Macrosiagon bequaerti Pic, 1913

Batelka, Jan, 2011, Contribution to the synonymies, distributions, and bionomics of the Old World species of Macrosiagon (Coleoptera: Ripiphoridae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 51 (2), pp. 587-626 : 593-594

Macrosiagon bequaerti Pic, 1913 stat. nov.

( Figs. 8–11 )

Macrosiagon axillaris var. bequaerti Pic, 1913: 161 . Type locality: Congo Belge [= Democratic Republic of the Congo], Kundelungu.

Macrosiagon diversipenne Pic, 1930: 31 , syn. nov. Type locality: Guinée Portugaise [= Guinea-Bissau].

Macrosiagon monardi Pic, 1949: 12 , syn. nov. Type locality: Guinée Portugaise [= Guinea-Bissau].

Macrosiagon rubronotatum Pic, 1950d: 927 , syn. nov. Type locality: [ Senegal], Casamance.

Macrosiagon rubronotatum var. leyei Pic, 1950d: 927 , syn. nov. Type locality: [ Senegal], Casamance, Kolda.

Macrosiagon villiersi Pic, 1953: 497 , syn. nov. Type locality: Senegal, Sébikotane.

Type material examined. Macrosiagon axillaris var. bequaerti . HOLOTYPE: 1 J ( Figs. 10–11 ) ( MRAC), ‘MUSÉE DU CONGO / Kundelungu [= Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kundelungu National Park] / 1912 / Dr. Bequaert [p] // M. axillaris / v. Bequaerti Pic [Pic’s hw] // R. DÉT. [p] / H. [hw] / 79 [p] // HOLOTYPUS [p, orange label]’.

Macrosiagon diversipenne . SYNTYPE: 1 ex. (much damaged) ( MNHN – coll. Pic, box no. 6), ‘Gui Port [hw] // type [Pic’s hw] // type [p, red label] // diversipenne / n. sp. [Pic’s hw]’.

Macrosiagon monardi . SYNTYPE: 1 J ( MNHN – coll. Pic, box no. 6), ‘Mansoa / déc. 37 [hw] // Guinée Port / (D. Monard) [Pic’s hw] // type [Pic’s hw] // type [p, red label] // monardi / n. sp. [Pic’s hw]’.

Macrosiagon rubronotatum . SYNTYPE: 1 J ( MNHN – coll. Pic, box no. 6), ‘Casa / mance [p, almost invisible] // Casamance [Pic’s hw] // type [Pic’s hw] // type [p, red label] // Macrosiagon / rubronotatum / n. sp. [Pic’s hw]’.

Macrosiagon rubronotatum var. leyei . SYNTYPE: 1J ( MNHN – coll. Pic, box no. 9), ‘ Kolda / Casamance / 44.T. Leye [hw] // désiré [Pic’s hw] // Macrosiagon / rubronotatum / v. n. Leyei [Pic’s hw] // type [p, red label]’.

Macrosiagon villiersi . SYNTYPE: 1 J ( MNHN – coll. Pic, box no. 9), ‘IFAN 1951 [p] / Sebikotane / Senegal / 8. XI. 56 [hw] // IFAN 1951 [p] / Coll: / A.Viliers [hw] // désiré [Pic’s hw] // type [p, red label] // Macrosiagon / villiersi mihi [Pic’s hw] // peut ête var [= probably a variety] / de / rubronotatum / Pic [Pic’s hw]’.

Additional material examined. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: 1 J ( MNHN – coll. Pic, box no. 6), ‘MUSÉE DU CONGO [p] / Lukonzolwer [the locality is illegible] / 5.1.1912 [hw] / Dr. Bequaert [p] // type

[Pic’s hw] // type [p, red label] // Macrosiagon / axillaris v. / Bequaerti Pic [Pic’s hw]. GAMBIA: 1 J ( NHRS),

‘Gambia Kombo St. Mary / Fajara / (UTM: 28P CK 16 88) [p] / 12 [hw] xii 1979 G. Wängsjö [p]’. GUINEA: 1 J

( Fig. 9 ) ( JBCP), ‘Irr. Gvineya [p], okr. Kindia [10°03’ N, 12°51’ W] / okr. Pastorii / 17.VII. 1984 [hw] S. V. Murzin

[p, in Russian]’. KENYA: 1 J ( MNHN – coll. Alluaud), ‘Afrique ORle Anglaise / MOMBASA / Ch. Alluaud.....

