Catascopus (s. str.) ignicinctus Bates

Hunting, Wesley & Yang, Man-Miao, 2019, A taxonomic review of the pericaline ground-beetles in Taiwan, with descriptions of new species (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Lebiini), ZooKeys 816, pp. 1-164 : 35-39

Catascopus (s. str.) ignicinctus Bates Figs 24A, B, 25 A–C, 34A, 35

Catascopus ignicinctus Bates, 1883: 280; Csiki 1932: 1365; Jedlička 1963: 386; Habu 1976: 79; Straneo 1994: 166; Lorenz 2005: 454.

Catascopus szekessyi Jedlička, 1952: 81.

Types and other material examined.

Six specimens of C. ignicinctus , two males and four females. For further details see EH Strickland Virtual Entomology Museum Database.

Type locality.

Japan: "Yuyama and Konose".

Taxonomic notes.

Catascopus aequatus was previously recorded from Taiwan ( Kano 1930; Miwa 1931) but is not present and was likely mistaken for C. ignicinctus , which is present in Taiwan and similar in general form but easily distinguished from C. aequatus by the smoothly rounded elytral apices ( C. aequatus having distinctive spines).

Diagnosis.

Specimens of this species are easily distinguished from other species of Taiwanese Catascopus by the typically metallic purple dorsal coloration and having both intervals 5 and 7 with broadly convex to carinate portions along the length of the elytra.

Redescription.

OBL 10.5 - 12.83 mm. Length (two males, four females): head 1.08 - 1.32, pronotum, 1.80 - 2.04, elytra 6.50 - 7.20, metepisternum 1.80 - 1.52 mm; width: head 2.44 - 2.88, pronotum 2.36 - 2.76, elytra 4.00 - 4.33, metepisternum 0.64 - 0.88 mm.

Body proportions. HW/HL 2.09 - 2.57; PWM/PL 1.29 - 1.41; EL/EW 1.50 - 1.65; ML/MW 2.00 - 2.65.

Color. Various. Fig. 24A, B. Dorsum of head metallic purple to almost black, rarely metallic green (see Green morph below); clypeus and labrum rufo-brunneous to piceous; antennae with segments 1-4 rufo-brunneous to rufo-piceous, segments 5-11 rufo-piceous to rufo-testaceous; palpi rufo-brunneous to rufo-piceous; disc of pronotum metallic purple, margins metallic purple-piceous with faint cupreous margin, median longitudinal impression faintly cupreous along length; elytral disc metallic purple, margins (from interval 7) and outside margin of elytral suture cupreous; proepipleuron, prosternum and elytral epipleura rufo-piceous to piceous; thoracic sclerites rufo-piceous to piceous; abdominal sterna rufo-brunneous to piceous; legs with trochanter, femora and tibia rufo-piceous.

Green morph. The green morph of this species is identical in all characters except coloration of head, dorsum of pronotum, and disc of elytra are all metallic green.

Microsculpture. Dorsum of head with microsculpture faintly visible at 50 × magnification, isodiametric; pronotum with transverse mesh pattern faintly visible at 50 × magnification; elytra with shallow, moderately transverse sculpticells; ventral surface of head with microsculpture transverse, faintly visible at 50 ×; prosternum, proepipleuron, mesepisternum, and metepisternum with sculpticells forming a shallow transverse mesh.

Macrosculpture. Dorsum of head with disc smooth centrally, shallow impressions between eyes, few shallow furrows from front of eye to behind clypeus base, one-two deep furrows along contour of eye, longest ending at basal supraorbital setae; scattered punctation from clypeus to constriction of head, shallower centrally, not confluent; pronotum with several shallow lateral impressions from apex to baso-lateral depression, fine scattered punctures throughout; elytra with intervals 1-4 and 6 moderately flat, interval 5 broadly convex from behind shoulder down ¾ of elytra length, interval 7 carinate on inside margin nearest to stria 6; striae punctate along length; ventrally: prosternum, prosternal process, mesosternum, mesocoxa and mesosternal intercoxal process and hind coxa with scattered, shallow punctures; baso-lateral portion of metasternum with deeper, scattered punctures; abdominal sterna with scattered, shallow punctures.

Fixed setae. Two pairs of supraorbital setae; clypeus with two lateral setae; labrum with six setae along apical margin; one pair of suborbital setae; fore femur of males and females with two fixed setae in basal half; pronotum with two pairs of setae, one at base of lateral margin and one on lateral margin at pronotum max width; elytra with one seta at basal quarter of interval 3, one seta in interval 3 at mid-length, one seta in apical quarter of interval 3.

Luster. Head capsule, pronotum and elytra moderately glossy to glossy; ventral thoracic sterna and abdominal sterna moderately glossy.

Head. Labrum bilobed, left lobe slightly longer than right lobe in some specimens.

Pronotum. No more than 1.41 × wider than long. Anterior transverse impression shallow; posterior transverse impression and median longitudinal impression moderately deep; apical margin narrowly curved forming short, acute latero-apical lobes; lateral margins constricted in basal 1/3; posterio-lateral margins almost right-angled.

Male genitalia. Fig. 25 A–C. Length 2.20 - 2.44 mm. Ostium with relatively large opening. Phallus narrowest at base of shaft, somewhat expanded on left side from median towards ostium in ventral view; apical area, a short rounded point, somewhat narrow, slightly curved ventrally; endophallus not observed in detail as both males available were too teneral to evert.

Female genitalia. Fig. 34A. Width 1.48 - 1.64 mm. Gonocoxite 2 (gc2) with apices spatulate when observed in lateral view; three lateral ensiform setae (les) and one dorsal ensiform seta (des) present (not visible from dorsal view). One spermatheca (sp1) long and narrow; one spermathecal accessory gland (sg) long and narrow; spermathecal gland duct (sgd) relatively long, attachment site near base of spermathecal gland.

Habitat, habits, and seasonal occurrence.

The known elevational range of C. ignicinctus is from 480 to 700 meters. Adults of this species are found in mixed primary and secondary forest of montane areas. Adults are crepuscular or nocturnal with most activity observed on trunks of fallen or dying trees at night. Specimens have been collected from July to late September. Methods of collecting include m.v. light sheet and hand collecting.

Geographical distribution.

Catascopus ignicinctus is known from southern Japan, Laos, China, and Taiwan. For Taiwan localities see Figure 35.