Liogenys bidenticeps Moser, 1919

Cherman, Mariana Alejandra, Mise, Kleber Makoto, Moron †, Miguel Angel, Vaz-de-Mello, Fernando Z. & Almeida, Lucia Massutti de, 2017, A taxonomic revision of Liogenys occurring in Brazil with an interactive key and remarks on New World Diplotaxini (Coleoptera, Melolonthidae), ZooKeys 699, pp. 1-120 : 16-18

Liogenys bidenticeps Moser, 1919 Figs 58, 92

Liogenys bidenticeps Moser, 1919: 13 (orig. desc.); Blackwelder 1944: 227; (check.), Frey 1969: 43 (key); Evans 2003: 207 (check.); Evans and Smith 2005: 171 (check.).

Liogenys bicuspis Moser, 1919: 14 (orig. desc.); Blackwelder 1944: 227; (check.), Frey 1969: 43 (key); Evans 2003: 207 (check.); Evans and Smith 2005: 171 (check.); Evans and Smith 2009: 175 (check.) Syn. n.

Type material.

Liogenys bidenticeps male syntype (ZMHB) [white printed] "Brasilia/ [handwritten] Sao Paulo", [white handwritten] " Liogenys / bidenticeps /Typen Mos", [light red printed] “Typus”, [red printed] "SYNTYPUS/ Liogenys / bidenticeps Moser, 1919/labelled by MNHUB 2011". Genitalia mounted. This type is here designated as the lectotype [white, outlined in red, printed] "LECTOTYPE/ Liogenys bidenticeps /Moser, 1919/des. M. A. Cherman 2012." Two male and a female syntypes (ZMHB): [white printed] "Brasilia/[handwritten] Sao Paulo", [white handwritten] " Liogenys / bidenticeps / Typen Mos", [light red printed] “Typus”, [red printed] "SYNTYPUS/ Liogenys / bidenticeps Moser, 1919/labelled by MNHUB 2011". These three syntypes are here designated as paralectotypes, each one with the label: [white, outlined in red, printed] "PARALECTOTYPE/ Liogenys bidenticeps /Moser, 1919/ des. M. A. Cherman 2012". Male genitalia mounted.

Liogenys bicuspis male syntype (ZMHB): [white printed] "Brasilia/[handwritten] Cuyaba", [white handwritten] " Liogenys / bicuspis /Type M Mos", [red printed] “Typus”, [red printed] "SYNTYPUS/ Liogenys / bicuspis Moser, 1919/labelled by MNHUB 2011". Genitalia mounted. This type is here designated the lectotype [white, outlined in red, printed] "LECTOTYPE/ Liogenys bicuspis /Moser, 1919/des. M. A. Cherman 2012". Female syntype of L. bicuspis : [white printed] "Brasilia/[handwritten] Cuyaba", [white handwritten] " Liogenys / bicuspis /Type F Mos", [red printed] “Typus”, [red printed] "SYNTYPUS/ Liogenys / bicuspis Moser, 1919/labelled by MNHUB 2011". These syntype is here designated as paralectotype [white, outlined in red, printed] "PARALECTOTYPE/ Liogenys bicuspis /Moser, 1919/des. M. A. Cherman 2012".

Non-type material.

BRAZIL. BA: Encruzilhada, 15°34'35"S, 40°56'51"W, 15/XII/2012, 850 m, Rafael and Grossi col., 1 ex. (INPA); SP: São Paulo, IX/1953, Vespasiano col., 1 ex. (DZUP); without date and collector, 8 ex. (ZMHB); Botucatu, 17/IX/1963, Maritovan col., 1 ex. (IBSP); Campinas, without date and collector, "Alwine Braatz V. collection", 3 ex. (ZMHB); MT: Cuiabá, without date and collector, 4 ex. (ZMHB); 15/XI/2008, Monteiro col., 1 ex.; Fazenda Nirvana, 1/X/1988, Serrano col., 1 ex. (CEMT); “Córrego Brigadeiro [tributary of rio Jauru], próximo a Figueiropolis" [Figueiropolis D’oeste], 29/IX/1984, Binda col. 2 ex., (INPA), Jacaré, PN Xingú, XI/1947, Sick col., 1 ex. (MNRJ); MS: (1) Batayporã, 22°18'00"S, 53°15'98"W,13/X/2011, 328 m, M.G.C. Pereira (MuBio); Corumbá, without date and collector, 3 ex. (ZMHB); Guia Lopes da Laguna, 15/XI/2007, A. Abot col, 2 ex. (DZUP); Porto Murtinho, XI/1929, Melim col., 30 ex. (MNRJ); Rio Brilhante, 21-28,X/1970, V. O. Becker col., 3 ex. (DZUP); "Salobra, Miranda", 24/X/1938, Lane col. 1 ex. (MZSP); Paraná, Jaguariaíva, 24-29/XII/1970, F. Giacomel col., 1 ex. (DZUP); RS: Catuipé, 25-30/XII/2010, F. L. dos Santos, 10 ex. (DZUP); (1) "S, Brazil", without date and collector, 1 ex. (MNHN). PARAGUAY. IT: "Hohenau [Campo Angelo]", 11/XI/1944, Jacob. Col., 1 ex. (SDEI); SP: "San Estanislao [Santani]", without date and collector, 1 ex.; Thieme col., without locality, and collector, 6 ex. (ZMHB). ARGENTINA. FO: Ciudad de Formosa, XII/1949, A. Martinez col. (MZSP); Laguna Yema, Reserva Teuquito, 24°21'20,95"S, 61°18'55,23"W, 11/XII/2008, F. Ocampo, G. San Blas, Campon cols. 2 ex.; Ing. Juarez, 24°05'27"S, 61°56'49"W, 13/XII/2008, F. Ocampo, G. San Blas, Campon cols., 2 ex. (IADIZA); CA: Ancasti, 28°52'57"S, 65°25'04"W, 18/XII/2009, 573 m, F. Ocampo, Dominguez, Campon cols., 2 ex. (IADIZA); SE: Quimili, 9/XI/1939, Biraben, Bezzi Cols., 2 ex. (MLPA).

