Physodeutera (Toxoma) conturbata Moravec, 2002

Moravec, Jiří & Trýzna, Miloš, 2021, New or rare Madagascar tiger beetles- 23. Physodeutera (Toxoma) lokobensis sp nov., a new species close to Ph. (T.) conturbata Moravec, Ph. (T.) sulcoprothoracica (W. Horn) and Ph. (T.) dubia (Mařan), with revised type designation of the latter (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae), Zootaxa 5060 (2), pp. 151-182 : 155-160

Physodeutera (Toxoma) conturbata Moravec, 2002

( Figs 1–23 , 106 )

Physodeutera (Toxoma) conturbata Moravec, 2002a: 118 , figs 309–316, 724–725.

Type locality. Antseva , northwestern Madagascar, Sambirano (see “Distribution” below) .

Type material. Holotype ♂ in SDEI, labelled: “Antseva / XI. 33” // “NW-Madag. / J. Mellis ” [printed] // “ Coll. W. Horn / DEI Eberswalde” [printed // “ Holotype / Physodeutera (Toxoma) / conturbata sp. n. / det. Jiří Moravec, 2000 ” [red, printed] . Paratypes. 2 ♀♀ in SDEI: “Antseva-Ammbobako / N.W. Madagaskar ” [printed] // “ R. Ramena N.W. Madag. / J. Mellis ” [printed] // “ Coll. W. Horn / DEI Eberswalde” [printed] . 1 ♀ in SDEI with partly illegible locality label: “Antsabetsienne / XI. 33” [handwritten]; other labels identical. All paratype specimens labelled: “ Paratype / Physodeutera (Toxoma) / conturbata sp. n. / det. Jiří Moravec, 2000 ” [red, printed] .

Differential diagnosis. Physodeutera (Toxoma) conturbata and the three other species treated below are clearly distinguished from Physodeutera (Toxoma) sikorai (W. Horn, 1896) and Ph. (T.) breviformis (W. Horn, 1904) by their white elytral maculation reduced to only humeral macula, somewhat thinner penultimate palpomeres of labial palpi, and shorter, much stouter aedeagus. Ph. (T.) conturbata immediately differs from Ph. (T.) lokobensis sp. nov. and Ph. (T.) dubia in having much darker, prevailingly deep cyaneous-violaceous dorsal coloration particularly on elytra, with indistinct shadowy tinge on elytral disc and much finer punctures on the posterior declivity ( Figs 1 , 19–22 ) than in Ph. (T.) dubia , distinctly anteriad-attenuated lateral margins of its pronotal disc ( Figs 16–17 ) (except for one large aberrant female ( Fig. 18 ), entirely metallic black antennomeres 2–4 in both sexes ( Figs 2–3 ), darker penultimate palpomere of maxillary palpus in female ( Fig. 4 ) and wider aedeagus with short, regularly rounded apex ( Figs 8–9 ).

Physodeutera (Toxoma) sulcoprothoracica immediately differs in having rather matt green-blue elytra with notably distinct, velvety-black shadowy zone on the elytral disc and almost effaced punctures within the area and on posterior declivity ( Figs 90 , 102–104 ). For other differences see under Ph. (T.) lokobensis sp. nov. and Ph. (T.) sulcoprothoracica below.

Redescription. Body ( Fig. 1 ) medium-sized to large, length 9.25–10.35 (HT 9.25) mm long, width 2.90–3.20 (HT 2.90) mm, deep cyaneous-violaceous.

Head ( Figs 10–12 ) with large eyes, only slightly narrower than body, width 2.65–3.10 mm.

Frons metallic deep green-blue, convex in middle, finely longitudinally striate-wrinkled, wrinkles passing through frons-vertex blunt fold onto vertex; supraantennal plates flat, indistinct.

Vertex black-cyaneous with deep, transverse anterior impression reaching eyes, surface coarsely and irregularly (mostly longitudinally) striate-rugulose, striae wavy, passing to irregularly vermicular rugae on posterior and occipital areas; large juxtaorbital areas with denser parallel striae deformed by anterior and two posterior impressions (on either side); sublateral parallel rugae divergent when passing onto temples.

Genae deep blue with violaceous lustre, finely wrinkled.

Clypeus metallic black-blue with green lustre, lateral upper areas reddish.

