the following reasons: 1) the curation and conservation conditions would make the colour change from black to dark reddish over time; 2) these individuals may still be somewhat teneral, and the integument was not completely sclerotized and/or pigmented.

The name of this species was emended as semirubra by Hua (2002) because Zonitis is a female genus and in Latin the adjective ruber is masculine and rubra is feminine.

Borchmann (1941) recorded three specimens from “Kwangtsch-Fukien”, which corresponds to Hangchuan in the Fujian province of China. However, this locality is far from others Chinese recorded (Yunnan, Xizang) and it is doubtful because it is located in tropical coastal region of China, while other localities are in high mountain regions. We are not sure if this record is correct because Borchmann (1941) indicated that the identification was in doubt due to the short description published by Pic (1911). This specimen is probably housed at the Bonn Museum (Germany).