Sinodrepanus falsus ( Sharp, 1875 )

Montanaro, Giulio, 2024, New or poorly known species of Sinodrepanus Simonis, 1985 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Oniticellini), with the first identification key for the genus, Zootaxa 5537 (4), pp. 577-595 : 581-582

Sinodrepanus falsus ( Sharp, 1875)

Oniticellus falsus Sharp, 1875: 52 (original description)

Drepanochirus falsus : Boucomont & Gillet, 1921: 19

Cyptochirus falsus : Boucomont & Gillet, 1927: 103; Paulian, 1945: 128

Drepanocerus falsus : Janssens, 1953: 36, 37; Balthasar, 1963: 62, 66; Biswas & Chatterjee, 1985: 151 (probably to be ascribed to S. schoenfeldi new species); Sewak, 2003: 253, 283 (to be ascribed to S. schoenfeldi new species?); Sewak, 2006: 219

Sinodrepanus falsus : Simonis, 1985: 98, 103, 104; Kabakov & Napolov, 1999: 73; Ochi et al., 2004: 355; Bezděk & Krell, 2006: 157; Krikken, 2009: 9, 14, 21; Kabakov & Shokhin, 2014: 58; Mittal & Jain, 2015: 393; Bezděk, 2016: 174; Montanaro, 2021: 585

Type locality: Laos.

Type material examined. Holotype, ♀ ( MNHN): Laos / Mouhot [wc, line 1 hb, line 2 pb] // Oniticellus / falsus / Type D.S. [wc, hb except “Type” pb] // Ex Musaeo / D. Sharp 1890 [wc, pb] // MUSÉUM PARIS / 1952 / COLL. R. OBERTHÜR [wc, pb] // A. Janssens det. 1953 / Drepanocerus / falsus Sharp ♀ / Type [wc, hb except “A. Janssens det. 195” pb] // TYPE [rc, pb] // HOLOTYPE [rc, pb] // HOLOTYPE / Sinodrepanus / falsus (Sharp) [wc, pb] // MNHN / EC8103 [wc, pb] .

Additional material examined (37♂♂, 20♀♀). China: S Yunnan province, Xishuangbanna, Guangpin environment, 0km [sic!] N Jinghong , 1000m, 19–27.i.2003, S. Murzin legit [1♂, PMOC] ; S Yunnan province, Jinghong, 9–14.vii.1990, R. Červenka legit [2♂♂, NMPC] . Laos: Xayaboury province, Hongsa environment, 19°40–44’N 101°20’E, 550–750m, 2–3.vii.2010, D. Hauck legit [1♀, JSCS] ; Paklay, viii.1917, R.V. de Salvaza legit [1♂, BMNH] ; Louangphrabang, Thong Khan, 19°35’N 101°58’E, ~ 750m, 11–21.v.2002, Vit Kubáň legit [10♂♂ & 6♀♀, NMPC] ; Phongsaly province, Ban Sano Mai environment, 21°21’N 102°03’E, ~ 1150m, 19–26.v.2004, Vit Kubáň legit [2♂♂, NMPC] ; Xayaboury province, Pak Lay env., 18°13’N 101°22–24’E, 12–13.vii.2010, David Hauck legit [4♂♂, 2♀♀, NMBS; 2♂♂, 1♀, JSCS] . Thailand: Ban Tao Phan, 11.iii.1918 [likely Ban Phan Tao in Chiang Mai province; 1♂, BMNH] ; Chiang Mai province, Chiang Dao, Chiang Dao Hill Resort environment, 19°33’28.37”N 99°4’34.20”E, 2–11.vii.2019, Vishnyakov Alexey legit [1♂, GMOC] ; Chiang Mai province, Chiang Dao , 19°33’28”N 99°4’34”E, 14.vi.2017, Prosvirov legit [1♀, GMOC] ; Chiang Mai province, Chiangdao Hill Resort , 19°33’29.19”N 99°04’33.34”E, 1-15.vii.2019, Ustinov V. legit [2♂♂, GMOC] ; 100km N Chiang Mai, Chiang Dao hill Resort , 20-30.VI.2008, S. Murzin legit [1♂, PMOC] ; Loei province, Na Haeo biological station , cow dung, 5–12.v.2001, Constant & Grootaert legit [4♂♂, 6♀♀, RBINS] ; Loei province, Na Haeo, zebu dung, 18.v.2003, J. Constant & K. Smets legit [2♂♂, 2♀♀, RBINS] ; Umphang river , 16°07’N 99°00’E, 1000m, 28.iv– 6.v.1991, Vit Kubáň legit [4♂♂, 1♀, NMPC] .

Diagnosis. Sinodrepanus falsus can be distinguished from other species by the characters provided by Montanaro (2021). Additionally, this species is rather distinctive for having a particularly uneven body surface, with strong pronotal carinas that delimit well-marked spaces on the pronotum, recalling those of the genus Cyptochirus Lesne, 1900 —see also Simonis (1985) and Simonis & Zunino (1980). See also the dichotomous key provided below.

Description: see Montanaro (2021).

Variation. Body size ranges from 7.2 to 9.8 mm. No other significant variation was observed.

Verified distribution. China (Yunnan), Laos, Thailand ( Fig. 4 ). Kabakov & Napolov (1999) recorded S. falsus from Vietnam, considering S. exsul as a synonym of it. Kabakov & Shokhin (2014) recorded S. falsus from China (Sichuan). These records should be reassessed to understand the true identity of such species. See also the “ Indian Sinodrepanus : an overlooked diversity?” section for more distributional comments.

Ecology. Some specimens were collected in cow and zebu dung.

Etymology. Latin adjective meaning “deceived”, “tricked”; by extension “false”, “untrue”. It is probably referred to the cryptic appearance of this species, shared with all other Sinodrepanus , that camouflages these beetles within dung and other fibrous substrates.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Distribution of Sinodrepanus species. The position of the holotype of S. exsul is chosen arbitrarily within Thailand due to the lack of precise georeferentiation.