Paracupta (Paracupta) xanthocera ( Boisduval, 1835 )

Frank, David, 2024, Revision of the subgenus Chalcotaenia of Paracupta (Coleoptera: Buprestidae: Chrysochroinae) and specification of Buprestis xanthocera Boisduval, 1835 as the type-species of the genus Paracupta, Zootaxa 5555 (4), pp. 535-568 : 538-539

Paracupta (Paracupta) xanthocera ( Boisduval, 1835)

( Figs 1–7 , 74 , 79 )

Buprestis xanthocera Boisduval (1835): 76 (original description, incl. colour Fig. 4 , Pl. IX).

Chrysodema xanthocera : Laporte de Castelnau & Gory (1837): 10 (redescription, incl. colour Fig. 12 , Pl. III).

Paracupta xanthocera : Deyrolle (1864) [misidentification]: 34 (listed only from localities ‘Batchian, Céram’); Saunders (1871) [misidentification]: 16 (catalogue, only from locality ‘Nov. Guinea’); Kerremans (1892) [misidentification]: 45 (catalogue, only from locality ‘Nouv. Guinée’); Kerremans (1903) [misidentification]: 84 (catalogue, only from locality ‘Iles Moluques’); Kerremans (1909) [misidentification]: 106 (key), 134 (redescription, only from localities ‘Nouvelle- Guinée; Halmaheira; Moluques’); Obenberger (1926) [misidentification]: 125 (catalogue, only from localities ‘N. Guinea; Halmaheira; Moluccae’); Bellamy (1998): 10 (designation as type-species of genus Paracupta ); Akiyama & Ohmomo (2000) [misidentification]: Pl. 40, Figs 412-1, 412-2 (iconography, = P. (C.) laperousei sp. nov.); Bílý, Curletti & Aberlenc (2006): 169 (faunistic).

Chalcophora xanthocera : Gemminger & Harold (1869) [misidentification]: 1359 (catalogue only from locality ‘Nov. Guinea’); Masters (1888) [misidentification]: 313 (catalogue, only from locality ‘Nov. Guinea’).

Paracupta (Chalcotaenia) xanthocera : Hołyński (1997): 188 (catalogue).

Paracupta (Paracupta) xanthocera : Bellamy (2003): 33 (catalogue); Bellamy (2008): 508 (catalogue); Hołyński (2009) [misidentification]: 265, Tab. 17 Fig. 140 (noted, only from locality ‘New Guinea’); Hołyński (2014) [misidentification]: 406 (key to taxa), 409 Fig. 10 (= P. (C.) laperousei sp. nov.).

Paracupta leveri Théry (1934): 138 (original description), syn. nov.

Paracupta (Paracupta) leveri : Bellamy (2008): 506 (catalogue).

Paracupta (Bojasinskia) leveri : Hołyński (2014): 413 (placed to subgenus Bojasinskia ).

Type localities. Paracupta xanthocera : ‘l'île de Vanikoro’; P. leveri : ‘Vanikoro, British Solomon Islands’ [ Solomon Islands, Temotu Province, Vanikoro Island].

Type material examined. Paracupta xanthocera : LECTOTYPE (present designation): ♀ (27.00 × 8.75 mm; Figs 1–3, 7 ), ‘Vanikoro | d'Urville [w, h (round)] || MUSEUM PARIS | Vanikoro | d'Urville [w, p/h] || TYPE (red letters) [w, p] || B. xanthocera [w, h] || C. xanthocera | Boisd. | Vanicoro. | M. D'Urville. [pink, h (black border)]’ ( MNHN).

The specimen was provided with an additional red printed label: ‘ LECTOTYPE ♀ | Buprestis | xanthocera | BOISDUVAL, 1835 | David Frank des. XI.2023 [date handwritten]’ and also white printed label: ‘ Paracupta (Paracupta) | xanthocera | ( BOISDUVAL, 1835) | David Frank det. VI.2023 [date handwritten]’.

Paracupta leveri : HOLOTYPE (by monotypy): ♀ (27.25 × 8.75 mm; Figs 4–6 ), ‘Type [w, p; round, red border] || Leu [? illegible] | Vanikoro I. | British Solomons | R.J.A.W.Lever | 5. 1933 [w, h/p] || Pres.by | Imp.Inst.Ent. | B.M.1934-131. [w, p] || Paracupta | Leveri | Thery | TYPE [w, h/p (red stamp)] || = P. xanthocera | Boisd. | fide Théry. 10.XII.36 | det. K.G.Blair. [w, h/p] || Paracupta | sp.n.? | XX | det. K.G.Blair [w, h/p]’ ( BMNH).

The specimen was provided with an additional red printed label: ‘ HOLOTYPE (by monotypy) | Paracupta | leveri ♀ | THÉRY, 1934 | David Frank labelled VI.2023 [date handwritten]’ and also white printed label: ‘ Paracupta (Paracupta) | xanthocera | ( BOISDUVAL, 1835) | David Frank det. VI.2023 [date handwritten]’.

Additional material examined (2 ♀♀). SOLOMON ISLANDS: TEMOTU PROv.: SOLOMON ISL., Vanikolo Is., 11.60S – 166.85E, xi.2004, H. P. Aberlenc leg. , 2 ♀♀ ( NMPC, ex coll. Bílý) .

Redescription of lectotype. Preserved ♀ specimen, only left middle and both hind tarsi partly broken. Length 27.00 mm, width 8.75 mm, length/width ratio: 3.09.

Body navicular, head, pronotum and elytra green with red-bronze apex, metallic. Ventral side green with violet reflections, legs green. Tarsi partly and antennae yellow-brown.

