Nebria (Patrobonebria) desgodinsi OBERTHÜR , 1883

Charles Huber & Hannes Baur, 2016, Nebria (Patrobonebria) incognita n. sp. and Nebria (P.) hiekeiana n. sp., two new species from the Western Himalaya, with remarks on Nebria (P.) desgodinsi (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Nebriinae), Entomologische Blätter und Coleoptera 112 (1), pp. 203-214 : 205-207

Nebria (Patrobonebria) desgodinsi OBERTHÜR, 1883 Fig. 2

Material examined. Material mislabelled as type material: 1 Male, labelled: Type [red label] // British Bootang, Maria Basti, L. Durel [printed] // Museum Paris, Ex. Coll. M. Maindron, Coll. G. Baubault 1930 [printed] // Nebria Desgodinsi Oberthur type [handwritten] (MNHN); Fig. 3 .

Remarks. After LEDOUX & ROUX (1992b) the type series of N. desgodinsi of the OBERTHÜR collection (MNHN) consists of two specimens.

OBERTHÜR (1883) dedicated the species to the French missionary in Tibet AUGUSTE DESGODINS (1826-1914), who was known to collect butterFies for OBERTHÜR. Describing the species, OBERTHÜR mentioned as type locality the surroundings of Darjeeling, India (“les environs même de Darjeeling”); DESGODINS had lived in Darjeeling. But OBERTHÜR noted neither a locality named Maria Basti nor a collector named DUREL nor a calendar date of collecting. ANDREWES (1929) additionally indicated Maria Basti, the locality for the type specimen mentioned above. Maria Basti is a Christian church near Pedong and Kalimpong, 40 km east of the city of Darjeeling. The Maria Basti parish was established in 1891 ( RAI GOMES 2012), several years after OBERTHÜR described the species in 1883.

L. DUREL seems to have been an active collector in Maria Basti between 1898 ( GRESSITT 1954, LIN et al. 2009a) and 1914 ( LIN et al. 2009b); an identically labelled desgodinsi specimen at the BMNH (“British Bootang, Maria Basti, L. Durel”) is annotated by OBERTHÜR himself as “compared with type”.

LÉON MARTIN DUREL (1869-1940), the collector of the specimen in question, was born in Bernac (Tarn), France, was a priest of the Missions Étrangères de Paris (see MEP 2015). DUREL was ordained in February 1894, and he left Paris immediately in March 1894 for the “Mission du Tibet” with his destination being Maria Basti in Sikkim. Hence, DUREL could not have been the collector of OBERTHÜR’ s type material in (or before) 1883. However, DUREL probably met DESGODINS in Pedong, where DESGODINS died in 1913.

For these reasons, the desgodinsi specimen on hand from the OBERTHÜR collection of the MNHN from Maria Basti and collected by DUREL does not belong to the type series. This specimen was erroneously listed as a type specimen by LEDOUX & ROUX (1992b).

Additional material. 1 female, British Bootang, Maria Basti, L. Durel [printed], 1901-193 [on the underside of the label] // Nebria desgodinsi R. Obt. comparé au TYPE par R. Oberthür [printed] // Nebria desgodinsi Oberth. G. Ledoux det. 82 [handwritten] (BMNH); 1 male, 2 females, Gopaldhara, Rungbong Valley, Darjiling, 19-xi-1919, 3500 ft., H. Stevens // Nebria desgodinsi Oberth. G. Ledoux det. 1982 (BMNH); 1 male, Gopaldhara, Rungbong Valley, Darjiling, 23-25-xi-1919, 3500 ft., H. Stevens // Nebria desgodinsi Oberth. H. E. Andrewes det. (BMNH); 3 males, 1 female, Gopaldhara, Rungbong Valley, Darjiling, Dec-1920, 3500 ft., H. Stevens // Nebria desgodinsi Oberth. G. Ledoux det. 1982 (BMNH); 1 female, Soondrijal, Nepal [printed] // Indian Mus. Calcutta [printed] // Nebria desgodinsi Oberth. [handwritten] // H.E. Andrewes coll. (BMNH); 1 male, Nepal, Himalaya, S Khumbu-Himal, Junbesi Umgeb., Junbesi Khola, 2600 m, 24. 4. 1993, leg. Kleeberg, Nebria desgodinsi Ob. det. J. Schmidt 2004 (CSCHM); 1 male Nepal, Himalaya, S Khumbu-Himal, Umgeb. Jiri, Shivalaya, 1707 m, 1. 5. 1993, leg. Kleeberg // Nebria desgodinsi Obth. det. J. Schmidt (CSCHM); 1 male Ost-Nepal, Umgebung Shivalaya, Ufer Kimti Khola, 2. 5. 1993, leg. Kleeberg // Nebria desgodinsi Oberthür , det. C. Huber (NMBE); 1 male Nepal, Ramechap distr., Khimti Khola near Shivalaya, 1800 m, 5. 5. 1997, leg. M. Hauser // Nebria desgodinsi Oberthür det. C. Huber (NMBE).

