Aulacopalpus viridis Guérin­Méneville, 1838

Smith, Andrew B. T., 2002, Revision Of The Southern South American Endemic Genus Aulacopalpus Guérin-Méneville With Phylogenetic And Biogeographic Analyses Of The Subtribe Brachysternina (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Rutelinae: Anoplognathini), The Coleopterists Bulletin 56 (3), pp. 379-437 : 419-421

Aulacopalpus viridis Guérin­Méneville, 1838

( Figs. 1 , 5 , 18 Map 3)

Aulacopalpus viridis Guérin­Méneville 1838 a:58 . Neotype male at ZMHB, labeled a) ‘‘ Chile,’’ b) ‘‘ Aulacopalpus viridis Guérin m.d. Type vergl. Paris 5.VII. 1911.’’ (Ohaus’s handwriting), c) ‘‘ AULACOPALPUS VI­ RIDIS GUÉRIN­MÉNEVILLE Ƌ DET: A.B.T.SMITH 2001 NEO­ TYPE.’’ NEOTYPE HERE DESIGNATED. See statement of taxonomic purpose in Methods and Materials section. It is necessary to designate a neotype for A. viridis because the original type has been lost. Guérin­Méneville (1838 a) did not specify where the type was deposited. All of Guérin­Méneville’s types are now housed at MNHN. I searched for the types at the MNHN without success. I can only conclude that the types have been lost. Although the original type series were reportedly from Lima, Peru they were undoubtedly collected in central Chile. I selected a male neotype from Chile that matches the original description by Guérin­Méneville (1838 a). The neotype is a specimen that was supposedly compared with the type by Friedrich Ohaus in Paris on 5 July 1911 (as indicated on the label). Based on the original description and Ohaus’s label, I am confident that the neotype is virtually identical to the original type.

Tribostethes virens Philippi and Philippi 1864:320 . Neotype female at the FMNH, labeled a) ‘‘TREGUALEMU N. Costa Nuble 6,9­ Dic­1958 Coll: L.E.Pena,’’ b) ‘‘FMNH 986 L. PeñaColl. Acc #17–422,’’ c) ‘‘TRIBOS­ TETHES VIRENS PHILIPPI & PHILIPPI ♀ NEOTYPE A. B. T. SMITH 2000,’’ c) ’’ Aulacopalpus VIRIDIS GUÉRIN­MÉNEVILLE ♀ DET: A. B. T. SMITH 2000.’’ NEOTYPE HERE DESIGNATED. See statement of taxonomic purpose in Methods and Materials section. It is necessary to designate a neotype for Tribostethes virens because the

420 THE COLEOPTERISTS BULLETIN 56(3), 2002

Elgueta of the MNNC, the type for T. virens is not in that collection. No type was found in the NMPC where some F. Philippi specimens are housed. Philippi and Philippi did not label their types at the time (often Philippi types were labeled with only a species name or number or sometimes not at all), but many have been labeled retroactively by P. Germain and others. None of the specimens of Aulacopalpus I borrowed from the museum in Santiago fit the description given by Philippi and Philippi for T. virens . I can only conclude that the original type was lost from that collection. The original type was a female from San Fernando (Colchagua). The neotype was collected in the nearby province of Maule (less than 200 km away) and closely matches the original description of Philippi and Philippi (1864). Tribostethes virens was placed in synonymy with A. viridis by Ohaus (1905).

Description. Male (n = 78): Length 11.7–16.3 mm. Width 6.5–8.9 mm. Color: dorsally light to dark olive green, sometimes greenish­brown; venter brownish­yellow to yellowish­brown. Head: Figure 5 . Dorsal surface densely punctate, sparsely setose, punctures moderately large; setae long, slender, tawny to cream­colored. Frontoclypeal suture complete, weakly bisinuate. Labrum moderately produced medially with triangular tooth. Maxillary palpus with terminal segment greatly enlarged, elongate (larger than antennal club), with deep sulcus. Mentum with surface moderately setose, apex reflexed into oral cavity. Antenna 9­ or 10­segmented (segments 5 and 6 sometimes fused), club slightly shorter that combined basal segments. Pronotum: midline with apical half weakly depressed. Surface moderately to densely punctate with moderately­sized punctures; moderately setose in apical third and along lateral edges; setae long, slender, tawny to creamcolored. Scutellum: Shape parabolic: 1.3 times wider than long medially. Surface glabrous, moderately punctate with moderately­sized punctures. Elytron: Surface glabrous, longitudinal striae punctate, moderately impressed; punctures moderately­sized, separated by 2–6 puncture widths; interval sparsely punctate with moderately­sized punctures. Epipleuron with row of dense setae just ventral to bead medially, absent in apical and basal 1/5. Pygidium: Width 2.1 times length medially. Surface sparsely punctate, sparsely to moderately setose; punctures small; setae cream­colored. Venter: Thorax densely setose; setae long, cream­colored. Legs: Protibia with 3 subequally large teeth in apical half. Tarsal claws with modified claw slightly thickened when compared with other claw, apex bifurcate (similar to Fig. 7 ). Tarsomere 5 without ventromedial tooth (similar to Fig. 6 ). Meso­ and metatibia with apical spurs slender, acute. Mesotibial apex with 12– 13 spinules. Metatibial apex with 17–20 spinules. Parameres: Figure 18 . Basally with broad, medial furrow.

