Macronotops sexmaculatus
Creators: name: Qiu, Jian-Yue
name: Xu, Hao
name: Chen, Li
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Scarabaeidae
Macronotops
Macronotops sexmaculatus

description: Macronotops sexmaculatus (Kraatz, 1894)
(Figs. 14–15, 37–38, 61–62, 92–93, 118, 130, 165–168, 217–218, 230–234, 258–259, 276–278)
Pleuronota sexmaculata Kraatz, 1894: 141 (type locality: Darjeeling, N. India)*; Schoch 1896: 37; Schenkling 1921: 144. Macronota sexmaculata (Kraatz): Arrow 1910: 47 (partim, specimens from Bhutan); Bourgoin 1916: 137 (remarks). Macronotops sexmaculata (Kraatz): Krikken 1977: 208 (partim); Krajčík 1998: 90; Smetana 2006: 307; Krajčík 2012: 152. Macronotops sexmaculatus (Kraatz): Bezděk 2016: 403.
Type material. Holotype labeled: (♀, MNHN, Figs. 230–234), Darjeeling (Watkins.) [pale yellow label] // unknown to me [pale yellow label] // 6-maculata Krtz. [pale yellow label] // Kraatz visit 1893. [pale yellow label] / / HOLOTYPE [red label] // HOLOTYPE, Pleuronota sexmaculata Kraatz, 1894 [white label] // MNHN / EC4377 [white label].
The female holotype originally belonged to Oberthür Collection, and now is deposited in MNHN. This species was originally described based on a female, and Arrow (1910) given the first description of male based on specimens from India and Bhutan. He claimed that no female was examined, but the label date of a male specimen in BMNH indicated the fact that he compared it with the female holotype.
Additional material examined (18♂♂, 6♀♀). CHINA: Xizang: 1♂ (QCCC), 30.VII.2014, Mêdog County, Guang-Lin XIE; 1♂ (QCCC), 7.VIII.2016, Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon Nature Reserve, Renqinbeng Temple, Mêdog County, Zhi-Lin CHEN; 1♂ (CCCC), 20.VIII.2016, Mêdog County, 1,526 m, Xiao-Dong YANG; 2♂♂ (QCCC), 18.VIII.2017, Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon Nature Reserve, Pêlung, Nyingchi County, 2,050 m, Shi- Wei GUO; 2♂♂, 1♀ (QCCC), 12.VIII.2017, Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon Nature Reserve, Pêlung, Nyingchi County, 2,050 m, Jian-Yue QIU & Hao XU. INDIA: 3♂♂, 1♀ (MNHN), British Bootan Padong, L. Durel 1913; 1♂ (MNHN), British Bootang L. Durel 1899; 1♂ (MNHN), British India Sikkim Lachen-Lachung VIII.1933; 1♀ (MNHN), Sikkim Lachen 1932 Chasseurs indigenes; 1♂ (BMNH), British Bootang Maria Basti 1899, Oberthur Coll. 1909-159 // Macronota 6-maculata Kr., Compared with type. G. J. A.; 1♂ (BMNH), British Bootang L. Durel 1899 // Bourgoin Coll. B. M. 1938-252; 1♂ (BMNH), British Bootang L. Durel 1899 // Pleuronota sexmaculata Kr. // Bourgoin Coll. B. M. 1938-252; 1♀ (BMNH), Environs de Kurseong, R. P. Bretaudeau, Oberthur Coll. 1909- 159; BHUTAN: 1♂ (MNHN), Bhutan // Pleuronota sexmaculata Kr. G. Ruter det. 1977 // Macronotops sexmaculata (Kraatz) J. –Ph. Legrand det. 2010; 1♂, 2♀♀ (MNHN), Bhutan; 1♂ (MNHN), Brit. Buthan Pankasary Hill 1932.
