Thaumastopeus shangaicus Neervoort van de Poll, 1886

Perissinotto, Renzo & Clennell, Lynette, 2021, Census of the fruit and flower chafers (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Cetoniinae) of the Macau SAR, China, ZooKeys 1026, pp. 17-43 : 17

Thaumastopeus shangaicus Neervoort van de Poll, 1886 Fig. 12

Thaumastopeus shangaicus Neervoort van de Poll, 1886: 181.

Distribution.

Known in the Palearctic Region from the Chinese provinces of Hainan and Yunnan, the Shanghai Municipality and the Hong Kong SAR ( Yiu 2010; Bezděk 2016). Also widespread in the Oriental Region, specifically in Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, peninsular Malaysia as well as Sumatra and the Nias Islands in Indonesia ( Sakai and Nagai 1998; Krajcik 2011).

Material examined.

1♀: Coloane Village , 31 Mar 2019, extracted prematurely from broken cocoon, R Perissinotto & L Clennell (MACT) ; 1♀: Coloane Village , 22 May 2020, on flowers of Psychotria serpens , R Perissinotto (MACT) ; 1♂: ibidem 28 May 2020, dead on roadside, R Perissinotto (MACT).

Other Macau records.

No locality and date, 23 mm [in Pun and Batalha 1997: 66, fig. 110, reported as Thaumastopeus nigritus (Frohlic)]; Coloane Village, 14 Jun 2019, on flowers of Paliurus spina-christi , R Perissinotto & L Clennell; ibidem 30 Apr 2020, on flowers of Psychotria serpens R Perissinotto & L Clennell; Coloane, Hác-Sá, 29 Apr 2019, emerged from cocoon found in decomposing wood, R Perissinotto & L Clennell; Coloane, Cheoc Van, 4 May 2019, on flowers of Litsea glutinosa , R Perissinotto & L Clennell; Alto de Coloane, 23 May 2020, R Perissinotto & L Clennell; ibidem 11 Jul 2020, on sap flow of Sapium discolor , R Perissinotto & L Clennell; Macau, Barra Hill, 16 Apr 2019, on flowers of Ligustrum sinense , R Perissinotto & L Clennell; Coloane Village, 1 Jun 2019 13:51, Hannah Leung (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/27733112); Taipa Pequena, 23 May 2020 9:56, Eric Kwan (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/47007347).

Remarks.

This is the second largest cetoniine species found in Macau, attaining a size in the range of 22-30 mm TL and 9-13 mm MW. Specimens are very stable in their colour, which is generally shiny and black with a dark blue sheen. It has been confused in the past with the closely related T. nigritus ( Frölich, 1792) (e.g., Pun and Batalha 1997; Yiu 2010; Yiu and Yip 2011), which actually occurs mainly in the Indian subcontinent including the Himalayan region ( Krajcik 2011; Bezděk 2016). The correct identification of T. shangaicus in the Macau and Hong Kong area has now been conclusively established through analysis of aedeagal material (S. Jákl, pers. comm.). The species is saproxylic, with larvae, cocoons and even adults having been found regularly inside decomposing tree trunks and branches (pers. obs.). Adults appear to have a very broad diet, feeding on fruits, flowers, and sap flows, but do not seem to be attracted into fruit-baited traps. In Macau, several specimens were observed on sap flows of Sapium discolor in July 2020 and in Hong Kong this species has often been found feeding on ripe fruits of longan and figs ( Yiu 2010). Among the plants where T. shangaicus has been recorded feeding on flowers are Litsea glutinosa , Psychotria serpens , Paliurus spina-christi , Ligustrum sinense , and Acronychia pedunculata .

Figures

Figure 12. Thaumastopeus shangaicus Neervoort van de Poll, 1886: dorsal (left) and side (right) views of typical specimens observed at Coloane on 30 Apr 2019 and 23 May 2020, respectively (photographs: Lynette Clennell).