Liogenys denticeps Blanchard, 1851

Cherman, Mariana Alejandra, Basílio, Daniel Silva, Mise, Kleber Makoto, Frisch, Johannes & Almeida, Lúcia Massutti De, 2021, Liogenys Guérin-Méneville, 1831 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae Diplotaxini) from the Chacoan Province and its boundaries: taxonomic overview with four new species, Zootaxa 4938 (1), pp. 1-59 : 13-14

Liogenys denticeps Blanchard, 1851

Figs. 5 ; 25 .

Liogenys denticeps Blanchard, 1851: 167 ; Lacordaire 1855: 269 (systematics); Harold 1869: 1140 (checklist); Dalla Torre 1913: 318 (checklist); Blackwelder 1944: 227 (checklist); Evans 2003: 208 (checklist); Evans & Smith 2009: 176 (checklist); Krajčík 2012: 144 (checklist); Cherman et al. 2017: 4, 20 (generic history, natural history).

Liogenys denticulatus Moser, 1918: 98 ; Frey 1969: 51 (key); Krajčík 2012: 144; Cherman et al. 2017: 4 (generic history). New synonym.

Liogenys denticulata: Blackwelder 1944: 227 (checklist); Evans 2003: 208 (checklist); Evans & Smith 2009: 176 (checklist).

Type material. Liogenys denticeps female lectotype ( MNHN): [white handwritten] “1496”, [white handwritten] “649934”, [light green, typeset and handwritten] “MUSÉUM PÁRIS / Bolivie / d’Orbigny”, [green handwritten] “ L. denticeps / Cat Mus / Santa-Cruz ( Bolivie). / M. d’Orbigny. ”, [red typeset] “ HOLOTYPE ” .

Liogenys denticulatus male lectotype here designated ( ZMHB): [white typeset] “ Argentinien / Santiago del Estero ”, [white handwritten] “ Liogenys / denticulatus / Mos / Typen ♂”, [light red typeset] “Typus”, [white, outlined red, typeset and handwritten] “ LIOGENYS / DENTICULATA / Moser, 1918 / LECTOTYPE / Des. M. A. Cherman”, genitalia mounted. Paralectotypes (1) ( ZMHB): [white typeset] “ Argentinien / Santiago del Estero ”, [white handwritten] “ Liogenys / denticulatus / Mos / Typen ♂”, [light red typeset] “Typus”, [white, outlined red, typeset and handwritten] “ LIOGENYS / DENTICULATA / Moser, 1918 / PARALECTOTYPE / Des. M. A. Cherman”, genitalia mounted.

Non-type material (38). BOLIVIA. Santa Cruz: San Antonio de Parapetí , 1–2.IX.1964, B. Malkin, 1 male ( MZSP) . ARGENTINA. Jujuy: Los Perales , I.1951, F. Justus Jor., 1 female ( DZUP) ; Salta: Los Andes, without date and collector, 1 female ( CMNC) ; “ Chaco austral” [Argentinian area from the Bermejo river southward to latitude 30°S, where the Pampas begin]: without locality and date, Auld [?], 1 female ( MLPA) ; Santiago del Estero: Chuna pampa, XII–III.1909, E.R. Wagner, 4 females ( MNHN); Icaño, Mistol Paso , 1909 [without month], E.R. Wagner, 2 males and 3 females ( MNHN); Icaño , Mistol Paso , XII–I.1909, E.R. Wagner, 2 females ( MNHN); Icaño , Mistol Paso , XII–III.1909, E.R. Wagner, 1 male and 8 females ( MNHN); Icaño , Mistol Paso , XII.1909, E.R. Wagner, 1 male and 1 female ( MNHN); La palisa del bracho (25 km NW Icaño), 1909 [without month], E.R. Wagner, 3 females ; XII.1909, 1 female; XII–III.1909, 2 males ( MNHN); without locality, date, and collector, 1 female ( NHMB); El Pinto [overwritten], XI.1956, 1 male ( CNCI); Colonia Dora , X.1956, without collector, 1 female ( CNCI); XI.1945, F. Justus Jor., 2 females ( DZUP) .

Diagnosis. Body elongate, brown, shiny; clypeal emargination deep, rounded and wide; lateral margin convex and strongly produced, forming a tooth-like projection; acute angle between the outer side of anterior teeth and clypeal lateral projection; pronotal posterior corners rounded ( Fig. 5 A–C); basal apophysis of metacoxa not produced (see Cherman et al. 2016); metatibia weakly or not carinate along the inner margin; inferior tooth of a tarsal claw perpendicular to the axis of the superior tooth; ventrites with scattered bristles ( Fig. 5J ); pygidium glabrous ( Fig. 5 G–I); in males protarsomere II more than twice as long as it is wide; parameres straight, apex curved downwards forming a reniform structure, longitudinally carinate, narrowed on inferior margin, sculptured ( Fig. 5K ).

