Phileurus carinatus declivis Prell, 1914

Grossi, Paschoal Coelho & Saltin, Jochen-P., 2014, Description of the female of Phileurus bucculentus Ohaus, with new country records and remarks for Phileurus carinatus Prell (Coleoptera, Scarabaeoidea, Dynastinae), Insecta Mundi 2014 (348), pp. 1-16 : 6-10

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.5178702

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:1BCABC94-6EBA-4646-BE63-024FB0D19AF7

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03A887B8-2714-FF8D-04E9-A6071851F945

treatment provided by

Felipe

scientific name

Phileurus carinatus declivis Prell, 1914
status

 

Phileurus carinatus declivis Prell, 1914 revised status

( Figures 7–9 View Figure 7 View Figure 8 View Figure 9 )

Phileurus declivis Prell, 1914: 222 .

Phileurus carinatus declivis Prell. Endrödi (1978: 106) .

Since its description, no additional Venezuelan specimens of P. declivis have been recorded in the literature. Endrödi (1978) downgraded P. declivis to a subspecies of P. carinatus . In his Phileurini revision, Endrödi (1978) separated the subspecies based only in the distribution, size of the pronotal tubercle and pygidial punctures. The distribution, as presented by Endrödi, was not enough to distinguish these two forms, and this was the basis for Ratcliffe (2003), Ratcliffe and Cave (2006) and Krajcik (2005) to consider P. c. declivis as a synonym of P. carinatus . After revising many specimens, including the types of both P. carinatus and P. declivis , we concluded that P. c. declivis is a good subspecies and retain the use of Endrödi’s classification.

Based on our observations, we make some remarks on the variation we found within the material we studied of P. carinatus carinatus and P. carinatus declivis . Endrödi (1978, 1985) pointed out that P. c. carinatus was the Central America population that had a more developed pronotal tubercle on males, while P. c. declivis was the South American population with a less developed pronotal tubercle, as in the holotype. What we have found is that in South America, from north to south, there are also male specimens with a well developed pronotal tubercle (this character is only comparable between males, as all females have it clearly developed). More surprisingly, there are male specimens with no pronotal tubercle, which can be used as a dimorphic character easily diagnosable. The 16 males examined are all from French Guiana and neighboring regions Guyana and Suriname. Also, these specimens have a deep and sloping pronotal furrow, and this probably influenced Prell (1914) to describe P. declivis as a separate species. However, Prell’s specimen has a minute pronotal tubercle, removed from the anterior margin ( Fig. 9B, J View Figure 9 ), whereas the pronotum is high and the furrow corresponds to the ones from French Guiana, except for the small tubercle, also present in the only male we examined from Suriname ( Fig. 9C, F View Figure 9 ).

Phileurus carinatus declivis does not have the pronotal tubercle, or has it obsolete in a few specimens from Venezuela and Suriname ( Fig. 9B, J, C View Figure 9 ). The females in these cases always have the pronotal tubercle both slightly removed from or near the anterior pronotal margin, and this character seems to vary independently among the material we studied (11 females).

In specimens from both Suriname and Venezuela, the pronotum is high laterally, making the furrow deep, and the anterior declivity more sloping than in males where the pronotal tubercle is present. Those males lacking a tubercle also have the condition of a high pronotum as opposed to the remaining males. We also found that the parameres ( Fig. 3F View Figure 3 , 4F View Figure 4 , Fig. 6H, I View Figure 6 and 7F View Figure 7 , 9G, H View Figure 9 ) are slightly variable among the specimens and range from almost parallel to widely dilated in the apical third, and with apex somewhat truncate to elongate. All the females have the pronotal tubercle well developed, and this feature is not diagnosable among them. What we noticed is that the punctures can be used to separate the population from French Guiana and neighboring countries from the remaining ones. In particular, the pronotal punctures are stronger and more evident in P. c. carinatus females than in P. c. declivis ( Fig. 5A, B, D, H View Figure 5 and 8A, B, D, H View Figure 8 ); the ocular canthus is subquadrate in P. c. declivis , and rounded in P. c. carinatus ( Fig. 5 View Figure 5 and 6A, D View Figure 6 ); the elytra are more punctate in P. c. declivis than in P. c. carinatus , and is more conspicuous between the first and second striae from elytral suture ( Fig. 5F, 5G View Figure 5 , and 8F, 8G View Figure 8 ); lastly, the last abdominal sternite is more punctate in P. c. carinatus and more rounded distally ( Fig. 5C, E View Figure 5 ), as opposed to a somewhat more elongated and less punctate sternite in P. c. declivis females ( Fig. 8C, E View Figure 8 ).

Distribution. Type material examined. Holotype male, ZMHB, labeled ( Fig. 9B, E, G, H, J View Figure 9 ): a) typed label, “ Venezuela / San Fernando de Apure / L. Laglaize 5-10 1897 ”; b) red handwritten label, “ Phileurus / declivis / Prell male symbol-Type”; c) white red bordered typed and handwritten label, “ Holotypus / Phileurus / declivis Prell ”.

Additional material examined. Among the material we were able to study there was one NEW COUNTRY RECORD for Phileurus carinatus declivis as follows, and all the male specimens have no pronotal tubercle: GUYANA (3 specimens): Rio Demerara (2 males) ( MNHN) ; Georgetown, Demerara, (1 female) ( MNHN). Other male specimens with an unarmed pronotum were examined, and the females from the same localities were considered to be conspecific, as follows: FRENCH GUIANA (22 specimens): Montsinéry, Piste de S. Elie , PK 16, PL (1 male) ( EPGC) ; Patawa (1 male) ( EPGC) ; Route de Petit Saut, PK 9 (1 male and 1 female) ( FDC), (1 male) ( JPSC) ; Rivière Lunier (1 male) ( MNHN) ; Cayenne (1 male and 2 females) ( MNHN) ; Route de Regina, PK 62 (1 male) ( MNHN) ; PK 29 View Materials PL, Route de Kaw, (1 male) ( JPSC) ; Wayabo , (1 male and 1 female) ( JPSC) ; Piste Bélizon , PK15 (1 female) ( FDC) ; Piste de Kaw, PK 47 (1 female) ( FDC) ; Route de Kaw PK 37 + 3 PL (1 male) ( JPSC) ; Cacao (1 female) ( FDC) ; Saint-Jeandu-Maroni (1 female) ( MNHN) ; Piste Bélizon , PK23 (1 female) ( MNHN) ; Piste Coralie , PK2 (1 female) ( MNHN) ; French Guiana (1 male) ( IRSNB) ; Saint-Laurent du Maroni (1 male) ( IRSNB). SURINAME (1 specimen): Paramaribo, (1 male) ( HNHM) ( Fig. 9C, F View Figure 9 ) .

MNHN

Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle

FDC

Forsyth Dental Center

IRSNB

Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique

HNHM

Hungarian Natural History Museum (Termeszettudomanyi Muzeum)

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Coleoptera

Family

Dynastidae

Genus

Phileurus

Loc

Phileurus carinatus declivis Prell, 1914

Grossi, Paschoal Coelho & Saltin, Jochen-P. 2014
2014
Loc

Phileurus carinatus declivis Prell. Endrödi (1978: 106)

Endrodi, S. 1978: )
1978
Loc

Phileurus declivis

Prell, H. 1914: 222
1914
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