Epicauta (Epicauta) obscurocephala Reitter (HNHM 1905
Creators: name: Pan, Zhao
name: Ren, Guo-Dong
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Meloidae
Epicauta
Epicauta obscurocephala

description: Epicauta (Epicauta) obscurocephala Reitter, 1905
Epicauta obscurocephala Reitter, 1905: 195. Type locality: “Tientsin” (= Tianjin, China). Type depository: HNHM.
Epicauta xantusi Kaszab, 1952a: 592. Type locality: “ Shanghai, China ”. Type depository: HNHM, MGFT, ZMHB. syn. nov.
Epicauta xantusi ab. unicolora Kaszab, 1952a: 594 (unavailable name; homonym). Type locality: “ Kansu, Hweisin, China ” (= Hui County, Gansu, China). Type depository: HNHM.
Epicauta xantusi ab. unicoloroides Kaszab, 1958b: 189 (unavailable name; replacement name).
Type material examined. Epicauta obscurocephala: Holotype: ♀, “ China Tientsin ”, “ obscurocephala sp. Tientsin”, “ Holotypus // 1905 ♀ // Epicauta obscurocephala Reitter ” (HNHM; Fig. 13).
Epicauta xantusi: Holotype: ♂, “ China, Shanghai // J. Xántus ”,“ Holotypus // 1952 // ♂ // Epicauta Xantusi Kaszab ” (HNHM; Fig. 14). Paratypes: 1 ♀, “ China, Shanghai // Xántus J.”, “2”, “305/918”, “ Allotypus // 1952 // ♀ // Epicauta Xantusi Kaszab ” (HNHM); 1 ♂, “ China, Shanghai // J. Xántus ”, “ Paratypus // 1952 // ♂ // Epicauta Xantusi Kaszab ” (HNHM).
Epicauta xantusi ab. unicolora: Holotype: ♂, “ Hweisin // Kansu ”, “ Holotypus // 1952 // Epicauta xantusi ab. unicolora Kaszab ” (HNHM; Fig. 15).
Other material examined from China. HEBEI: 1 ex., Anxin, Dazhangzhuang, 2012.VIII.2, Peng Jidong & Wang Nanning leg. (MHBUa); 4 exx., Yi County, Yangguzhuang, 1981.VII, Xu Shao leg. (MHBU); 1 ex., Huan-ghua, 2004.VI.24, Shi Fuming leg. (MHBU); 1 ex., Mt. Xiaowutai, 2001.VII.6 (MHBU); 6 exx., Yu County, Mt. Xiaowutai, 2006.VII.7–10, Mao Benyong & Shi Fuming leg. (MHBU); 8 exx., Yu County, Mt. Xiaowutai, 2008. VII.6–17, Li Yalin leg. (MHBU); 123 exx., Yu County, Jinhekou, 2005.VII.10–16, Li Jing & Wang Fengyan leg. (1 cMAB; 122 MHBU); 15 exx., Mt. Xiaowutai, Jinhekou, 2006.VII.7–11 (MHBU). SHANXI: 21 exx., Datong, Yungang, 2010.VIII.20, Ren Guodong et al. leg. (MHBU); 1 ex., E Yangquan (N37°53.655’ E113°35.783’, Elev. 721 m), 2012.VII.18, Niu Yiping & Sun Xiaojie leg. (MHBUa); 2 exx., Zuoyun, Santun (N40°10.157’ E112°41.647’, Elev. 1567 m), 2012.VII.22, Niu Yiping & Sun Xiaojie leg. (1 MHBU;1 MHBUa). INNER MONGOLIA: 1 ex., Darhan Muminggan, Baiyan Hua, 2004.VII.13–15, Du Zhigang & Liu Haoyu leg. (MHBU); 1 ex., Liangcheng, 2006. VII.17, Ren Guodong & Ba Yibin leg. (MHBU); 1 ex., Chahar Right Back Banner, Baiyin Chagan (N41°26.683’ E113°17.490’, Elev. 1480 m), 2012.VII.23, Niu Yiping & Sun Xiaojie leg. (MHBUa); 2 exx., Ulanqab, Chang-hanliang (N40°46.982’ E112°49.278’, Elev. 1663 m), 2012.VII.23, Ba Yibin & Niu Yiping leg. (MHBUa); 1 ex., Hinggan League, Jalaid Banner, Tumuji National Natural Reserve (N46°17.632’ E123°1.036’, Elev. 128 m), 2014. VII.23, Pan Zhao et al. leg. (MHBUa). LIAONING: 2 exx., 1983.VI.1, Ren Guodong leg. (MHBU). JILIN: 1 ex., Tongyu, Mt. Xinglong (N44°47.473’ E112°28.883’, Elev. 152 m), 2012.VII.29, Ba Yibin & Niu Yiping leg. (MH-BUa); 212 exx., Changling, Taipingchuan (N44°26.027’ E123°15.098’, Elev. 156 m), 2012.VII.30, Ba Yibin & Niu Yiping leg. (205 MHBU; 7 MHBUa). SHAANXI: 2 exx., Qingjian, 2002.VIII.10, Wang Wenqiang leg. (MHBU). QINGHAI: 7 exx., Jainca, Yangjiang (N35°51.519’ E102°03.937 ’, Elev. 2081 m), 2012.VIII.2, Ren Guodong et al. leg. (MHBU). NINGXIA: 8 exx., Pingluo, 1989.VII.30 (MHBU); 10 exx., Pingluo, Nuanquan (N38°49.179’ E106°10.725’, Elev. 1135 m), 2010.VII.22, Wang Xinpu & Pan Zhao leg. (MHBUa).
Distribution. China: Beijing, Gansu, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Jiangsu, Jilin (new record), Liaoning, Ningxia, Qinghai (new record), Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanghai, Shanxi, Sichuan, Tianjin, Zhejiang.
Remarks. The type locality of Epicauta xantusi ab. unicolora Kaszab, 1952 is “Hweisin, Kansu ”. Růžička et al. (2002) indicated this locality was Hua Xian, and gave its longitude and latitude, ca. 33°46´N 106°04´E. How-ever, no county is named Hua in Gansu Province. We searched the longitude and latitude, and found this locality is placed in the Hui County (= Huxian, in Chinese) of Longnan City, Ganus, which has a similar pronunciation to “Hweinsin”. Therefore, we considered the correct name of the type locality as Hui County.
E. xantusi Kaszab, 1952 could be distinguished from E. obscurocephala by their red temples, according to its original description (Kaszab 1952a). Based on the examination of the type specimens of these two species, we confirm Kaszab’s point of view. However, after the study of more than 400 specimens (MHBU), we found that the red portion of temples varies greatly. Especially, in a few cases, the temples have only a very small brown spot, which are almost invisible. Meanwhile, as in the case of E. sibirica (Pallas, 1773), we conclude that this feature is not useful to determine species in Epicauta (Liu et al. 2016). In conclusion, E. xantusi is synonymized with E. obscurocephala.
description: Published as part of Pan, Zhao & Ren, Guo-Dong, 2020, New synonyms, combinations and status in the Chinese species of the family Meloidae Gyllenhal, 1810 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionoidea) with additional faunistic records, pp. 260-286 in Zootaxa 4820 (2) on pages 270-271, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4820.2.3, http://zenodo.org/record/4397628