Female (n = 20): Length 13.3–15.3 mm. Width 7.1–9.0 mm. As male except in the following respects. Head: Maxillary palpus with terminal segment not enlarged or elongate (smaller than antennal club). Legs: Tarsal claws with modified claw with ventral tooth, not thickened when compared with other claw, apex not bifurcate (similar to Fig. 8 ). Meso­ and metatibia with apical spurs broader, blunter.

Diagnosis. This species is distinguished from all other species in the genus Aulacopalpus by the following combination of characters: antennal club not elongated (length much shorter than head); male maxillary palpus with terminal segment greatly elongated (length greater than antennal club length); head, pronotum, and elytron light to dark olive green; all male tarsal claws with modified claw slightly thickened when compared with other claw and with apex bifurcate; all female tarsal claws with modified claw with ventral tooth and not thickened when compared with other claw; and tarsomere 5 without ventromedial tooth; parameres basally without broad, medial furrow.

THE COLEOPTERISTS BULLETIN 56(3), 2002 421

CMNC, CNCI, FMNH, MGFT, MNNC, UMRM, USNM.

CHILE (98). ARAUCO (23): San Alfonso (above Caramávida) . LINARES (26): Linares . MALLECO (27): Angol, Collipulli, Mininco . MAULE (7): Tregualemu . ÑUBLE (1): Chillán . SANTIAGO (7): El Canelo, Leyda. VALDI­ VIA (1): Valdivia . NO DATA (2).

Temporal Data. April (2), May (2), June (1), August (2), September (24), October (24) November (3), December (13).

Remarks. The males of A. viridis are easily separated from other species of Aulacopalpus due to the greatly enlarged terminal segment of the maxillary palpus. Two aspects of the original description by Guérin­Méneville (1838 a) and redescriptions by Guérin­Méneville (1844) and Burmeister (1844) led to confusion over the true identity of this species: 1) it was described as having ‘‘simple, unequal tarsal claws,’’ which is incorrect (the tarsal claws are split in males and toothed in females); 2) the type locality for the species was listed as Lima, Peru, which is also incorrect (the specimen[s] examined by Guérin­ Méneville were probably collected in central Chile). Solier (1851) and Blanchard (1851) both remarked that A. viridis was actually from Chile noting that ‘‘entomologists frequently confuse insect collections originating from the two regions ( Peru and Chile) even though they are so different.’’ The confusion probably led Philippi and Philippi to describe Tribostethes virens (a synonym of A. viridis ) in 1864. Tribostethes virens was described using one female specimen that has been lost or destroyed since it is not in the Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, Santiago, Chile. Philippi and Philippi (1864) described the original type for T. virens as a female with a mainly greenish dorsal surface and ‘‘maxillary palpus very large with the apical segment almost 1.5 times as long as the other segments, with a deep furrow extending almost the whole length of the segment.’’ Ohaus (1905) commented, ‘‘I determined that Tribostethes virens F. Philippi is synonymous with Aulacopalpus viridis ; the description of this species fits exactly with fresh specimens of the latter species.’’ After careful examination of the original description and many specimens, I agree with Ohaus’s decision to synonymize T. virens with A. viridis , and I selected an appropriate neotype for both names.

Figures

Fig. 1. The Brachysternina. First row: Aulacopalpus aconcaguensis (male paratype), A. aconcaguensis (male paratype), A. castaneus (male), A. castaneus (male), A. castaneus (male), A. punctatus (male). Second row: A. ciliatus (male), A. clypealis (male),

Figs. 4–5. 4) Head of male Aulacopalpus aconcaguensis. 5) Head of male Aulacopalpus viridis.

Figs. 12–20. Parameres in caudal view. 12) Aulacopalpus aconcaguensis; 13) Aulacopalpus ciliatus; 14) Aulacopalpus clypealis; 15) Aulacopalpus pilicollis; 16) Aulacopalpus castaneus; 17) Aulacopalpus punctatus; 18) Aulacopalpus viridis; 19) Aulacopalpus pygidialis, 20) Aulacopalpus valdiviensis.

Figs. 6–11. 6) Protarsomere 5 and claw of male Aulacopalpus pilicollis, 7) Protarsomere 5 and claw of male Aulacopalpus pygidialis. 8) Protarsomere 5 and claw of female Aulacopalpus ciliatus. 9) Dorsal view of modified proclaw of male Aulacopalpus ciliatus. 10) Dorsal view of modified proclaw of male Aulacopalpus castaneus. 11) Lateral view of Aulacopalpus valdiviensis parameres and phallobase.