Labrum ivory to ochre-testaceous with metallic black-blue basolateral areas of central convexity (more expanded in female); male labrum ( Fig. 13 ) rather short, length 0.95 mm width 1.20 mm, lateral margins conically attenuated towards indistinct lateral indentations, and prominent, acute anterolateral teeth; tridentate anteromedian lobe short and subtruncate with right-angled teeth and bluntly indicated median tooth; female labrum ( Figs 14–15 ) almost as long as wide, length 1.20–1.35 mm, width 1.25–1.45 mm, anteromedian lobe tridentate with prominent acute or subacute teeth and longer, protruding, almost cylindrical, blunt median tooth.

Mandibles ( Fig. 10 ) subsymmetrical, brown with testaceous basolateral areas, teeth mahogany-brown with dark margins, shaped as in other species treated below (the exact shape of opened mandibles is not illustrated here as the mandibles in the type specimens are firmly closed, resistant to rehydration).

Palpi. Maxillary palpi ( Figs 4–5 ) ivory-testaceous with terminal palpomere brownish in male, with last two palpomeres brownish in female; labial palpi in male with brown terminal palpomere, their penultimate (longest) palpomere moderately dilated with subparallel lateral margins, ochre-testaceous in male ( Fig. 7 ), brownish in female ( Fig. 6 ).

Antennae ( Figs 1, 2–3 ) slightly surpassing elytral half; scape whitish-testaceous in male ( Fig. 2 ), while dark mahogany-brown in female ( Fig. 3 ), antennomeres 2–4 metallic black-brown in both sexes, antennomere 5 ochretestaceous or brownish-testaceous, antennomere 6 variably testaceous or brownish, 7–10 brownish, gradually darkened towards terminal antennomere that is smoky-blackish.

Thorax. Pronotum ( Figs 16–18 ), elongate, length 1.95–2.25 mm, width 1.55–1.80 mm, dorsally deep cyaneous with violaceous lustre within sulci and on lateral areas of disc and faint bronze lustre in middle in male, greenish lustre in female; anterior and posterior sulci well pronounced, anterior lobe narrower than posterior lobe and disc; lateral margins of disc distinctly attenuated anteriad, except for subparallel margins in one of the females ( Fig. 18 ); notopleural sutures almost invisible from above; median line narrow, partly merging with surface sculpture anteriorly; surface of disc distinctly and coarsely transversely rugose on entire discal surface, rugae rather sharp, wavy and occasionally anastomosing, passing to transverse-parallel rugae on lateral areas; posterior lobe bordered with sharp basal rim, dorsolateral bulges rather distinct, pulvinate, fluently passing to irregularly and shallowly rugulose median area; prosternum and mesosternum deep blue, finely wrinkled; proepisterna shiny black-blue with violaceous lustre, nearly smooth; mesepisterna black blue with purple lustre, mesepisternal coupling sulci variable (also between left and right mesepisternum), entirely absent, or present in form of indistinct, rarely distinct pit.

Elytra ( Figs 19–22 ), elongate, 5.55–6.20 mm long; lateral margins subparallel, only slightly dilated towards arcuate anteapical angles, apices almost subacute in male, rounded in female, indistinctly emarginate towards indistinct sutural spine; juxtaepipleural area with sparse white microsetae; humeral impressions very short, basodiscal convexity and discal impression rather distinct, apical impressions moderate; surface punctate throughout (except for smooth basohumeral limited area), punctures much coarser on anterior elytral half and lateral area, occasionally anastomosing in chains, their elevated anterior margins optically forming subreticulate ornament (in different light angle the intervals appear as if forming crests giving rasp-like appearance of the surface sculpture); posterior half of elytral disc with much smaller and more spaced punctures, particularly within indistinctly shadowed area; elytral coloration deep cyaneous with brighter greenish lustre within discal impression and deep violaceous on lateral and apical areas, and with indistinct, feebly diffusing shade on elytral disc; whitish maculation consisting of distinct humeral macula in male, which is brownish-darkened, barely visible in female.

Abdomen. Abdominal ventrites black-blue with violaceous reflections, smooth and glabrous (except for usual sublateral sensory seta (on either side) at ventrite margins.

Legs. Male procoxae and mesocoxae pale testaceous, metacoxae and all female coxae metallic blue with testaceous apices, trochanters in both sexes testaceous, male femora distinctly bicoloured: profemora dorsally brown, while their whole ventral and apical area ochre-yellow; mesofemora brown, their ochre ventral area less expanded; metafemora almost entirely brown; tibiae and tarsi testaceous to brownish, protarsi darkened; female legs much darker, entirely brown to black-brown.

