Plochionocerus splendens Blanchard 1842
Creators: name: Asiain, Julieta
name: Márquez, Juan
name: Morrone, Juan J.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2007
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Staphylinidae
Plochionocerus
Plochionocerus splendens

description: Plochionocerus splendens (Blanchard, 1842)
(Fig. 2)
Sterculia splendens Blanchard, 1842: 83; Herman, 2001: 3746 (Plochionocerus).
Sterculia fulgens Brullé, 1842: pl. 5, fig. 10 (non Fabricius, 1793); Blanchard, 1842: 83 (synonym of S. splendens). Sterculia discolor Sharp, 1876: 188; Bernhauer & Schubert, 1914: 315 (synonym of S. splendens).
Type material (5 specimens). Lectotype of Sterculia discolor by present designation, male: “ Ega /ɗ / S. America: Brazil. / Sharp Coll. 1905–313 / Sterculia discolor ind. Typ. D. S. Amazons Type / Lectotype Sterculia discolor Asiain, Márquez & Morrone des. 2007” (BMNH); Paralectotypes: “ Type / Ega / S. America: Brazil. / Sharp Coll. 1905–313 / Sterculia discolor Type D. S. / Syntype / Paralectotype Sterculia discolor Asiain, Márquez & Morrone des. 2007” (BMNH, Ψ); “ Ega / ɗ / S. America: Brazil. / idem fourth label / Sterculia discolor ind. Typ. D. S. Amazons syntype / Paralectotype Sterculia discolor Asiain, Márquez & Morrone des. 2007” (BMNH, ɗ); “Amazons / S. America: Brazil. / idem fourth label / Sterculia discolor ind. Typ. D. S. Amazons / syntype / Paralectotype Sterculia discolor Asiain, Márquez & Morrone des. 2007” (BMNH, ɗ); syntype / Amazons / S. America: Brazil. / idem third label / Sterculia discolor ind. Typ. D. S. Amazons / Paralectotype Sterculia discolor Asiain, Márquez & Morrone des. 2007” (BMNH, ɗ).
Additional material (49 specimens). ARGENTINA: Prov. Misiones, P.N. Iguazu, Sendero Macuco, 180 m, 23.XII.1990 – 6.I.1991, forest, S & J Peck, FIT (FMNH, 9ɗɗ, Ψ; CC-UAEH, Ψ). BOLIVIA: Rio Gongo, 450 m, Fassl (AMNH, Ψ; FMNH, Ψ); Coroico, 1800 m, X–XI.1906, Ganlopp (FMNH, 2ɗɗ); Yungas (IRSNB, 1?); no locality data (BMNH, ɗ; FMNH, ɗ). BRAZIL: S. America, Ega (FMNH, ɗ); no locality data, Chapada, XI (FMNH, 1?); Cuaba, Matto Grosso, Bang-Haas (FMNH, ɗ); Amazonas Ladonerika don- Schusler (FMNH, Ψ); no locality data, Amazons Nauta (FMNH, ɗ); no locality data, Bates (FMNH, 2ɗɗ); no locality data, Bowring (BMNH, ɗ); Ega (BMNH, 2ɗɗ; IRSNB, ɗ); Teffe, III.1925 (AMNH, 4ɗɗ); Teffe, X.1924 (AMNH, Ψ); Teffe, II.1924 (AMNH, Ψ); Goiaz, Jatal, XI.1972, F. M. Oliveira (AMNH, ɗ). PERU: Madre de Dios, Rio Amiguillos, small river flood plain, 260 m, fligth intercept trap, 12°22’25.4”S, 70°22’13.2”W, V.2000, T. Larsen (USNM, ɗ); Chanchamayo (CC-UAEH, ɗ); Chanchamayo, 1500 m, Heyne (FMNH, 1?); Chanchamayo, A. Heyne, Berlin-Wilm (FMNH, 1?); Marcapata (FMNH, ɗ); San Martín?, “Huallagas”, I–III.1984, L. E. Peña (FMNH, 2ɗɗ); Cuzco Dept., Consuelo, Manu rd km 165, 2.X.1982, ex leaf litter, L. E. Watrous & G. Mazurek (FMNH, 2ɗɗ); Chorumago, VII.1926, A. F. Porter (FMNH, ɗ); Madre de Dios, Cocha Cashu Bio. Stn., Manu Nacional Park, 350 m 11°53’45”S, 71°24’24”W, 18.X.2000, R. Brooks (SEMC, 2ɗɗ); Madre de Dios, Cocha Otorongo, Reserved Zone Manu Nacional Park, 310 m, 12°2’1”S, 71°11’18”W, 21.X.2000, R. Brooks (SEMC, ɗ); Middle Rio Ucayali, II.1926 (AMNH, Ψ, 2ɗɗ); Jan., Tingo Maria Huan., 2200 ft, XII.1947, J. C. Pallister (AMNH, ɗ); idem, except: 22.XI.1946 (AMNH, ɗ); idem, except: 28.V.1947 (AMNH, ɗ); idem, except 16.X.1946 (AMNH, ɗ); Rioja (Genou), Cumfral Perou (IRSNB, 1?).
Diagnosis. Total length 21.2–29.0 mm; head, pronotum and elytra metallic violet or blue, with green, blue or violet reflections; elytra darker than the rest; abdomen dorsally red, with golden, blue or violet reflections, ventrally green with blue reflections or vice versa; head rectangular (Fig. 2), 1.25–1.42 times as long as wide, slightly wider than pronotum (1.00–1.13 times), dorsally and ventrally flat (similar to Fig. 13), ventral surface with slightly dense, expanded, umbilicate punctures (10–19 in each half of head), arranged in “v” (Fig. 68); antennomere 9 shorter than antennomere 10 in males (0.84–0.90 times its length), apical antennomere in males conspicuously oblong (length/width: 1.81–1.83), almost as long as antennomeres 9+10 combined (0.95–1.06 times; Fig. 30); mandibles without or scarcely developed basal external channel; pronotum 1.44– 1.55 times as long as wide, shorter than elytra (0.77–0.83 times their length), with two clearly visible depressed areas in posterior third (Fig. 56); prosternum moderately transverse (length/width: 0.71–0.79; Fig. 68); aedeagus pear-shaped, length 4.40–6.36 mm, with parameres moderately long (0.25–0.34 times as long as median lobe), apical area of median lobe 0.24–0.33 times as long as the total length of median lobe, and internal sac moderately visible (Fig. 92).
Variation. This species presents variation in body color, which can be violet, blue or green on the head, pronotum and elytra; and red, violet and blue on the abdomen, and the ventral surface is always lighter. The apical antennomere in males is longer than in females; the external basal mandibular channel is poorly developed in some specimens (30%).
Comparative notes. The species is similar to P. i g n e u s in the color pattern of the abdomen; the main differences are noted in the Comparative notes of that species.
Geographical distribution. Argentina (first national record), Brazil, Peru, and Bolivia (Herman 2001).
description: Published as part of Asiain, Julieta, Márquez, Juan & Morrone, Juan J., 2007, Phylogenetic systematics of the genera Plochionocerus Dejean and Agrodes Nordmann (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Xantholinini), pp. 1-53 in Zootaxa 1584 on pages 33-36, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.178410