Adelopsis aspera Jeannel, 1936

Gnaspini, Pedro & Peck, Stewart B., 2019, Redescription of the ‘ older Adelopsis’ species (Coleoptera: Leiodidae: Cholevinae: Ptomaphagini) based on the analysis of type specimens, Zootaxa 4696 (1), pp. 1-62 : 36-37

Adelopsis aspera Jeannel, 1936

( Figs. 164–178 )

Adelopsis asper Jeannel, 1936: 66 [and Figs. 94–96 ]; Szymczakowski, 1963: 675 (but see Taxonomic Notes).

Adelopsis aspera ; Gnaspini, 1996: 539 (types seen; spelling corrected to feminine gender); Salgado, 2010: 213 (assignment to group).

Note: see Taxonomic Notes for erroneous/doubtfull citations of this species.

Type material examined: “ Holotype ” male in BMNH and 1 “type” male and 1 “type” female in MNHN (Gnaspini, 1996: 541). Note: sex and number of specimens not given in original description, referred to as in BMNH and MNHN, but specimens from the type locality are listed only from BMNH; therefore we interpret that Jeannel considered the latter to be the holotype. Labels : “ Holotype ”: “Alto da Serra, São Paulo, / Brazil / G.E. Bryant 5.iii.1912 // G. Bryant Coll. 1919-147” // “ R. Jeannel det. n. sp.”; male “type” in MNHN with same labels except for date (28.ii.1916) (which aedeagus confers with that of the “ holotype ”); female “type” in MNHN: “Blumenau, Brasilia // 17334”. Because this female is from a different and distant locality, it is not possible to be sure that it belongs in the same species, and this should be considered a doubtful record. All specimens here illustrated .

Length: 2.0 mm (original description, which confers with the male from MNHN); 2.25 mm (“ holotype ” male), 2.0 mm ( MNHN male), 1.8 mm (female) (our measurement).

Type locality: Alto da Serra , São Paulo State, Brazil [Note: “Alto da Serra ” is presently known as Paranapiacaba, a Biological Station and a settlement near (Southeast of) São Paulo city] .

Additional material examined (doubtful record): 4 females (Szymczakowski det., 1963: 675- Brazil: São Paulo) in NMPC (Gnaspini, 1996: 541). Note: Szymczakowski (1963) also listed one additional male (which was not received by us for examination, or illustrated by him). Labels: “ São Paulo / Bras. Mráz lgt. / Mus Pragense”. Length: 1.95–2.1 mm. Note: this is considered a doubtful record because it is based on females (and the male was not illustrated), and the 2-turns spermatheca is common among species of Adelopsis , and because other species have been described from São Paulo, with females (and, therefore, spermatheca) unknown ( A. asperoides , A. luculenta , A. mrazi sp. n., A. szymczakowskii sp. n., A. waclawi sp. n.). Two specimens dissected, one is here illustrated.

Taxonomic Notes.

1) In addition to the doubtful record of a female from Santa Catarina cited in material examined, Jeannel (1936: 66) also recorded “ Paraguay ”, without mentioning number or sex of specimen(s), in DEIC (as “Museum Dahlem”; not examined). Yet, A. guarani Salgado, 2010 was described from Paraguay, unfortunately based only on a female, and therefore here considered a nominal species, but should be checked against this record to verify if they might belong into the same species. Again, considering the different and distant locality of those records, we consider both to be doubtful records.

2) The spermatheca of the female from MNHN differs from that of the females from NMPC, and we may conclude they belong in different species. Because Szymczakowski (1963: 675) did not illustrate the male he analysed from NMPC (and because we did not have access to this male), we cannot be sure if this record really refers to A. aspera . However, the NMPC specimens were collected in São Paulo, very close to the type locality and may refer to this species.

Short Redescription. Eyes normal ( Fig. 171 ). Winged. Male ventrites with a pair of posterior projections ( Figs. 174, 175 ). Right lobe of the aedeagus with a long arm and apex as an upside-down trapezoid with the apical margin trilobed ( Fig. 169 ), with a sinuate margin ending bluntly, in lateral view ( Figs. 164, 167 ). Flagellum shorter (about 3/ 4 in length) than aedeagus ( Fig. 165 ). Proportion aedeagus/elytron = 0.31–0.34. Spiculum gastrale of the genital segment divided at apex, with long branches ( Fig. 170 ).

