Eupatorus pyros Prandi & Grossi 2021, new species
Creators: name: Prandi, Massimo
name: Grossi, Paschoal C.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Dynastidae
Eupatorus
Eupatorus pyros

description: Eupatorus pyros Prandi & Grossi, new species
Figs 1A, C; 2A; 3A.
Type locality: Liupanshui City, Mt. Jiu Cai Ping, Guizhou, China
Type material (3 males). Holotype, dissected male (CERPE), labelled as follows: a) white typed label, “ Liupanshui City, Mt. Jiu Cai Ping, IV.2009, Guizhou, China, Gerhard Pross”; b) white typed label “Everardo & Paschoal C. Grossi coll.”; c) white typed label, “sp. nova?”; d) red typed label, “ Eupatorus pyros sp. nov. Prandi & Grossi 2021”. Paratypes, two dissected males (EPGC and MPC) with the same locality data as the holotype, and with yellow paratype label. Labels numbered, with a signature of the authors.
Description of the holotype
Measurements. L: 51.2 mm; TL: 51.4 mm; PL: 17.0 mm; PW: 20.3 mm; EL: 30.9 mm; EW: 25.9 mm; CL: 19.3 mm; TH: 7.3 mm; TW: 5.3 mm; TT: 2.2 mm. Color. Uniformly reddish-chestnut, scarcely shining, dark-chestnut only on cephalic and thoracic horns. Head, apex of pronotal horns, sutural stria of elytra shiny dark-chestnut as legs. Head. Cephalic horn long and projecting upwards in frontal view. In dorsal view, broader at base, gradually narrowed towards the sharp apex. In lateral view sinuous, S-shaped, convex from base to mid-length for an extension of 8 mm; concave at the middle for about 6 mm, then convex again to apex for 5 mm. Apex distinctly acute, and slightly directed backwards. Sides bordered with an evident rim from the base to the middle of the first section, defining a semi-triangular area; internally at the area with a distinct roughly, punctate-rugose pattern. Clypeus. Anterior margin bidentate, lateral angles bearing one robust tooth directed forwards. Mandibles. Width 5.8 mm, with sides upcurved. Antennae. Antennal club in dorsal view with a 2.4 mm width. Pronotum. Glabrous, smooth, reddish-chestnut, weakly shining. Anterior angles are sharply projected, sides parallel and directed forwards. Pronotal disc with a pair of spatulate horns, concave on anterior face, and convex on posterior face, dark-chestnut, internal margins almost touching each other. Scutellum. Subtriangular, with rounded angles, 4.4 mm long, 4.3 mm wide, coarsely punctate, lateral edges smooth. Elytra. Glabrous, reddish-chestnut, poorly shining, except for darker shiny punctuation around scutellum and elytral suture. EL/EW ratio 1.2. Elytra in lateral view not bulging, with a flat feature declining towards apex. L/EL ratio 1.7. Abdomen. Sternites with a glabrous area in the middle, sides of sternites covered with very fine, short, reddish pilosity. Legs. Fore tibia almost straight, inner margin slightly dilated inwards at apex, 13.1 mm in length. Anterior edge rounded inwards, just over first tarsomere. External sides of anterior tibiae with three teeth, subapical tooth longer than basal and apical; teeth sharp, triangular, pointing backwards. Inner apical spur curved downwards, shorter than basal tooth. Fore tarsus 11.8 mm long. Mesotibiae and metatibiae with many lateral sharp teeth, evolving in sharp spinae at tibial apex. Presence of sparse reddish pilosity, very reduced on fore tibiae. Aedeagus. In frontal view thin, subrectangular, reddish-brown, with parameres elongate and narrow. In lateral view equally slim, with a small phallobase (Figs 6A–B).
Female. Unknown.
Paratypes variation. Overall morphology very uniform. Proportionally to body, only slight variations.
Measurements. L: 47.6–51.2 mm; TL: 50.1–51.4 mm; PL: 17.0– 17.2 mm; PW: 20.3–20.4 mm; EL: 30.1–30.9 mm; EW: 24.9–25.9 mm; CL: 19.3–21.4 mm; TH: 7.3–7.7 mm; TW: 5.3–6.3 mm; TT: 2.1–2.2 mm.
Etymology. From the Ancient Greek word pyrós, which means fire, because of the particular shape of the horn that resembles the winding of a flame. Noun in apposition.
Differential diagnosis. The peculiar “sinusoidal” shape of the cephalic horn is the most substantial character to separate E. pyros new species from E. birmanicus, where the horn is uniformly curved backwards. Furthermore, the shape and size of the thoracic horns in E. pyros new species prevents its misidentification with major males of E. birmanicus. In fact, height, width and thickness of thoracic horns are significantly lower in E. pyros new species. Measurements are clear: in a comparison with 15 specimens of E. birmanicus with the same L and EW as the holotype, the average length of thoracic horns measured from the upper middle of pronotum is of 10.9 mm for E. birmanicus against 7.49 mm for E. pyros (+45.5%); the average width is of 8.0 mm for E. birmanicus against 5.8 mm for E. pyros (+38%); the average thickness is 3.12 mm for E. birmanicus against 2.0 for E. pyros (+56%). Even the color proves the difference: E. pyros new species has a lighter overall color, and never shows a total-black pronotum as it happens in many specimens of E. birmanicus. See Table 1 for a detailed comparison of major males of E. pyros new species and E. birmanicus.
description: Published as part of Prandi, Massimo & Grossi, Paschoal C., 2021, A new species of Eupatorus Burmeister, 1847 related to Eupatorus birmanicus Arrow, 1908 from southwestern China (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae), pp. 29-40 in Zootaxa 4966 (1) on pages 31-33, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4966.1.3, http://zenodo.org/record/4729369