Physodactylus sulcatus Fleutiaux, J. Chassain 1940
Creators: name: Rosa, Simone Policena
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2014
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Elateridae
Physodactylus
Physodactylus sulcatus

description: Physodactylus sulcatus Fleutiaux, 1940   
 (Figs. 30, 33O, 35Q)   
 Physodactylus sulcatus Fleutiaux, 1940c: 165, 167; Blackwelder, 1944: 292; Chassain, 2005: 70.   
 Physodactylus obesus Fleutiaux, 1940c: 165, 167; Blackwelder, 1944: 292; Chassain, 2005: 70; syn. nov.   
 Physodactylus testaceus Fleutiaux, 1940c: 165, 167; Blackwelder, 1944: 292; Chassain, 2005: 68, 70; syn. nov.   
 Redescription (male, Fig. 35Q): Integument entirely bright or with elytral interstices dull; pilosity yellow; color patterns: 1) dark brown with prothorax orange; 2) head and elytra black, antenna, ventral pterothorax, legs and ventral abdomen dark brown, prothorax and epipleura orange, scutellum dark orange; 3) head, elytra, prosternum apically, ventral pterothorax and abdomen black, prothorax (except prosternum apically), epipleura and apical elytral suture light to dark orange, with or without an orange spot on base and apex of elytra, ventral abdomen evenly colored or with lateral borders lighter; 4) as the former but antenna orange and femur entirely or partly orange; 5) as pattern 3 but pronotal disc dark brown; 6) antenna, prothorax (except prosternum apically), elytra and epipleura brown, head, prosternum apically, ventral pterothorax and abdomen dark brown to black, legs dark brown with femur lighter. Total length 8.0-15.0 mm; elytral base 1.0-1.1x wider than prothorax, elytra 3.0-3.4x longer than pronotum. Frons concave to convex, frontal carina not or slightly produced; antenna (Fig. 30A) reaching or surpassing the anterior third of pronotum but not reaching its half length; antennomere IV 1.3-1.4x wider than long, V-X 1.6-1.86x wider than long, XI circular to oval 1.0-1.1x times as long as wide. Maxilla (Fig. 30B) with galea covered with fine and spiniform setae. Pronotum (Fig. 30D) convex 1.3-1.4x wider than long, parallel on posterior third then straight or roundly convergent to anterior margin; anteromedian margin slightly produced anteriad; posterior angles short, convex, parallel; lateral carina evenly prominent to anterior margin or weaker impressed to absent on anterior third; dorsally visible only on posterior third; disc with punctures medium homogenously distributed 0.5-1.0 diameters apart, smaller and denser on anterior margin, denser on lateral border; prosternal process without subapical tooth (Fig. 30E). Lamellae of pro- and mesotarsomeree I very small, minuscule or absent on metatarsomere I. Elytra parallel-sided on anterior 2/3 then tapering to apex; apex usually with a very small sutural spine; striae (Fig. 33O) deeply impressed, with three rows of punctures, punctures glabrous on the median row, smaller and bearing a small seta on the lateral row; interstices convex, smooth and glabrous; apical striae with punctures smaller than those of pronotal lateral border and as large as those of elytral base. Abdomen with ventrites 1-4 strongly and evenly convex, ventrite 2 evenly pilose with short decumbent setae, II-IV with mixed short decumbent and long semi-erect setae, longer setae denser on median region. Pregenitalic segments and aedeagus covered with stout yellow setae. Sternite VIII subrectangular, posterior margin straight, anterior sclerotization 0.6x the total width of sternite; sternite IX tapered to apex.   
 Aedeagus: Phallobase 0.5x the total length of aedeagus, 1.2x longer than wide, length ratio between lateroposterior and median parts 3.5-5.2; ventral surface of paramere with the lateral half and anterior margin sclerotized; penis with basal strut 0.2-0.3x its total length, articulated to the parameres by a strongly sclerotized process; ventral sclerite parallel-sided.   
 Holotype: [Jatahy, Goyas Brèsil], [Physodactylus sulcatus Fleut. COLLECTION FLEUTIAUX], [TYPE], [Muséum Paris, Coll. E. Fleutiaux], [Lectotype], [Physodactylus sulcatus Fleutiaux, J. Chassain det. 05], male (MNHN).   
 Material examined: BRAZIL. Mato Grosso: 10 exs. (MZUSP), 8 exs. (CNC), holotype of P. testaceus syn. nov. (MNHN). Mato Grosso do Sul: 1 ex. (MNHN); holotype of P. obesus syn. nov. (MNHN).   
 Distribution: BRAZIL. Mato Grosso: Cuiabá, Rosário Oeste, Sinop, Vera; Mato Grosso do Sul: Corumbá.   
 Remarks: Fleutiaux (1940c) described Physodactylus sulcatus, P. obesus and P. testaceus, each one based on a single specimen. He distinguished them by color pattern, integument brightness and size. However, the analysis of a larger series showed that the differences in those features are variations. Specimens from Vera (MT) exhibit all color patterns, including specimens with the same color (pattern 6) and size of P. testaceus holotype. Material examined from Sinop (MT) includes specimens as small as the P. sulcatus holotype (9 mm) and specimens as large as the P. obesus holotype (13 mm).
description: Published as part of Rosa, Simone Policena, 2014, Phylogenetic analysis and taxonomic revision of Physodactylinae (Coleoptera, Elateridae), pp. 217-292 in Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia (São Paulo) (São Paulo) 54 (18) on pages 278-279, DOI: 10.1590/0031-1049.2014.54.18, http://zenodo.org/record/12641367