Liogenys grandis Philippi and Philippi 1864
Creators: name: Cherman, Mariana A.
name: Basílio, Daniel S.
name: Clarkson, Bruno
name: Mondaca, José
name: Bezděk, Aleš
name: Smith, Andrew B. T.
name: Almeida, Lúcia M.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Scarabaeidae
Liogenys
Liogenys grandis

description: Liogenys grandis Philippi and Philippi, 1864
(Figs 9A–H, 16C)
Liogenys grandis Philippi and Philippi 1864: 322 (original description); Philippi 1887: 689 (catalogue); Dalla Torre, 1913: 318 (catalogue); Blackwelder 1944: 227 (catalogue); Gutiérrez 1949: 19 (natural history); Gutiérrez 1951: 133 138 (key, redescription); Evans 2003: 210 (catalogue); Evans and Smith 2009: 178 (catalogue); Krajčík 2012: 145 (catalogue); Cherman et al. 2017: 4 (revision).
Type material examined: Liogenys grandis ♀ lectotype here designated (MNNC): [white typeset] ‘1091’, [white, outlined in red] ‘ LECTOTYPE / Liogenys grandis / Philippi and Philippi, 1864 / Des. Cherman M. A. ’.
Non-type material examined: CHILE. Without locality and data, Reed leg., 1♀ and 1♂ (BMNH); Coquimbo: Hacienda Illapel, 01-06.XI.1 954 600–1000 m, L. Peña leg., 1♂ (CMNC); Illapel (5 mi. N), 30.XI.1950, Ross and Michelbacher leg., 1♂ (CASC); Limari, Socos, 30º44 ʹ S 71º31 ʹ W, 15.XI.2 003 200 m, Pizarro Araya leg., 1♀ (MNNC); La Serena, Colina el pino, 28.XI.1992, M. Elgueta leg., 1♀ (MNNC). Valparaíso: Aconcagua, Cerro Piedra del Gaucho, 20-21.II.1981, M. Elgueta leg., 4♀ and 4♂ (MNNC). Región Metropolitana de Santiago: Santiago, San Cristobal, without date, Montes leg., 1♀ (UMCE); San Alfonso, 8.I.1984, G. Arriagada leg., 2♀ and 5♂ (MNNC); El Arrayán, 1.XI–31.XII.1963, L. E. Peña leg., 17♀ and 13♂; 13.II.1963, 4♀ (FMNH); 13.II.1964, 3♂ (CASC); Cordillera, 6 km E El Volcán, 25.I.1981, M. Elgueta leg., 1♂ (MNNC); Cordillera de Santiago, Lagunillas, 32º51.3 ʹ S 71º29.6 ʹ W, 28.XII.2012, 2040 m, T. Fichet leg., DNA barcode vouchers MAC010 and LSBC39 (dry specimen), 1♂ (MEUC); 26.I.2018, V. M. Diéguez leg., DNA barcode vouchers MAC033 and LSBC61 (fresh specimen), 1♀ (JMEC); 16.III.1977, 2200 m, without collector, 1♂ (FMNH); La obra, 1–30.XI.1951, without collector, 1♀ (FMNH); 1♀ (CMNC); El Maurino, 26.XII.1993, J. Mondaca leg., 1♀ (JMEC); El Canelo, without data and collector, 1♀ and 1♂ (BMNH); 29.XII.1950, L. E. Peña leg., 1♂ (FMNH); 20.XII.1944, R. Gutiérrez leg., 1♂ (CMNC); XI.1948, Gutiérrez leg., 2♂ (NHMB); XII.1946, without collector, 1♀ (MNNC); El Alfalfal, 25.I.1968, J. Moroni leg., 1♀ (MNNC); Guayacán, XII.1946, without collector, 1♀ (MNNC); Valle Ramón, 11.XII.1955, without collector, 1♀ (MNNC); Maipo, Río Colorado, 30.X.1981, 1000 m, L. E. Peña leg., 3♂ (FMNH); 1.XI.1981, 1♂ (LEMQ). O’Higgins: Cachapoal, Reserva Nacional Río Cipreses, 7.XII.1997, J. Mondaca leg., 1♀ and 1♂ (JMEC); Rancagua, Pangal, Las Cayanas, II.2001, Lobos leg., DNA barcode vouchers MAC011 and LSBC40 (dry specimen), 1♀ (DZUP); 1–31.VII.1930, without collector, 1♀ (CASC).