Redescription (male). General: Body length 17.0–18.5 mm; width 7.0–8.0 mm, widest at humeral umbone, gradually narrowed backward. Body dark brown to black. Surface with fulvous, reddish-brown, brown and light yellow setae, and yellow tomentous maculae. Head: Brown. Dorsal surface with dense, setiferous punctures; setae long, fulvous, and longer on frons. Anterior margin of clypeus nearly straight; anterior margin and clypeolateral ridge slightly raised. Frons with a slightly raised longitudinal ridge (Fig. 14). Maxillary palpus and labial palpus brown. Antenna yellowish-brown; antennal club very long, about twice length of antennomeres 2–7 combined; inner side of antennomere 8 with short, dense, fulvous setae (Fig. 14). Ventral surface clad with long, fulvous setae (Fig. 166). Pronotum: Dark brown. Widest at base, basomedian area depressed. Lateral margin curved; posterior margin distinctly protruded. Surface densely clad with long, fulvous and dark brown setae (Fig. 165). Scutellum: Dark brown to black, with sparse, light yellow setae. Elytron: Black; with posthumeral macula, lateral macula, and median macula, but without distal macula. Surface densely clad with long setae; setae longer between sutural and discolateral costae; setae light yellow on maculae; setae brown on lateral declivity; setae fulvous on the rest of elytron; humeral umbone glabrous (Fig. 165). Mesepimeron: black, with light yellow setae. Metepisternum and metepimeron: dark brown, with brown setae. Sternum: Black, preprosternum with sparse, setae on side. Mesosternum with sparse, light yellow setae. Mesometasternal process short, glabrous, black, apex rounded; mesometasternal suture depressed, with long, dense, fulvous setae. Metasternum with sparse, fulvous and brown setae; middle portion glabrous (Fig. 166). Pygidium: Dark brown. Surface with dense, fulvous and light yellow setae; a large, round, yellow macula in middle (Fig. 92). Abdomen: Reddish-brown to dark brown. With a longitudinal groove in median. Six abdominal sternites visible; ventral surface of sternites sparsely clad with yellow setae; setae on sternites II–V short, yellow, but longer on sides; setae near posterior margin of sternite VI long, dense, fulvous; sternite VII with sparse short setae on sides. Sternites II–V with a small yellow macula close to posterior margin on each side; surface densely clad with yellow and black setae in dorsal and lateral portion (Fig. 166). Legs: Slender, simple. Metacoxa black, with long, brown setae. Femora and tibia dark brown, with long, fulvous setae. Protibia with 3 sharp, large teeth, without tiny tooth (Fig. 37); mesotibia and metatibia with a spine near the middle of outer margin; metatibia with a row of brush-like, fulvous setae along inner margin (Fig. 165– 166); inner margin of metatibia convex in distal portion (Fig. 166); dorsal tooth of metatibia longer than basitarsus of metatarsus, outer tooth absent (Fig. 162). Tarsi reddish-brown; basitarsus of metatarsus with a cluster of dense, long setae (Fig. 162). Genitalia: Parameres broad, short; apex rounded, slightly expanded. Interparameral split wide; membrane almost absent. Median lobe wide at base, filiform apically; nearly equal to the length of paramere (Fig. 118).
Female. Body length 17.5–20.0 mm; width 7.5–9.0 mm. Except for sexual dimorphism characteristics of the genus, dorsal teeth of metatibia slightly larger (Fig. 62), setae on mesotibia and metatibia shorter (Figs. 167–168), and basitarsus of metatarsus with less setae (Fig. 62).
Variability. The yellow macula in the middle of elytra and on sternite III to VI are absent in some individuals (Fig. 166). Specimens from Brahmaputra Valley usually have more fulvous setae on the dorsal surface.
Differential diagnosis. Length of clypeus almost equal to width. Antenna yellowish-brown (Figs. 14–15); male antennal club very long (Fig. 14). Elytra dark brown, with posthumeral maculae, median maculae, and lateral maculae (Figs. 165, 167). Abdominal sternites II–V usually with a small, yellow macula on each side (Fig. 168); male abdomen with a longitudinal groove. Pygidium with a large, yellow macula (Figs. 92–93). Protibia without tiny tooth (Figs. 37–38); inner margin of metatibia convex in distal portion (Figs. 166, 168); dorsal tooth of male metatibia longer than basitarsus of metatarsus (Fig. 6 1); basitarsus of male metatarsus with a cluster of dense, long setae (Fig. 6 1).
This species highly resembles M. miksici new species, the differences are provided in differential diagnosis of M. miksici new species.
Distribution. China (new country record): Xizang; India; Bhutan.
Natural history. In the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, adults of M. sexmaculatus, M. curvimarginatus, and M. medogensis new species were observed flying around bushes in the sunshine after the rain and looked like large bees, and an adult of M. sexmaculatus was found feeding on the sap of bamboo (Fig. 278).
Remarks. Macronotops sexmaculatus was originally described based on a female specimen from Darjeeling (Kraatz 1894), where located in the south side of the Himalayas. After checking the holotype, Arrow (1910) provided a short description of male, and listed this species from Bhutan. Mikšić (1971) briefly commented most members of the genus Pleuronota sensu Mikšić (i.e. Macronotops), and figured parameres of M. sexmaculatus and his new species for comparison. This is the first time structures of the male genitalia of this genus to be figured (Fig. 250), and the figure of M. sexmaculatus was cited by Ma (1993, 1995) who erroneously recorded this species widely distributed in China (see remarks section of M. olivaceofuscus). After examining the parameres and external features, some individuals collected from southeastern Xizang are confirmed conspecific with the specimens of M. sexmaculatus from Sikkim and Bhutan. These specimens represented the first record of this species in China; the parameres, however, without membrane, are not identical to the figure in Mikšić (1971). Mikšić’s figure was actually drawn in accordance with a single male from Assam, India, and it unexpectedly matchs the parameres of several specimens we collected from Xima (Sima) in western Yunnan (Fig. 115). Moreover, an undissected male from Assam was examined in MFNB (Figs. 251–257) which bears the same external morphological characters. This fact revealed that a similar species is distributed in northeastern India and southwestern China, and here we named it as M. miksici new species; while M. sexmaculatus is only distributed along the south Himalayas region.
description: Published as part of Qiu, Jian-Yue, Xu, Hao & Chen, Li, 2019, A revision of the rare flower beetle genus Macronotops Krikken (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae) from Asia with biological notes, pp. 1-65 in Zootaxa 4556 (1) on pages 35-36, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4556.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/2585204