Coptocephala perrisi Bezdċk & Regalin 2015, comb. nov.
Creators: name: Bezdċk, Jan
name: Regalin, Renato
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Chrysomelidae
Coptocephala
Coptocephala perrisi

description: Coptocephala perrisi (Desbrochers des Loges, 1870) comb. nov.
(Figs 9–10, 93–102)
Clythra (Titubaea) perrisi Desbrochers des Loges, 1870a: 79 (original description).
Coptocephala kerimii Fairmaire, 1875: 537 (original description), syn. nov.
Coptocephala bleusei Pic, 1897a: 84 (original description), syn. nov.
Coptocephala kerimi var. rubriceps Pic, 1916b: 10 (unavailable infrasubspeciħc name).
Coptocephala kerini [sic!] f. rubriceps Roubal, 1948: 34 (original description), syn. nov.
Coptocephala sexstigma Pic, 1918c: 17 (original description), syn. nov.
Coptocephala sexstigma var. impressiceps Pic, 1918c: 18 (unavailable infrasubspeciħc name).
Coptocephala holoxantha Peyerimhoff, 1949: 294 (original description), syn. nov.
Coptocephala schrammi Kocher, 1959: 70 (original description), syn. nov.
Type localities. Clythra perrisi: ‘E. Maghrnia’ [= Algeria: Maghnia]. Coptocephala kerimii: ‘Kéruan’ [= Tunisia, Kairouan]. Coptocephala bleusei: ‘ Algérie Sud: Aïn Sefra’. Coptocephala kerimi var. rubriceps: ‘ Algérie: Guet es Stel’. Coptocephala sexstigma: ‘ Algérie: Sidi-bel-Abbes’. Coptocephala sexstigma var. impressiceps: ‘ Syrie: Alep’ [patria falsa]. Coptocephala holoxantha: ‘ Maroc à Sefrou’. Coptocephala schrammi: ‘Région des Goundafa, dans le Grand-Atlas occidental: Aguersioual; Ijoukak’ [Morocco].
Type material examined. Clythra perrisi: LECTOTYPE (designated here): 1 ♂, ‘E. Maghrnia. [w, h] // Perrisi / Magh. Db. [w, h] // 27 / Db [pink label, p] // type [w, h] // Tituboea / Perrisi Dsb. [w, h] // LECTOTYPUS / Clythra (Titubaea) perrisi / Desbrochers des Loges, 1870 / des. J. Bezd Č k, 2015 [r, p]’ (MNHN – coll. Pic).
Coptocephala kerimii: HOLOTYPE: 1 ♂, ‘ Tunisia [p] / Kairoan / 11.VI [h] / Abdul Kerim 1873 [w, p] // Typus [red letters, w, p] // [small blank grey label] // Kerimii / Fairm.[w, h] // Coptocephala / kerimii / Typus!Fairm.[grey-green label, h] // Coptocephal. / Kerimii / n. sp. [w, h] // Museo Civico / di Genova [w, p]’ (MSNG).
Coptocephala kerimi var. rubriceps: 1 ♀, ‘ Guet es Stel / juin 93 [w, h] // type [w, h] // v. rubriceps / Pic [w, h] // TYPE [r, p]’ (MNHN – coll. Pic).
Coptocephala bleusei: SYNTYPES: 1 ♂, ‘AÏN-SEFRA / Mai-Juin 1896 / L. BLEUSE [w, p] // Coptocephala / Bleusei Pic [w, h] // TYPE [r, p]’ (MNHN – coll. Pic); 1 ♂ 1 ♀, ‘ AÏN-SEFRA / Mai-Juin 1896 / L. BLEUSE [w, p] // TYPE [r, p]’ (MNHN – coll. Pic); 1 ♀, ‘AÏN-SEFRA / Mai-Juin 1896 / L. BLEUSE [w, p] // C. pallidipes / Pic n sp [w, p] // Type [red letters, w, p]’ (MNHN – coll. Chobaut); 1 ♂, ‘AÏN-SEFRA / Mai-Juin 1896 / L. BLEUSE [w, p] // Coptocephala / Bleusei / Pic [w, h] // Coptocephala / pallidipes / Pic [reverse of previous label, w, h]’ (MNHN – coll. Chobaut); 3 ♂♂1 ♀, ‘AÏN-SEFRA / Mai-June 1896 / L. BLEUSE [w, p]’ (MNHN – coll. Chobaut).