Redescription. Length 9.8–12.7 mm; width: 4.5–6.9 mm. Brownish. Head: distance between eyes twice as wide as one eye, wider in females; clypeal emargination deep, rounded, and wide; outer sides of anterior teeth parallel; outer margin of anterior teeth as long as the eye or slightly shorter; lateral margin convex and strongly produced, forming a tooth-like projection; distance between clypeal lateral projection and anterior margin of the eye as long as one eye; distance between clypeal lateral projection and apex of the adjacent anterior tooth equal to the basal width of the anterior tooth; acute angle between outer side of anterior teeth and clypeal lateral projection; distal maxillary palpomere, maximum width slightly wider than the apex; fovea shallow, extending past the transverse midline of the palpomere; antenna with 10 antennomeres, club lighter in color and longer than the funicle. Thorax: anterior margin of pronotum straight; glabrous, punctures coarse and dense, even denser near the anterior margin; pronotal posterior corners rounded; hypomere with short and long bristles; mesepisternum scaly; sides of metaventrite with sparse erect bristles; distance between mesocoxae and metacoxae up to twice the length of the metacoxa; scutellum ogival, coarsely punctate throughout. Elytra: shiny, glabrous, from brown to purplish brown; sometimes apparently burnt; elytral suture and elytron unicolored, weakly elevated; pair of inner ridges more defined than the three outer pairs. Legs: three protibial teeth, the middle and apical equal in size; distance between basal and middle teeth longer than between middle and apical, especially in males; mesofemural surface setose, thick erect bristles on posterior margin; mesotibia subquadrate or cylindrical in cross section, surface coarsely sculptured; two transverse carinae, the apical carina in general incomplete in males and complete in females; metacoxa with sparse bristles; basal apophysis of metacoxa not produced; metatibia weakly or not carinate along the inner margin, apical inner surface setose; two metatibial transverse carinae present posteriorly; metatibial apical spurs of different lengths; the larger equal in length to the diameter of the tibial apex; in males protarsomeres and mesotarsomeres I to IV enlarged; slightly wider than the metatarsomeres; protarsomere II more than twice longer than it is wide; metatarsomere I shorter than metatarsomere II; claw bifid, symmetrical, superior tooth of a claw longer than the inferior and equal in width, distance between teeth more than twice the length of the inferior tooth; inferior tooth perpendicular to the axis of the superior tooth. Abdomen: ventrites with scattered bristles on disc; propygidium slightly visible, glabrous; pygidium slightly convex in males ( Fig. 5G ), flat in females ( Fig. 5 H–I); subquadrate, as wide as it is long in males, elongate in females; pygidial width not exceeding distance between spiracles of propygidium; pygidial disc glabrous; pygidial apex rounded. Parameres: basal region equal in width to both sections of the parameres at its maximum width, parameral split at the third portion, inner margins straight and close together; curved downwards at the apex forming in a frontal view a reniform structure, sculptured, longitudinally carinate, narrowed on inferior margin; parameres in lateral view straight, coplanar ( Fig. 5L ).

Type locality. Liogenys denticeps : BOLIVIA, Santa Cruz [Santa Cruz de la Sierra Department]; L. denticulata : ARGENTINA, Santiago del Estero.

Geographical distribution. BOLIVIA (Santa Cruz) , ARGENTINA (Jujuy, Salta, Santiago del Estero) .

Remarks. Liogenys denticeps female lectotype ( Fig. 5C, F ) was compared with L. denticulata female paralectotype ( Fig. 5B, E ), so we here propose that L. denticulata is the junior synonym of L. denticeps . Liogenys denticeps resembles L. cartwrighti ( Fig. 2 ), mainly in the size, color, shape of the clypeus, and pronotal punctuation. It differs from L. cartwrighti (in parenthesis) in the pronotal posterior corners rounded (obtuse angle); in the punctuation of elytra; the pygidium is wide in males—although the maximum width does not exceed the distance between spiracles of propygidium, long in females (pygidium as wide as it is long in both sexes), with disc glabrous (with sparse bristles throughout); in males the protarsomeres and mesotarsomeres are slightly enlarged (strongly enlarged), and in the shape of the parameres. The parameres of L. denticeps are quite similar to L. pallens Blanchard, 1851 ( Fig. 17 ), and the females are similar, but the external morphology of the males of each species are distinguishable (see diagnosis of L. pallens ). The redescription and parameres illustration of L. denticeps in Frey (1969) actually belong to L. latitarsis .

Figures

FIGURE 2. Liogenys cartwrighti Frey, 1969 male views: A) dorsal, B) head and pronotum, C) lateral, D) pygidium, E) female pygidium, and parameres in views: F) dorsal, and G) lateral.

FIGURE 5. Liogenys denticeps Blanchard, 1851 female lectotype views: C) dorsal, F) labels, I) pygidium; L. denticulata Moser, 1918 male lectotype: A) dorsal, D) labels, G) pygidium, J) lateral, and parameres views: K) dorsal and L) lateral; L. denticulata female paralectotype views: B) dorsal, E) labels.

FIGURE 17. Liogenys pallens Blanchard, 1851 male lectotype: A) dorsal, D) labels, G) lateral, H) pygidium, and parameres: I) dorsal, J) lateral. Liogenys fulvescens Blanchard, 1851 female lectotype: B) dorsal, E) labels. Liogenys flavicollis Frey, 1964 female holotype: C) dorsal, F) labels.

FIGURE 25. Geographical distribution of four known Liogenys species occurring in the Chacoan province and its boundaries. Shaped points: previously known species; colors: Neotropical provinces (Morrone 2014) and Monte province from the South American Transition Zone (Roig-Juñent et al. 2018).