Diagnosis.

Body brownish; elongate; elytra light brown, lighter in color than pronotum; clypeal emargination rounded and wide; outer sides of anterior teeth sub-parallel; lateral margin convex, rounded; mesotibia cylindrical to sub-quadrate in cross section; pygidium flat, bristled throughout. In males, inner margins of parameres convergent; subapical projections on outer margins; strongly narrowed before the apex; apex spatula-like, edges sharp, curved outwards, reaching the level of the parameral outer margin (Fig. 58F).

Redescription.

Length: 8.5-10.7 mm; width: 4.1-5.2 mm. Brownish. Head: distance between eyes nearly twice the width of one eye; frons equal in length to clypeus; clypeal emargination rounded, shallow and wide; outer sides of anterior teeth sub-parallel or sometimes follow the margin of clypeus; outer margin of anterior teeth shorter than the eye; clypeal lateral margin convex but sometimes straight; canthus not exceeding the outer margin of the eye; distal maxillary palpomere, maximum width less than twice width of apex; fovea shallow, extending to the transverse midline of the palpomere; labium transversely carinated, as wide as it is long; antenna 10-articulated, lamellae lighter in color than flagellum, in males lamellae and flagellum equal in length. Thorax: anterior margin of pronotum slightly produced medially; maximum length of pronotum exceeding the length of tarsomeres I, II and III together; disc glabrous, punctures sparse and fine; pronotal posterior corners sub-angled, obtuse; proepisternum with short bristles; mesepisternum scaly; sides of metasternum with long bristles and scales; distance between meso- and metacoxae up to twice the metacoxa length; scutellum rounded, coarsely punctured. Elytra: shiny, glabrous, testaceous to brownish, uniform; elytra more than three times longer than the pronotum; elytral suture slightly darker than elytron and distinctly elevated, two pairs of inner ridges more noticeable than the two outer pairs. Legs: procoxa scaly on infra-carinal and outer surface; punctures visible at 12 × magnification; three protibial teeth, middle and apical equal in size; distance between basal and middle teeth shorter than between middle and apical; protibial inner apical spur present; mesofemural disc setose, with a row of long bristles on anterior and posterior margins; mesotibia cylindrical in cross section, disc coarsely sculptured; two mesotibial transverse carinae, the apical one complete; basal apophysis of metacoxa produced beyond the outer margin of trochanter; metatibial apical spurs equal in length, shorter than the diameter of the tibial apex; inner margin of male metatibia carinated towards apex, apical inner surface setose; disc coarsely sculptured, two metatibial transverse carinae present posteriorly; basal metatarsomere shorter than tarsomere II, in males protarsomere II long; pro- and mesotarsomeres I to IV enlarged, protarsomeres wider than the mesotarsomeres, less than twice as wide as metatarsi; claw bifid, symmetrical, superior tooth narrower than the inferior and equal in length; distance between teeth shorter than the inferior tooth. Abdomen: band of scales visible at the lowest magnification beneath the outer margin of elytra; ventrites bristled on disc and sides; propygidium visible, bristled; pygidium flat, sub-trapezoidal, wide; pygidial width not exceeding distance between spiracles of propygidium; pygidial disc bristled throughout; in males pygidium wider and apex more rounded. Parameres: width of basal region equal to the parameres together at its maximum width, parameral split at 2/3; inner margins strongly convergent; outer margins with subapical projections; strongly narrowed before the apex; apex spatula-like, edges sharp, curved outwards, reaching the level of the parameral outer margin (Fig. 58F). In lateral view parameres curved upwards sub-basally and curved downwards partially on apex (Fig. 58G).

Type-locality.

L. bidenticeps : BRAZIL. São Paulo; Liogenys bicuspis : BRAZIL. Cuiabá, Mato Grosso.

Geographical distribution.

BRAZIL (MT, MS, BA, SP, PR, RS); PARAGUAY (IT, SP); ARGENTINA (FO, CA, SE).

Remarks.

Liogenys bidenticeps resembles L. acutidens in the brownish color and elytra light brown to testaceous (Fig. 56). Those species are also closely related ( Cherman et al. 2016). Liogenys bidenticeps differs from L. acutidens by the following characters: clypeal lateral margin convex but not produced; clypeus glabrous; scutellum rounded apically and more punctured; elytral suture distinctly elevated; two mesotibial transverse carinae, the apical one complete; in females the pygidium is oblique in lateral view. Frey (1969) inferred that L. bicuspis and L. bidenticeps are synonymous, by writing the word “synonym” followed by a question mark (?). After studying the primary types of L. bidenticeps (ZMHB) and L. bicuspis (ZMHB) we found slight differences in the diameter of the punctures of the pygidium and the parameral length in males. When studying all the non-type material, which extends from southernmost Brazil, Paraguay and northern Argentina, we concluded that L. bicuspis is a junior subjective synonym of L. bidenticeps and those differences might represent variation among populations. Other variations among L. bidenticeps individuals are the color of elytra from testaceous to brownish; the clypeal anterior teeth, which outer margins vary from sub-parallel to following the margin of clypeus; clypeal lateral margin from convex to straight and in males the parameres in lateral view, more or less curved subapically.