Pria Stephens, 1830

Audisio, Paolo, Cline, Andrew Richard, Biase, Alessio De, Antonini, Gloria, Mancini, Emiliano, Trizzino, Marco, Costantini, Lorenzo, Strika, Sirio, Lamanna, Francesco & Cerretti, Pierfilippo, 2009, Preliminary re-examination of genus-level taxonomy of the pollen beetle subfamily Meligethinae (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 49 (2), pp. 341-504 : 473-478

37. Pria Stephens, 1830

( Figs. 37 a–k )

Pria Stephens, 1830: 49 . Cormyphora Laporte [de Castelnau], 1840: 12. Strychnobia Gistel, 1857: 573 . Allopria Kirejtshuk, 1980: 278 (described as a subgenus of Pria Stephens, 1830 ).

Type species. Pria – Silpha truncatella Marsham, 1802: 50 (by monotypy; KERZHNER & KIREJTSHUK 1991; ICZN 1995, Opinion 1809) [= Laria dulcamarae Scopoli, 1763: 22 ; = Pria dulcamarae ( Scopoli, 1763) ]. Cormyphora – Cormyphora mandibularis Laporte de Castelnau, 1840: 12 (by monotypy) [= Laria dulcamarae Scopoli, 1763: 22 ; = Pria dulcamarae ( Scopoli, 1763) ]. Strychnobia – Nitidula dulcamarae Illiger, 1798: 387 (by monotypy) [= Laria dulcamarae Scopoli, 1763: 22 ; = Pria dulcamarae ( Scopoli, 1763) ]. Allopria – Pria horni Grouvelle, 1909: 139 (by original designation).

Generic redescription and diagnosis. Inclusive species vary greatly in size (1.2–3.3 mm length), and share the following combination of characters.

Body color and pubescence: pubescence variably expressed, usually moderately long and fine, recumbent, golden, whitish, grey to olivaceous, rarely obscuring the mostly yellowish or yellowish-brown dorsal body surface, a few species exhibiting more erect, longer, dense, and whitish pubescence; dorsal body surface frequently darker, exhibiting darker areas on elytra, or (rarely) entirely blackish-brown; pubescence on lateral margins of pronotum and elytra short, faintly distinct; microsetae on posterior margin of pronotum long and mostly bifid or trifid distad, also uniformly distributed on middle region anterior to scutellum ( Fig. 37e ).

Dorsal habitus: body slightly convex, variably shaped, usually long and oval to moderately parallel-sided ( Fig. 37a ); dorsal punctures on discal portion of pronotum usually smaller than eye facet, shallowly impressed and sparse; anterior margin of clypeus variably shaped anteriorly (arcuately emarginate, sinuate, to subtruncate), simple, i.e. without small distinct medial bulge, lateral angles usually blunt, not fused to frons; frons with lateral margins never dilated over antennal insertions ( Figs. 37a, b ); circum-ocular furrows (occipital sulci) on dorsal side of head absent; eyes mid-sized and moderately projecting laterally ( Figs. 37a, b ), pronotum with markedly distinct posterior angles, subrectangular to slightly acute ( Fig. 37a ), frequently slightly directed posteriorly; scutellum densely punctate on most of exposed portion; elytral punctation never transversely strigose; elytral humeral angle obtuse, not protruding laterally; elytral humeral striae indistinct; elytral pre-sutural striae visible, fine, variably shaped, usually originating slightly posterior to scutellar vertex, terminating before elytral apex, and delimiting on each elytron a faintly distinct, flat sutural area, widest medially, usually wider than width of third antennomere; elytra usually truncately rounded apically in both sexes ( Fig. 37a ); pygidium partially exposed, moderately convex, apically rounded in both sexes ( Fig. 37a ), or more or less distinctly pointed, especially in males of several African species.