190... [p] // 6 [hw] // voir / lugubris / Fairm. [hw]’. NIGERIA: 1 J ( BMNH), ‘U. C. Ibadan [p] / 13.10. 1954 [hw] /

G. H. Caswell [p] // Citrus [p] // Leaf [p] // Cit. 76 [p] // M. sp.: / axillare Gerst. [hw] / R. D. Pope det 195[p]4[hw]

// Pres. by / Com. Inst. Ent. / B. M. 1957 – 7 [p] // Macrosiagon /?conradsi? / Pic, 1951 / Det. ZHFalin ’05 [p]’.

SENEGAL: 1J ( IRSNB), ‘Coll. J. Thomson // 195 [p] // R. [ Ripiphorus ] / Senegalensis / Buq. [unpublished name] /

Senegal [hw, round pink label] // n.sp.? / réc... [Pic hw, partly illegible] // Determin./ M.Pic [p]’. SIERRA LEONE:

1 J ( BMNH), ‘S. Leone / 67 – 71 [p]’. TANZANIA: 1 J ( IRSNB), ‘Nguela [= Ngwelo] / Usambara [Mts.] [p]’.

UGANDA: 1 J ( BMNH), ‘Uganda Prot. / Mbale-Kumi Rd. / 3,700 ft. S of / L. Salisbury // Aug. 15-17, 1911. / S.

A. Neave. // 1912 – 193 [p] // Macrosiagon /?conradsi? / Pic, 1951 / Det. ZHFalin ’05 [p]’. ZAMBIA: 1 J ( Fig. 8 )

( JBCP), ‘ Zambia / Copperbelt / 50 km W Chingola / 31.12.02-2.1.03 & 10.-12.1.03 / A. Kudrna Jr. lgt. [p]’.

Comparative diagnosis. Macrosiagon bequaerti differs from M. axillaris by having MT 2 long and slender, not shortened or flattened dorsally, shorter elytra, widest in the humeral area, more dehiscent and not as convex as those of M. axillaris . Its elytra are also characteristic by a lighter color in their posterior half, whitish or even transparent in some specimens, but always with a black apex. Differences between both taxa are of specific value and Macrosiagon axillaris var. bequaerti is therefore raised here to species status.

Remarks. Locality label data associated with the specimen from Democratic Republic of the Congo deposited in Pic’s collection (see Additional material examined) and labeled by Pic as a ‘type’ do not agree with the type locality given in the description. Moreover, existence of any additional syntype of this taxon is in contradiction with the foreword of the paper where PIC (1913) explicitly listed the species available for description ‘en plusieurs exemplaires’ (= in more specimens) but did not mention any Macrosiagon species in this list. Pic probably labeled another voucher specimen from the same expedition of Dr. Bequaert as the ‘type’ after the description was published and this specimen cannot be therefore regarded as a syntype.

According to the original description the ‘type’ of Macrosiagon rubronotatum var. leyei and M. villiersi should be deposited in ‘IFAN’ but they are actually deposited in MNHN.

Macrosiagon diversipennis Pic, 1930 is a senior homonym of M. leseleuci var. diversipennis Pic, 1951 (a junior synonym of M. spinicollis ( Fairmaire, 1893)) .

The type specimens of Macrosiagon diversipenne , M. monardi , M. rubronotatum , M. rubronotatum var. leyei and M. villiersi , are morphologically indistinguishable from M. bequaerti , fall within its colour variability and all are therefore proposed as its junior synonyms.

Distribution. Afrotropical species. Described under various names from Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea-Bissau and Senegal. It is recorded here from Gambia, Guinea, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia for the first time.

Figures

Figs 8–15. 8–11 – Macrosiagon bequaerti Pic, 1913. (8 – male from Zambia; 9 – male from Guinea; 10–11 – holotype with labels). 12 – Macrosiagon cf. bequaerti Pic, 1913, India. 13–15 – Macrosiagon biguttata (Blanchard, 1846) (13 – syntype label; 14 – male, Australia, Cairns; 15 – female, Australia, Cairns).