Selenophorus pyritosus Dejean

Shpeley, Danny, Hunting, Wesley & Ball, George E., 2017, A taxonomic review of the Selenophori group (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Harpalini) in the West Indies, with descriptions of new species and notes about classification and biogeography, ZooKeys 690, pp. 1-195 : 74

Selenophorus pyritosus Dejean Figs 49C, 50 G–I, 52A, 53

Selenophorus pyritosus Dejean, 1829: 84. In the Chaudoir-Oberthür Collection, 27 specimens in front of the following box label: pyritosus / Dej./ Antilles/ Col. Dejean// LECTOYPE: Specimen 1 labelled: //[male]// // pyritosus m./ in Ins. Cuba [handwritten, green paper// (here selected) [MNHP].- Gemminger and Harold 1868: 265.- Putzeys 1878a: 11.- Gundlach 1894: 293.- Csiki 1932: 1201.- Darlington 1934: 104.- Blackwelder 1944: 50.- Erwin and Sims 1984: 440.- Ball 1992: 84, 85.- Lorenz 1998: 356.- Lorenz 2005: 377.- Peck 2005: 32.- Perez-Gelabert 2008: 80.- Turnbow and Thomas 2008: 14.

Isopleurus macleayi Kirby, 1837: 50. TYPE MATERIAL: HOLOTYPE female, labelled: Type /HT [circular, ringed with red]// N. Amer/ [female] ’’ Isopleurus Macleayi Kirby!/ I. multipunctatus Kirby Mss./ E. Indies 5751 Rev. Wm. Kirby [handwritten]// [BMNH].- LeConte 1873: 324. Syn. n.

Selenophorus alternans pyritosus Darlington, 1953a: 9.

Notes about synonymy.

Darlington 1953a: 9 proposed that S. pyritosus Dejean was a subspecies of S. alternans Dejean. However, we believe that S. pyritosus is a valid species.

Type area.

Cuba.

Diagnosis.

This species is readily separated from the other members of the palliatus species group by a combination of: posteriolateral angles of pronotum nearly rectangular and elytra without pale apical fascia, or with only narrow diffusely pale margin.

Descriptive notes.

Data for SBL in Table 1. Habitus as in Fig. 49C. Clypeus and labrum with anterior margin of each shallowly concave. Head, pronotum and elytra with mesh pattern isodiametric. Antennae, mouthparts and legs testaceous to rufo-testaceous. Dorsal and ventral surface rufo-brunneous to nearly piceous; dorsal surface with faint cupreous metallic luster. Elytra with apical margin diffusely paler or not. Elytral epipleuron pale, same color as the legs. Elytral striae impunctate, except the standard setigerous punctures in striae 2, 5 and 7. Punctures of striae 2, 5 and 7 foveate. Elytron with intervals impunctate basally near basal ridge. Males with two terminal setae and females with four terminal setae near the posterior margin on sternum VII.

Male genitalia. Fig. 50 G–I. Apical portion of phallic median lobe short, triangular, symmetrically rounded in dorsal/ventral aspect; endophallus without spines or darkened microtrichial spine fields; without lamina.

Ovipositor and female reproductive tract. Fig. 52A. Gonocoxite 2 (gc2) long, thick, slightly falcate. Bursa copulatrix short (bc); large somewhat bulbous spermatheca (sp) originating from common oviduct (co), with proximal half attached to common oviduct; spermathecal gland duct originating near middle of bulb of spermatheca. Spermathecal gland (spg) small, bulbous, with small swelling of duct basad gland.

Geographical distribution.

Fig. 53. This species is known only from the Bahamas, Caymans and Greater Antillean islands of Cuba, Hispaniola and Jamaica.

Chorological affinities and relationships.

The West Indian range of this species is overlapped by the ranges of S. alternans and S. palliatus . Relationships of S. pyritosus are not postulated beyond species group membership.

Material examined.

In addition to type material, we have seen a total of 1,203 specimens (522 males, 681 females). See Appendix for details.