Ventral habitus: antennal furrows moderately raised, delimited by moderately bulged genae, arcuately convergent posteriorly, frequently with arcuately posterior portions partially surrounding the posterior ventral portion of eyes ( Fig. 37c ); mentum subpentagonal; prosternal antennal furrows on anterior margin of prosternum absent ( Fig. 37d ); prosternal process flat, moderately wide predistally, triangularly bluntly acuminate apically ( Fig. 37d ), subapical dilated portion 1.3–2.0× as wide as maximum width of 1 st antennomere; lateral borders of prosternal process not delimiting impressed furrows, distally terminating near posterior margin ( Fig. 37d ); posterior margin of mesoventrite simple, not medially incised; moderate sexual dimorphism of impressions on metaventrite, frequently absent even in males; first two visible abdominal ventrites simple in both sexes, without tufts of setae; caudal marginal lines of metacoxal cavities simple, parallel and contiguous to posterior margin of metacoxal cavities, without deep arched impression of outer ‘axillary’ portion ( Fig. 37f ); ‘axillary’ space on first abdominal ventrite markedly reduced, ‘axillary’ angle bluntly acute (Fig. 113 s in AUDISIO 1993b; Fig. 37f ); arched impressions on basal portion of last visible abdominal ventrite absent ( Fig. 37g ).

Appendages: male 1 st antennomere ~1.0–1.3× as long as width of protibiae, moderately wide in both sexes ( Figs. 37a, c ); 3 rd antennomere long and thin, frequently allometric, 2.5–4.0× longer than wide in males, 1.1–3.0× longer and much thinner than 2 nd antennomere ( Figs. 37a, c ; Fig. 131 in KIREJTSHUK 1980b; COOPER 1982); 4 th and 5 thantennomeres usually subequal, frequently allometric, usually long and thin, 2–4× longer than wide; antennal club long, compact to markedly loose, usually comprising last 4 or 5 antennomeres (less frequently, last 3 or 6 antennomeres) in males, 3-segmented in females, as wide as to strongly wider than protibiae ( KIREJTSHUK 1980b, COOPER 1982); labial palpi variably shaped but relatively short in both sexes ( Fig. 37c ), terminal segment usually 1.5–2.0× as long as wide; maxillary palpi long and slender in both sexes ( Fig. 37c ), terminal segment 3.0–3.6× as long as wide (maxillary palpi much longer, terminal segment up to 5× as long as wide in some Afrotropical species); mandibles mid-sized, arcuate, apex acuminate; tarsal claws simple, or moderately toothed at base; tarsi of normal size and shape, 0.6–0.7× as long as corresponding tibiae; protibiae usually with a series of small, fine sharp teeth on arcuate outer margins (inner margins usually almost rectilinear), some species with relatively larger, fine and moderately sharp teeth distally, or with crenulation gradually increasing in size distad; lateral margin of meso- and metatibiae bearing a single and regular row of long thin pegs, without U-shaped sinuosity at distal third; meso- and metatibiae moderately flat, slender, never subtrapezoidal or axe-shaped; tarsal plates of prolegs usually scarcely wider in males; posterior margins of metafemora simple in both sexes, without tubercles or projections.

Male genitalia: processes along inner side of parameres absent (Figs. 114 c–f in AUDISIO 1993b; see also COOPER 1982), with deep and wide usually V-shaped excision along distal margin, without deep median longitudinal desclerotization from proximal portion of tegmen extending to medial distal V-shaped excision; median lobe of aedeagus long, without lateral emargination, variably shaped at anterior portion, usually with distal excision or emargination; main sclerites of internal sac relatively large, frequently roughly W-shaped in dorsal view and hook-shaped in lateral view, moderately sclerotized, ~2–3× shorter than aedeagus.

Female genitalia (ovipositor): variably shaped, usually small; long and distinct, simple, cylindrical, not darkly pigmented styli, inserted close to apex of usually contiguous (rarely distally divergent) gonostyloids; each gonostyloid lightly sclerotized and pigmented distally, with simple, never indentate outer portion of basicoxites (Fig. 114 h in AUDISIO 1993b; COOPER 1982), and a single, wide, moderately pigmented and relatively more sclerotized arcuate area along outer subdistal portion of gonostyloids. ‘Central point’ of ovipositor usually centrally located, without proximad directed spicule.

Etymology. Unknown.