Diagnosis: Length: 17.1–18.8 mm; width 9.1–9.8 mm. Body elongate, dark reddish brown, semi-opaque, head and pronotum equal in colour to the elytra (Fig. 9A); clypeal emargination shallow, rounded, and wide; lateral edge straight or slightly concave; elytra with bristles predominantly long, sparse and disposed randomly (Fig. 6B), in females more abundant; mesotibia with two transverse carina, the apical complete; abdomen clothed with abundant scales beneath the elytra (Fig. 9C); pygidium flat, longer than it is wide, subquadrate, in females even longer and subrounded; disc bristled throughout, bristles short, decumbent on disc, longer towards apex (Fig. 9D); female metatibia with transversal carina forming a ring, with a short gap medially (Fig. 6F); male metatibia with transverse carina present only posteriorly, inner edge of metatibia carinate towards the apex, anterior corner of apex rounded; expanded from subapical portion (Fig. 9E); protarsomere 2 elongate; parameres broader at the base and gradually narrower towards the apex; in length almost three times the length of the apex, inner margins straight; apex spatulate (Fig. 9F, G).
Type locality: CHILE, Illapel, Santa Rosa [Salamanca, Choapa].
Geographical distribution: CHILE. Coquimbo (Choapa, Limarí); Valparaíso (S. F. de Aconcagua); Región Metropolitana de Santiago (Santiago, Cordillera, Maipo); O’Higgins (Cachapoal).
Remarks: Liogenys grandis shares with L. hirta the bristled elytra, the shape of clypeus, and some specimens are even similar in size. Liogenys grandis differs from L. hirta (in parenthesis) in the body colour reddish or purplish brown, elytra unicoloured with pronotum, semi-opaque (dark purple or black, head and pronotum sometimes not unicoloured with elytra, semi-opaque, or shiny); long bristles on elytra, randomly disposed (generally more abundant along the sides of each ridge, forming rows); males with inner edge of metatibia in general expanded from subapical portion towards the apex, and rounded at apex (inner edge of metatibia straight and angled at apex); female transverse carina of metatibia interrupted medially, gap variable in width (transverse carina not interrupted); and in the parameres enlarged at the split level, with apex spatulate, length of apex onethird the length of parameres afer the split (wider at the basal portion, apex spatulate or harpoon like, length of apex one-fifh the length of parameres afer the split). Te species distribution is updated here, extended to the northern Chile, where becomes sympatric with L. elguetai. Both are species with large body size and equal in colour so they could be mistaken, if not taking account the elytra abundantly bristled of L. grandis, which is glabrous in L. elguetai.
In the description, Philippi (1864) mentioned only the male mesotarsi enlarged, but we verified that both pro- and mesotarsi are enlarged. Tis author also mentioned five syntypes, which should be at MNNC. We did not find specimens bearing Philippi’s labels at the main collection of MNNC or either in other collections housing specimens exchanged by Philippi, like NMPC (Prague). However, one female was found among the specimens from Philippi’s original collection housed at MNNC, apart from the main collection, bearing only a label with number, no further information or label of provenance. Nevertheless, given that this specimen is from Phillipi’s original collection, and to give stability to the application of the name, we decided to designate this syntype as the lectotype of L. grandis (Fig. 9B).
description: Published as part of Cherman, Mariana A., Basílio, Daniel S., Clarkson, Bruno, Mondaca, José, Bezděk, Aleš, Smith, Andrew B. T. & Almeida, Lúcia M., 2025, Taxonomic revision of Chilean Liogenys (Coleoptera: Melolonthidae) and molecular assessment of a species complex, pp. 1-38 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society (zlae 147) (zlae 147) 203 (1) on page 19, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlae147