Pheropsophus scythropus Andrewes 1923
Creators: name: Venugopal, Akhil S.
name: Thomas, Sabu K.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Carabidae
Pheropsophus
Pheropsophus scythropus

description: Pheropsophus scythropus ANDREWES, 1923
(Fig. 2 G, 2 H)
= Pheropsophus melancholicus CHAUDOIR,1876 (non Schm. Goeb.)
Ssp. Pheropsophus scythropus dissolutus ANDREWES, 1923
Pheropsophus scythropus Andrewes, 1923b: 221; 1930: 275; Jedlička, 1963: 526; Saha and Halder, 2000: 34; Kirschenhofer, 2010: 60; Hrdlička, 2017: 480.
Pheropsophus melancholicus Chaudoir, (non Schm. Goeb.) 1876: 20; Andrewes, 1923a: 40; 1930: 275.
Ssp. Pheropsophus scythropus dissolutus Andrewes, 1923b: 222; 1930: 276; Hrdlička, 2017: 480.
Specimens examined (n=2): Holotype, labelled “Gopaldhara, Darjeeling. 3,440–4720 ft., 21.XII.1917, H.Stevens, H.E.Andrewes Coll. B.M. 1945–97 ”, type in BMNH;
Other specimens examined: 1ex., labelled “ Laos: La Casade, 5.I.1918, R.V.de Salvaza, 30Kilm. From Xieng Khonang; ‘Co-type’, H.E. Andrewes Coll. B.M. 1945–97, ‘Lectotype’ Pheropsophus dissolutus Andrewes 1923, det. Jan Hrdlička ”
Description. Length: 12.0–16.0 mm long; TW: 4.5–5.2
Colour: Black to brownish black; head in front of eyes and beneath, epipleurae (at base), apical margin of elytra, prosternal process, metasternum, palpi, and antennae (darker towards apex) testaceous yellow.
Head: Convex, smooth, wrinkled behind and generally with two or three large punctures near eye, frontal foveae shallow, a small rounded depression on inner margin of eye, eyes moderately prominent, antennae long and thick, reaching beyond middle of elytra.
Pronotum: Convex, as wide as head, and a little longer than wide, sides gently rounded in front and sinuate behind, hind angles right and sharp, projecting faintly laterally; median line shallow, deeper behind at its junction with the clearly marked transverse impression; surface smooth with a few small punctures at sides of base.
Elytra: Convex, wider than pronotum, humerus obliterate, apical truncature with a very distinct re-entrant angle at suture; striations rather narrow, smooth, the outer ones finer, eighth not reaching apex, intervals between the costae finely aciculate.
Geographical distribution. INDIA: Sikkim: Gopaldhara (Andrewes 1923b); Assam (Kirschenhofer 2010); Bengal: Kurseong (Andrewes 1923b), Pashok (Andrewes 1923b), Mungphu (Andrewes 1923b); Meghalaya: Shillong (Andrewes 1923b), Khasi Hills (Andrewes 1923b); CHINA: Tibet: Pedong (Andrewes 1923b); BHUTAN: Maria Basti (Andrewes 1923b).
P. scythropus dissolutus LAOS: Ban Sai, Pang Bo and ‘La Cascade’’ near Xieng Khonang (Hrdlička 2017). Remarks. Pheropsophus scythropus is evidently allied to P. aptinoides, a much larger insect, but differs by having black head, elongated, glossy, more convex pronotum and apex of femur without black spot. Endemic to Eastern Himalaya hotspot of biodiversity.
description: Published as part of Venugopal, Akhil S. & Thomas, Sabu K., 2019, Bombardier beetles of the genus Pheropsophus Solier 1833 (Carabidae: Brachininae: Brachinini) from Indian subcontinent, pp. 65-89 in Zootaxa 4608 (1) on pages 80-81, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4608.1.3, http://zenodo.org/record/3993611