Biology. The biology of several representatives of Pria is poorly known, but highly variable among the several recognized species-groups. The Palaearctic Pria dulcamarae ( Scopoli, 1763) and allied species from tropical and southern Africa are known to be strictly associated at larval stages with flowers of Solanaceae ( COOPER 1982; AUDISIO 1993b, and unpublished data). Among the several southern African species, a few are likely associated with large inflorescences of Mesembryanthemaceae (AUDISIO unpublished data). Pria concolor Grouvelle, 1899 and allied African species are probably associated with large inflorescences of Proteaceae , whereas a couple of isolated southern African species are likely associated with floral envelops of Restionaceae ( COOPER 1982; KIREJTSHUK 1996b; AUDISIO unpublished data). Adults of several other Southern African Pria species are regularly collected on flowering trees and bushes, in particular on Loganiaceae , Anacardiaceae , Asteraceae , and other families ( COOPER 1982; KIREJTSHUK 1996b, 2001; AUDISIO unpublished data), however these plants are usually attractive for beetles in general when flowering, and no evidence of larval-host plant relationships have been demonstrated with certainty.

Phylogenetic position. Available morphological and molecular data provide possible evidence of relatively close relationships of Pria with the clade [ Meligethinus + ( Meligethes + Brassicogethes gen. nov.)] and allied genera, as well as with the Microporum generic assemblage and with the clade [ Kabakovia + ( Cryptarchopria + Horakia )]. However, the considerable degree of morphological and bionomical variation observed within the genus indicates that Pria , as considered here, could be paraphyletic, thereby suggesting possible separation of the current conglomerate taxon into two or three related genera. The decision to split the current genus must be based on thorough taxonomic and systematic revision of the whole genus, and is outside the focus of the present preliminary contribution.

Taxonomy and geographic distribution. This taxon includes some 80 described species, mostly distributed in tropical Africa with relatively few species known to occur from Europe and Irano-Arabic areas to southern-eastern Asia and Australasia ( KIREJTSHUK 1979d, 1980b, 1996, 2001; COOPER 1982; JELÍNEK 1979, 1988, 1997; AUDISIO 1993b; JELÍNEK & AUDISIO 2007). The taxonomic, nomenclatorial and faunistic scenario within this difficult genus must be considered provisional, pending a complete re-examination of the problematic contributions by COOPER (1982) and KIREJTSHUK (1980b, 1996, 2001), and a full revision of all constituent members and related outgroup taxa in a quantitative phylogenetic framework.

Pria abbreviata Cooper, 1982 Kenya

Pria adumbrata Cooper, 1982 India

Pria adusta Cooper, 1982 Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast

Pria angustula Cooper, 1982 South Africa, Namibia , Angola

Pria antennata Grouvelle, 1899 South Africa

Pria aureopuberula Kirejtshuk, 1980 India

Pria basilewskyi Kirejtshuk, 1980 Tropical and subtropical East, Central, and Southern Africa

Pria biplagiata Kirejtshuk, 1980 Zaire, Rwanda, Kenya

Pria brevicornis Cooper, 1982 Zaire

Pria brunnea Cooper, 1982 Ethiopia

Pria castanea Cooper, 1982 South Africa

Pria ceylonica Grouvelle, 1902 India

Pria cinerascens Erichson, 1843 South Africa

Pria clavicornis (Fairmaire, 1868) Madagascar

Pria compacta Cooper, 1982 Yemen

Pria concolor Grouvelle, 1899 South Africa, Zimbabwe

Pria convexa Grouvelle, 1912 Zaire

Pria copiosa Kirejtshuk, 1980 Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa, Saudi Arabia