Aedeagus ( Figs 8–9 ), stout, length 2.25 mm, width 0.45 mm, dorsally dilated, apical portion conically constricted, while ventral outline almost straight, only slightly ventrad-bent apically and fluently arcuately passing into short, regularly rounded apex; structure of internal sac consisting of distinctly arcuate-bent arciform piece accompanied with shorter, apically bilobed satellite piece, basal plates, and large, longitudinal, apically clavate-rounded, membranous piece. Only cleared aedeagus was illustrated by the first author ( Moravec 2002a, fig. 316) and since the same aedeagus is photographed here, it is impossible to compare the shape of untreated aedeagus to that of Ph. (T.) dubia and Ph. (T.) lokobensis sp. nov.

Distribution. ( Fig. 106 ). Only the four type specimens from the type locality of Physodeutera (Toxoma) conturbata are known. Antseva (Antseva-Ambobako) lies 15–20 km southeast of the town of Ambanja at the base of the Tsaratanana Massif and the Ramena River, geographically Sambirano (see Viette 1991). The locality name Antseva must not be confused with homonymous places in other areas of Madagascar named as such not only recently (a case of homonymous names and recent changes in names in a number of places throughout Madagascar). The same is true of the name of the Sambiranense Ramena River, which must not be confused with the town of Ramena in the northernmost promontory of Madagascar. Behaviour of adults unknown.

Remarks. The four type specimens examined were deposited in a series standing under the name Prothyma schaumi in the collection of Walther Horn (SDEI). Because of the complex of characters, particularly the shape of its penultimate palpomeres of the labial palpi and the structure of the internal sac of the aedeagus, characteristic of the subgenus Toxoma , this species was described by the first author ( Moravec 2002a) in the subgenus Toxoma . The characters clearly differentiate Ph. (T.) conturbata from the holotype of Megalomma schaumi W. Horn, 1872 , which is a junior synonym of Ph. (Diarrhiza) viridicyanea (Audouin & Brullé, 1839) , and also from all other species of the subgenus Diarrhiza Jeannel, 1946 .

It must be noted here that there are in fact three females in SDEI originally labelled as paratypes instead of the two females mentioned in typo error in the monograph of the genus ( Moravec 2002a) .

Figures

FIGURE 106. Distribution of four Physodeutera (Toxoma) species in northern part of Madagascar. Adopted from the map of preserved areas in Madagascar according to Moat & Smith (2007), adapted and published previously (Moravec 2010) under permission of the trustee of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, GB.

FIGURES 1–9. Physodeutera (Toxoma) conturbata Moravec, from type locality, all in SDEI. 1—habitus ♂, 9.2 mm, HT; 2– 3—Antennomeres 1–5: 2—♂, HT; 3—♀, PT; 4–5—♀, maxillary palpus: 4—dorsal view; 5—ventral view; 6–7—labial palpus: 6—female, PT; 7—male, HT (adopted from Moravec 2002a); 8–9— male aedeagus showing internal sac, HT. Bars = 1 mm.

FIGURES 10–18. Physodeutera (Toxoma) conturbata Moravec, from type locality, all in SDEI. 10–12—head: 10—♂, HT; 11–12—♀, PT; 13–15—labrum: 13—♂, HT; 14–15—♀, PT; 16–18—pronotum: 16—♂, HT; 17–18—♀, PT. Bars = 1 mm.

FIGURES 19–23. Physodeutera (Toxoma) conturbata Moravec, from type locality, all in SDEI. 19–22—elytron: 19—♂, HT; 20—ditto, detail of elytral disc; 21—♀, PT; 22— ditto, detail of posterior area of elytral disc; 23—labels of the holotype. Bars = 1 mm.

FIGURES 90–92. Physodeutera (Toxoma) sulcoprothoracica W. Horn. ♂, “Ambre” (CCJM ex APCA). 90— habitus, 9.9 mm; 91— antennomeres 1–5; 92—antennomeres 1–6. Bars = 1 mm.

FIGURES 102–105. Physodeutera (Toxoma) sulcoprothoracica W. Horn. 102–104—elytra: 102—♂, “Ambre” (CCJM ex APCA); 103—♀, LT (SDEI), adopted from SDEI database; 104—apical area, ♂, “Ambre” (CCJM ex APCA); 105—labels of HT (SDEI). Bar = 1 mm.