The doubtful record female in MNHN (from Santa Catarina) has a spermatheca with a globose bulb placed close to the spermatheca base, followed by a 3-turns coiled, followed by a long and curved body ending in a sharp curve before the rounded apical bulb ( Figs. 176, 177 ). Proportion spermatheca/elytron = 0.14. The doubtful record females in NMPC (from São Paulo) have a spermatheca similar to the previously described one except for the presence of a basal globose bulb ( Fig. 178 ). Proportion spermatheca/elytron = 0.13.

Distribution. Brazil: São Paulo State (original description; here).

Note: Doubtfull records (see Taxonomic Notes above): Brazil: Santa Catarina (original description, a female) and São Paulo ( Szymczakowski, 1963, females) States; “ Paraguay ” (original description).

Taxonomic Remarks. The lateral view of the aedeagus ( Fig. 164 , showing the very long arm of the right lobe), together with the frontal view of the tip of the right lobe of the aedeagus ( Fig. 169 , showing the very distinctive right lobe ending on a trilobed apex), seems to help in the recognition of this species.

This species is a good example to show the need to illustrate as many views of the aedeagus as possible. For instance, Figs. 165 and 166 show dorsal views of the aedeagus, but the first is a little bit rotated towards the apex whereas the second is rotated towards the base, and they are quite different from each other. As it is, Fig. 165 shows that the tip of the right lobe is very different from that of A. benardi (as in Fig. 117 ), especially if we consider that a small difference in the angle of illustration may change the depth of the emargination observed. However, Fig. 169 shows a different pattern than that observed in Fig. 117 , allowing recognition of species. Indeed, Fig. 96 in Jeannel (1936) also shows the trilobed tip of the right lobe, but the view used seems to ‘exagerate’ the length of the arm of the right lobe.

Figures

FIGURES 164–178. Adelopsis aspera Jeannel, 1936. 164–175, holotype male in BMNH, from São Paulo. 164–169, aedeagus, left lateral, dorsal (towards apex), dorsal (towards base), right lateral, and ventral views, and frontal view of aedeagus apex; 170, genital segment; 171, head, lateral view; 172, antenna, dorsal view; 173, meso and metathorax, ventro-lateral view (of left side of specimen); 174–175, ventrites with paired projections, in frontal and lateral views; 176–177, ‘type’ female in MNHN, from Santa Catarina (doubtful record), spermatheca, in different views; 178, female in NMPC, from São Paulo (doubtful record), spermatheca. Scale lines = 0.5 mm; a for figs. 164–170, 176–178; b for figs. 171–175.

FIGURES 89–98. Adelopsis ruficollis (Portevin, 1903). 89–96, lectotype male in MNHN, from Cochabamba. 89–93, aedeagus, left lateral, dorsal, right lateral, and ventral views, and frontal view of aedeagus apex; 94, last ventrite; 95, genital segment; 96, apex of elytra; 97–98, paralectotype male in MHNH (same data), 97, head, lateral view; 98, meso and metathorax, ventro-lateral view (of left side of specimen). Scale lines = 0.5 mm; a for figs. 89–95; b for figs. 96–98.

FIGURES 114–127. Adelopsis benardi (Portevin, 1923).114–126, holotype male in MNHN, from ‘? Teresópolis’. 114–117, aedeagus, left lateral, dorsal, and ventral views, and frontal view of aedeagus apex; 118, last ventrite; 119, genital segment; 120, head, lateral view; 121, antenna, dorsal view; 122, meso and metathorax, ventro-lateral view (of left side of specimen); 123, mesotibia; 124, metatibia; 125–126, ventrites with paired projections, in frontal and lateral views. Figure 127, female in MNHN, from São Paulo (doubtful record), spermatheca. Scale lines = 0.5 mm; a for figs. 114–119, 127; b for figs. 120–126.