Head green, macropunctate and sparsely micropunctate with sparse short pubescence. Eyes large, oval. Frons 1.8× as wide as diameter of eye, impressed with deep medial sulcus. Labrum brown, pubescent. Antennae serrate from antennomere IV. Antennomeres I (scape) and II (pedicel) green-violet, macropunctate and pubescent, radicula (base of scape) and antennomeres from III yellow-brown, pubescent. Antennomere II ca. 4× shorter than I and III. Antennomeres IV–X triangular, XI trapezoidal. Maxillae, labium, maxillary palpi and labial palpi pale brown, pubescent.

Pronotum trapezoidal, moderately narrowing anteriad with almost straight sides, widest at base, green with golden reflections, macropunctures and sulci, 1.7× as wide as long. Anterior margin arcuate, lobe moderately protruding. Medial and intermedial sulci well developed, lateral sulci slightly indicated. Lateral margin green and shiny, basal margin slightly bisinuate.

Scutellum small, trapezoidal, green with golden reflections.

Elytra slightly wider than pronotum at base, parallel-sided at basal half, narrowing from mid-length to apex, convex in lateral view. Lateral margins arcuate below humeral calli, serrate at apical half. Eight weak costae on each elytron well developed, partly reduced at basal quarter. 1 st and 2 nd costae parallel to suture and separated, the others joined before apex. Basic colour green and metallic, costae partly green-blue, apex red-bronze. Suture and costae micropunctate almost without macropunctures, intercostal intervals macropunctate and micropunctate with sparse short pubescence mainly at apical third. Epipleura horizontal, green, darker at basal half, macropunctate and pubescent.

Legs green. Femora densely macropunctate and pubescent on inner side, sparsely on outer side, tibiae regularly macropunctate and pubescent. Tibiae with two apical ventral spurs. 1 st and last tarsomere metallic green, the others yellow-brown, tarsal claws divergent and simple.

Ventral side green with violet reflections, more violet at central part, metallic. Hypomeron macropunctate, prosternum furrowed. Anterior margin of prosternum densely pubescent. Prosternal process moderately biconcave-sided, arcuately narrowed at apex, approximately 2.8× as long as wide, macropunctate and with sparse short pubescence. Metasternum sparsely macropunctate and pubescent at central part, densely at lateral parts, shiny. Abdominal ventrites I–V centrally sparsely and coarsely macropunctate, laterally densely and finely macropunctate with short pubescence, laterally partly covered by yellow-brown wax. Apical part macropunctate, pubescent and with wide ‘V’ shaped notch.

Variation. Body ♀♀ (n = 4): length: 23.00–27.25 (average 25.13) mm, width: 7.75–8.75 (average 8.31) mm, length/width ratio: 2.91–3.11 (average 3.02). Colour of dorsal side from golden-green to dark green-brown. Ventral side can be with violet reflections or only green. Sulci on pronotum can be well developed or slightly indicated. Male unknown.

Distribution. Solomon Islands, Temotu Province, Vanikoro Island ( Figs 74 , 79 ).

Remarks. Boisduval (1835) did not specify explicitly how many specimens he had at his disposal when describing P. xanthocera . I examined a specimen in MNHN which has old labels ‘Vanikoro, d'Urville’ and ‘B. xanthocera’ and newer label ‘TYPE’. Because P. xanthocera is described from an expedition of l’Astrolabe (1826– 1829, captain Dumont de Urville) this specimen from MNHN is designated as a lectotype in order to conserve the status of this taxon and avoid any further misinterpretations.

I examined the holotype of P. leveri and found the specimen belongs to P. xanthocera . Therefore P. leveri is synonymized with P. xanthocera .

Figures

FIGURES 1–7. 1–3, 7—Paracupta (Paracupta) xanthocera (Boisduval, 1835) (lectotype, ♀ 27.00 mm, MNHN). 4–6—P. (P.) leveri Théry, 1934 (holotype, ♀ 27.25 mm, BMNH) = P. (P.) xanthocera. 1, 4—dorsal view; 2, 5—ventral view; 3—lateral view; 6, 7—labels.

FIGURES 74–77. 74—map of distribution: Paracupta (C.) lamberti—red; P. (P.) xanthocera—yellow. 75—P. (C.) horaki sp. nov. (holotype, ♂ 25.50 mm, BMNH, Seram Is.). 76—P. (C.) horaki sp. nov. (paratype, ♀ 33.75 mm, NMPC, Seram Is.). 77—Paracupta laperousei Théry (type, unpublished manuscript name) = P. (C.) laperousei sp. nov. (paratype, ♀ 30.50 mm, MNHN, Bacan Is.). 74—map of distribution; 75–77—labels.

FIGURES 78–79. 78—map of distribution: Paracupta (C.) horaki sp. nov.—red; P. (C.) laperousei sp. nov.—yellow; P. (C.) toxopeusi—green. 79—map of distribution: P. (P.) xanthocera—yellow; P. (C.) jakli sp. nov.—red; P. (C.) isabellina—blue; P. (C.) gottwaldi sp. nov.—brown; P. (C.) rennelli—green. 78, 79—map of distribution.

FIGURES 8–13. 8–10—Paracupta (Chalcotaenia) gottwaldi sp. nov. (holotype, ♀ 31.00 mm, NMPC). 11–13—P. (C.) rennelli Hołyński, 2014 (paratype, ♀ 35.50 mm, RHMP). 8, 11—dorsal view; 9, 12—ventral view; 10, 13—lateral view.