Coptocephala sexstigma: SYNTYPE: 1 ♀, ‘ ALGERIE / Sidi-Bel-Abbés [w, p] // type [w, h] // sexstigma Pic [w, h] // TYPE [r, p]’ (MNHN – coll. Pic).
Coptocephala holoxantha: HOLOTYPE: 1 ♂, ‘ Sefrou 4.8.40 / H. Otin leg. [w, p] // Coptocephala / holoxantha / Peyerimhoff / TYPE uniq. [w, h] // Museum Paris [p] / C. holoxantha / Peyer. [w, h] // Museum Paris [p] / Coll. Peyer. [w, h]’ (MNHN – coll. generale, box ‘ Coptocephala pre-etude Rapilly’).
Coptocephala schrammi: SYNTYPE: 1 ♂, ‘Aguersioual [p] / 4.7.36 [h] / G. Schramm [w, p] // exemplaire / dessiné [w, p] // Schrammi [h] / Kocher det. [p] m. [h] / HOLOTYPE ♂ [w, h]’ (PJCP).
Original material of infrasubspeciħc entity. Coptocephala sexstigma var. impressiceps: 1 ♀, ‘ Syrie / Alep [w, h] // type [w, h] // C. sexstigma / impressiceps / Pic [w, h] // TYPE [r, p]’ (MNHN – coll. Pic).
Distribution. Algeria (DESBROCHERS DES LOGES 1870a; PIC 1897a, 1916b, 1918c), Morocco (PEYERIMHOFF 1949, KOCHER 1959), Tunisia (FAIRMAIRE 1875). Coptocephala sexstigma var. impressiceps described from Aleppo in Syria was evidently based on mislabelled specimen(s).
Comments. Coptocephala perrisi was originally described and until now classiħed in Tituboea. One male syntype was found in Pic ̓ s collection and proved to be a representative of Coptocephala. Comparison with type material of some other taxa revealed surprising new synonymies almost all supported by the morphology of the aedeagus. To prevent any future confusion we decided to designate the male syntype of C. perrisi as the lectotype. Coptocephala perrisi displays great variability in elytral pattern: elytra with two transverse black bands (C. kerimi var. rubriceps), elytra with bands reduced to large spots with irregular margins (C. kerimii, C. bleusei), each elytron with two small black spots (C. perrisi, C. sexstigma), dorsum without black pattern (C. holoxantha). The head varies from uniformly orange, black spots along interior margins of eyes, to vertex black. Also the aedeagus displays some variability in shape of the apex (apex with triangularly marked tip – Fig. 9, wide or almost rounded). Size of the black pattern seems to increase gradually from west to east. The specimens from western part of the range are without any black pattern or with reduced spots, while eastern populations have increased elytral pattern forming bands.
Two varieties, Coptocephala kerimi var. rubriceps and C. sexstigma var. impressiceps, were described in papers containing also description of subspecies (PIC 1916b, 1918c), thus became infrasubspeciħc according to Article 45.6.4 of the Code (ICZN 1999). The original specimens of both varieties are conspeciħc with Coptocephala perrisi. However, the description of var. rubriceps was repeated by ROUBAL (1948) who validated it with new authorship.
Coptocephala perrisi is similar to C. sefrensis Pic, 1897. Both species share large orange head usually with variable black pattern on vertex but differ in the structure of aedeagus (Figs 9, 11) and the shape of the black spots on elytra. All identiħed specimens of C. sefrensis have constant two spots on each elytron, one smaller is always on humeral callus, while C. perrisi have black elytral pattern very variable (see above), however, anterior spot covers humeral callus only in extremely dark specimens (Fig. 93); usually the anterior spot is somewhat reduced and placed closer to scutellum (Figs 95, 98, 101).
description: Published as part of Bezdċk, Jan & Regalin, Renato, 2015, Identity of species-group taxa of the Western Palaearctic Clytrini (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) described by Maurice Pic and Louis Kocher, pp. 1-114 in Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae (suppl.) (suppl.) 55 on pages 20-21, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.4272771