= Pria gracilipes Cooper, 1982

Pria crassa Grouvelle, 1906 Madagascar

Pria curta Cooper, 1982 South Africa

Pria decorata Grouvelle, 1899 Madagascar

Pria deplanata Reitter, 1872 New Caledonia

Pria depressa Cooper, 1982 Madagascar

Pria dulcamarae ( Scopoli, 1763) W Palaearctic areas

Pria fallax Grouvelle, 1908 Ethiopia

Pria ferruginea Cooper, 1982 Eastern and Southern Africa

Pria fervida Cooper, 1982 Zaire

Pria flava Cooper, 1982 Zaire

Pria flavicornis Cooper, 1982 Zaire

Pria furva Cooper, 1982 South Africa

Pria fusca Cooper, 1982 São Tomé

Pria gilva Cooper, 1982 Angola

Pria grouvellei Kirejtshuk, 1980 Zaire

Pria hildebrandti Grouvelle, 1913 Madagascar

Pria hirta Cooper, 1982 Yemen, NE Africa

Pria horni Grouvelle, 1909 Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda

Pria impulchra Kirejtshuk, 2001 Kenya

Pria indica Grouvelle, 1894 India

Pria integra Cooper, 1982 Nigeria

Pria kenyaensis Kirejtshuk, 2001 Kenya

Pria kolbei Grouvelle, 1909 Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Saudi Arabia

Pria lata Cooper, 1982 Zaire

Pria lutea Cooper, 1982 Kenya

Pria magna Reitter, 1872 South Africa, Namibia , Swaziland

Pria majuscula Kirejtshuk, 1980 Zaire, Rwanda

Pria micans Cooper, 1982 Ethiopia

Pria mixta Grouvelle, 1909 Tanzania, Kenya

Pria nebulosa Cooper, 1982 Zaire

Pria nigricans Grouvelle, 1899 South Africa: KwaZulu-Natal, E Cape

Pria nigrifrons Cooper, 1982 Madagascar

Pria nigritula Reitter, 1872 Madagascar

Pria nitens Cooper, 1982 Zaire

Pria notata Cooper, 1982 South Africa, Zimbabwe

Pria oblita Grouvelle, 1908 Ethiopia

Pria ochroleuca Grouvelle, 1908 Ethiopia, Tanzania, Zaire, Zimbabwe, Kenya

Pria palpata Kirejtshuk, 1989 Mozambique, Zimbabwe, South Africa: KwaZulu- Natal

Pria parviclava Kirejtshuk, 2001 South Africa

Pria pauli Grouvelle, 1909 Tanzania, Zaire, Ethiopia

Pria peckorum Kirejtshuk, 1989 South Africa: KwaZulu-Natal

Pria pectinicornis Cooper, 1982 South Africa

Pria pulchra Kirejtshuk, 1980 Zaire, Uganda

Pria pumilla Cooper, 1982 Australia

Pria pygidialis Grouvelle, 1906 Madagascar

Pria raffrayi Grouvelle, 1908 Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia

Pria reitteri Grouvelle, 1896 Madagascar

Pria reticulata Cooper, 1982 Ethiopia

Pria robigonosa Cooper, 1982 South Africa

Pria rubida Cooper, 1982 Ethiopia

Pria subnigella Cooper, 1982 Ethiopia, Kenya

Pria testacea Grouvelle, 1909 Zimbabwe, Angola

Pria tokarensis Nakane, 1959 Japan: Tokara Islands

Pria transitoria Kirejtshuk, 1979 S Russia, Caucasus

Pria transvaalensis Kirejtshuk, 2001 South Africa: Mpumalanga

Pria umbrosa Cooper, 1982 Zaire

Pria vicina Grouvelle, 1909 Tanzania, E Africa, Zimbabwe

Pria weisei Grouvelle, 1909 Tanzania, Kenya

Pria zenobia Jelínek, 1997 Israel, S Turkey, Greece

Figures

Fig. 37. Pria Stephens, 1830: a–k – P. dulcamarae (Scopoli, 1763).a – male habitus (length 2.0 mm); b – dorsal view of head; c – ventral view of head; d – ventral view of prosternum; e – anterior portion of scutellum and microsetae on middle posterior margin of pronotum; f – caudal marginal line of metacoxal cavity; g – exposed portion of last ventral visible abdominal ventrite; h – middle tibia; k – female antennal club. Scale bars: Figs. b, f = 100 μm; Fig. e = 20 μm; Figs. h, k = 30 μm.