Pheropsophus lissoderus CHAUDOIR, 1850

Venugopal, Akhil S. & Thomas, Sabu K., 2019, Bombardier beetles of the genus Pheropsophus Solier 1833 (Carabidae: Brachininae: Brachinini) from Indian subcontinent, Zootaxa 4608 (1), pp. 65-89 : 75-77

Pheropsophus lissoderus CHAUDOIR, 1850

( Fig. 2 A , 5 D )

= Pheropsophus catoirei BATES, 1886 (non Dejean)

Pheropsophus lissoderus Chaudoir, 1850: 79 ; 1876: 24; Andrewes, 1929: 21; 1930: 274; Hrdlička, 2017: 480.

Pheropsophus catoirei Bates (non Dejean), 1886: 201; Andrewes, 1930: 274.

Specimens examined (n=12): Holotype (by monotypy), labelled “Ex–Musaeo Chaudoir”, Tibet, coll. M. Melly, type in MNHN.

Other specimens examined: 1ex., “ Orientalis. Indes , Ex Musaeo Mniszech”, coll. Dupuis , in MNHN Paris ; 2 exs., India: Kerala: Kalpetta , 13.IX.2017, Pitfall trap (paddy field), coll. K. Ashly ; 7 exs. India: Coimbatore : TNAU, 16.X.2017 ; 1ex. “ India: Gujrat: Kutch , coll. B.Horne, det. S.V.Akhil ” .

Description. Length: 15.5–16.0 mm

Colour: Head and pronotum reddish brown; head with labrum and edges of clypeus reddish yellow coloured, rest reddish brown; pronotum with lateral margin black; antennal segments 1–4 light reddish yellow, segments 5–11 dark brown; elytra black; legs reddish yellow with large black spot on the apex of the femur.

Head: Narrower than pronotum; disc smooth; eyes highly protruding.

Pronotum: Wider than the head, as long as wide, square shaped; anterior margin truncated squarely; disc smooth without wrinkles.

Elytra: Subparallel, narrowed towards the base, elytral base and apex squared; humerus straight, prominent; the median transverse band ‘dagger shaped’, transverse, margins strongly serrated, dilated near the outer edge that it does not reach, and truncated squarely by the 2 nd striation; apical yellow band broader covering the intervals.

Geographical distribution. INDIA: Arunachal Pradesh ( Hrdlička 2017); Himachal Pradesh ( Hrdlička 2017); Kashmir ( Hrdlička 2017); Bengal: Darjiling ( Hrdlička 2017); Uttarakhand ( Hrdlička 2017); Gujrat: Kutch (New re- cord); Tamil Nadu: Coimbatore (New record); Kerala: Kalpetta (New record); SRI LANKA: Kandy and Peradeniya ( Andrewes 1930); BHUTAN ( Hrdlička 2017). CHINA: Tibet ( Chaudoir 1850); PAKISTAN: Islamabad. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Muzaffarabad ( Ullah et al. 2017).

Remarks. Very similar to P. catoirei , differs by the shape of pronotum which is as wide as long and square shaped, not narrowing posteriorly; elytral median transverse band is more transverse, more serrated at its edges.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Dorsal habitus of Pheropsophus from India (cont.)–A) Pheropsophus lissoderus (Holotype, ‘Tibet’, MNHN), B) P. nanodes (Verified specimen, ‘S.E.Tibet’, BMNH), C) P. picicollis (Syntype, ‘Siam (now Thailand)’ MNHN), D) P. nigricollis (Holotype, ‘Bangalore’, BMNH), E) P. occipitalis (Verified specimen, ‘China’, BMNH), F) P. prophylax (Holotype, ‘Manipur’, BMNH), G) P. scythropus (Holotype, ‘Gopaldhara’, BMNH), H) P. scythropus dissolutus (‘Laos’, BMNH)

FIGURE 5. Pheropsophus male genitalia, Right lateral aspect–A) Pheropsophus devagiriensis sp. nov. (Holotype, ‘India: Tamilnadu: Courtallam’), B) P. indicus sp. nov. (Holotype, ‘India: Kerala: Palakkad’), C) P. bimaculatus (‘India: Kerala: Nilambur’), D) P. lissoderus (‘India: Kerala: Kalpetta’), E) P. occipitalis (‘India: Kerala: Kalpetta’), F) P. picicollis (‘India: Kerala: Chelari’), G) P. sobrinus (‘India: Kerala: Palakkad’), H) P. tripustulatus (‘India: Kerala: Nilambur’). Scale Bar 1 mm.