Unexamined type material. Lectotype: Male (MNHN), labelled with “Dargeeling // A. Desgodins” and “ Nebria Desgodinsi // R. Oberthür, type // Col. novit. I. p. 47” ( LEDOUX & ROUX 1992b, p. 34).

Even though OBERTHÜR (1883) gave no exact number of type specimens, this specimen originating from Darjeeling as noted by OBERTHÜR was correctly designated as lectotype by LEDOUX & ROUX (1992b).

Remarks on morphology. Morphological characters of N. desgodinsi additional to or differing from the descriptions of OBERTHÜR (1883), ANDREWES (1929) and LEDOUX & ROUX (2005):

Lobus lateralis lobe of the mentum apically deeply incised, incisio apicalis conspicuous ( Fig. 4 , 5 ). Spina apicalis short or stumpy or even absent; if present, the tip of the apex does not overtop the lobus lateralis anteriorly. Submentum with a row of 8-10 setae. Eyes very prominent ( Tab. 3): Ratio maximal head width/frons width = 1.52 (1.48-1.55). Supraantennal edge narrowly rebordered.

Lateral groove of the pronotum large, punctate. Lateral margin regularly rounded, with an inconspicuous outline break at the insertion site of the lateral seta (the distinct outline break mentioned by ANDREWES (1929) for N. desgodinsi and by LEDOUX & ROUX (2005) for N. capillosa respectively refers to specimens of N. incognita n. sp.).

Prosternal process slender, triangular, longitudinally bulged, coarsely punctate, unmargined. 3rd interval of the elytra with 7-12 small setae. Metacoxa with 4-6 basal and 1(-2) apical setae. Sterna 4-6 each with 2-3 posterior paramedial setae.

Aedeagus large, midshaft to apex straight; apical tip short.

Diagnosis. N. desgodinsi belongs to the species group with strongly protruding eyes ( Tab. 3). N. desgodinsi differs from all species of the subgenus by the apically deeply incised lateral lobe of the mentum ( Fig. 5 a), by the wide lateral groove of the pronotum, by the densely and coarsely punctate neck, and by the apex of the 4th antennomere without additional short setae. The ratio ant.l/prm.l (see Tab. 2) can be used to separate N. desgodinsi .

Distribution. Central Nepal (Sundarijal north of Kathmandu Valley), Eastern Nepal, Darjeeling District, West Bengal, India. Specimens reported from the more western portions of the Himalaya are N. capillosa Ledoux & Roux, 1992 , N. incognita n. sp. or N. hiekeiana n. sp.

Figures

Fig. 2. Habitus of the male type specimen of Nebria (Patrobonebria) desgodinsi OBERTHÜR, 1883 (MNHP). Photograph: C. GERMANN.

Fig. 3. Original labels of the (putative) male type specimen of Nebria (Patrobonebria) desgodinsi OBERTHÜR, 1883 (MNHP). Photograph: C. GERMANN.

Fig. 4. Anatomy (schematic) of the mentum in Patrobonebria.

Fig. 5. Menta of Nebria (Patrobonebria) species. A – N. desgodinsi OBERTHÜR, 1883, (putative) male type specimen (MHNP), the right part of the mentum is white-bordered; B – N. himalayica BATES, 1889, type specimen (MNHN); C – N. capillosa LEDOUX & ROUX, 1992; D – N. incognita n. sp.; E – N. hiekeiana n. sp. All photographs C. GERMANN.