Cosmiomorpha (Cosmiomorpha) sauteri Bourgoin 1931
Creators: name: Qiu, Jian-Yue
name: Xu, Hao
name: Hu, Chun-Lin
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2013
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Cetoniidae
Cosmiomorpha
Cosmiomorpha sauteri

description: Cosmiomorpha (Cosmiomorpha) sauteri Bourgoin, 1931
(Figs. 10, 25–26, 39–40, 52–53, 66–67, 126–132, 153, 160, 167)
Cosmiomorpha sauteri Bourgoin, 1931: 45 (type locality: “Kosempo (Formosa)”); Mikšić 1977: 365, plate 6, fig. 2 ♂; Masumoto & Sakai 1988: 116, figs. 1 ♂, 2 ♀; Krajčik, 1998: 19; Sakai & Nagai 1998: 235, plate 60, figs. 672-1– 2 ♂, 672- 3 ♀; Yu et al. 1998: 95, plate 3, figs. 1a–g ♂, 1h–j ♀; Smetana 2006: 301.
Male. TL: 21.5–25.0 mm, TW: 11.0–12.5 mm. Body usually brown or black (Figs. 126–129). Body highly similar to C. decliva but dorsal surface brighter; scales much sparser and smaller; protibia slenderer; the deflexed tooth indistinct (Figs. 52–53); the middle and proximal teeth on outer margin usually reduced or absent (Figs. 39–40). Mesometasternal process long with a constriction in the middle, apex truncated (Fig. 10). Parameres very similar to C. decliva (Fig. 153).
Female. TL: 21.0–21.5 mm, TW: 10.0–10.5 mm. Color similar to male (Figs. 130–132). Clypeus shorter, subrectangular. Mesometasternal process short and oval. Legs shorter, protibia with three large teeth on outer margin.
Variation. In both sexes, there are three general color forms: 1) a single color, e.g., entirely brown, dark orange, reddish brown, black, or some intermediate color (Figs. 126, 128, 130, 132); 2) two or more colors, usually the pronotum is black and the elytra are brown; 3) has two or three markings on pronotum similar to C. decliva (Fig. 129). Scales on dorsal surface vary in size (Figs. 66–67).
Material examined. CHINA: Taiwan: 3♂♂, 2♀♀ (QCCC), 27.VII.2005, Mamei, Jianshi, Hsinchu County, alt. 1400 m, Chang-Chin Chen leg.
Distribution. China: Taiwan.
Remarks. This species was originally described by Bourgoin (1931) based on a single female from Taiwan. The holotype (automatically fixed by monotypy) was not found in BMNH. The type locality is “ Formosa, Kosempo ” (now Jiaxian, Kaohsiung), other localities, such as Taoyuan County, Hualien County, and Nantou County were recorded by Masumoto & Sakai (1988) and Yu et al. (1988).
This species is probably the most variable of this subgenus (Sakai & Nagai, 1988; Yu et al. 1988). The third color form mentioned above is very similar to C.decliva, and it is difficult to distinguish between them, unless the specimen’s locality is known, C. sauteri is endemic to Taiwan while C. decliva is distributed in mainland China and northern Vietnam. However, a pair of C. decliva collected from Fuzhou (closest to Taiwan), are interesting (Figs. 93–95). Although the male is of large size, the deflexed tooth (Fig. 51) is short with two tips, just like some individuals of C. sauteri (Fig. 53). The large dark area on the pronotal disc typical of C. decliva from other regions is much more diffuse and nearly absent in these specimens. Furthermore, the scales are much smaller on the dorsal surface in this pair (Fig. 65), the same as in C. sauteri (Fig. 67). Due to these similar characters, it is possible that C. sauteri should be considered a subspecies or merely a synonym of C. decliva. To verify this hypothesis, the holotype of C. sauteri and more specimens need to be examined.
description: Published as part of Qiu, Jian-Yue, Xu, Hao & Hu, Chun-Lin, 2013, Revision of the subgenus Cosmiomorpha (Cosmiomorpha) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae), pp. 401-434 in Zootaxa 3745 (4) on pages 416-417, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3745.4.1, http://zenodo.org/record/247366