Eurypogon harrisii ( Westwood, 1862 )

Hinson, Kevin R. & Buss, Richard J., 2015, New State Records and Identification of North American Species ofEurypogonMotschulsky (Coleoptera: Artematopodidae), with a Lectotype Designation forEurypogon niger (Melsheimer), The Coleopterists Bulletin 69 (4), pp. 768-772 : 770-771

Eurypogon harrisii ( Westwood, 1862) and Eurypogon niger (Melsheimer, 1846)

During the process of identifying the Colorado and New Mexico specimens as E. californicus , we also questioned whether specimens collected from North Carolina and Ohio were E. harrisii or E. niger . While reviewing the literature, we discovered that Brown (1944) is the first of two works which separate E. harrisii from E. niger . Brown details how he arrived at characters which identify each species by stating “In the original description (1846, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 2: 309), niger is said to have the antennae ‘moderately serrate’ and the elytra with the strial punctures ‘profound, close-set, interstices fine.’ Under the niger label in the Melsheimer collection are two male specimens from Pennsylvania, and both agree with this description. The type of harrisii came from Massachusetts, and a figure accompanying its description shows the elytral intervals to be wider than the strial punctures, a character which identifies an eastern species that has been unrecognized by collectors.” Based on these observations, Brown identifies E. harrisii as having “elytra with strial punctures much finer [than E. niger ], the intervals wider than the punctures except on the sides.” Eurypogon niger is said to have “elytra with the strial punctures much wider than the intervals except at the base.” The only other key which separates E. harrisii from E. niger can be found in Downie and Arnett (1996), in which E. harrisii is said to have “Antennomeres 2–3 small, together much less than length of 4.” In the species description, E. harrisii is listed as having “elytra with rows of deep, regular punctures, intervals narrow.” In contrast, Downie and Arnett (1996) describe E. niger as having “Antennomeres 2–3 longer, 3 almost as long as 2, together slightly shorter than 4,” and “elytral punctures fine, small with intervals between them wide, flat, each with row of fine punctures.” When comparing Brown (1944) to Downie and Arnett (1996), it is clear that Brown’ s characters for E. harrisii are essentially those listed for E. niger by Downie and Arnett; conversely, Brown’ s characters for E. niger are characters Downie and Arnett listed for E. harrisii .

To determine the correct characters associated with each species, we obtained images of the holotype of E. harrisii and attempted to locate the holotype of E. niger . We located one and four specimens fitting the description of E. niger in Harvard University’ s LeConte and Melsheimer collections, respectively. Unfortunately, the attached labels provided little insight into the origin and interrelationships of these specimens, as labels were removed from many specimens in Melsheimer’ s collection during the late 1800s ( Hagen 1884). Despite little information provided by the labels, LeConte’ s (1875) statement of having transferred “all the unique types” from Melsheimer’ s to his collection indicates that the LeConte specimen is the most likely specimen to have been used in the original description. We have chosen to designate the specimen found in the LeConte collection as the lectotype for E. niger to prevent any misidentified Eurypogon specimens (particularly E. harrisii ) from becoming the lectotype for the species. The lectotype may be identified by the labels seen in Fig. 3 . The labels consist of one red label with the word “ Lectotype ” and one white label with the words “ EURYPOGON NIGER (MLSH) det. J. F. Lawrence 1995”. Two older, yellowed labels appear to read “Pa Melsh” and “June ’ 24 W. oak”. “Pa” may refer to Pennsylvania as a collection locality, while “June ’ 24 W. oak” may indicate June 1824, White Oak. Whether “White Oak” refers to White Oak, PA or Quercus alba L. is unknown.

Comparison of the types of E. harrisii and E. niger suggests that puncture diameter may be the most reliable character for separating the species. Although puncture diameter for both species is fairly similar under microscopic lighting, E. niger punctures are abruptly flared dorsally with poorly delimited margins, whereas E. harrisii punctures have defined margins. As a result, viewing specimens under no or low magnification, or under indirect lighting, causes E. niger punctures to appear larger than E. harrisii punctures due to shadowing effects. The elytra of E. niger are also slightly sculptured, whereas the elytra of E. harrisii are smooth (compare Figs. 1 and 2 ). After careful evaluation of these characters, we report E. niger as a new state record for North Carolina based on one specimen collected in a SLAM (Sea, Land, Air Malaise) trap in Union Co. (35.052396°N, 80.698024°W) during 24-31 May 2014. We also report E. niger as a new state record for Ohio based on five specimens attracted to a 160-W mercury vapor lamp in Athens Co. (N 39.315° W 82.080°) on 7 June 2008. The voucher specimen of E. niger collected in Union Co., NC is deposited in the Clemson University Arthropod Collection. Voucher specimens of E. niger collected in Athens Co., OH are deposited in the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Without examination of the actual specimens, all other records of E. harrisii and E. niger should be viewed with caution unless it can be demonstrated that the specimens associated with the information were identified using Brown (1944) or the original species descriptions by Westwood (1862) and Melsheimer (1846). Although some records may be invalid, E. harrisii is reported from Ontario, Québec ( Brown 1944), Indiana (Young 2002), Maryland, Massachusetts ( Brown 1944), Michigan (Young 2002), New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia ( Brown 1944). Eurypogon niger is reported from Canada ( Brown 1944), Québec (Young 2002), District of Columbia ( Brown 1944), Indiana, Kansas (Young 2002), Massachusetts ( Brown 1944), New York (Young 2002),Pennsylvania (Young 2002, Brown 1944), South Carolina ( Brown 1944), and Virginia (Young 2002 and Brown 1944).

Figures

Fig. 3. Eurypogon niger lectotype labels.

Fig. 1. Eurypogon niger (left) from Athens Co., Ohio; Eurypogon harrisii (middle) from Ontario, Canada; and Eurypogon californicus (right) from Taos Co., New Mexico.

Fig. 2. Newly designated lectotype for Eurypogon niger (left) and holotype for Eurypogon harrisii (right).