Scirtes axillaris Motschulsky 1863
Creators: name: Ruta, Rafał
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2009
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Scirtidae
Scirtes
Scirtes axillaris

description: Scirtes axillaris Motschulsky, 1863: 484
(Figs. 11, 56–59)
Type material. Lectotype (present designation), male: [small round yellow label]; “ Type ” [small rectangular label, handwritten]; [rectangular red label]; “ Scirtes / axillaris / Motsch / Ind. or. Ceyl. Mt. Pat” [rectangular yellow label, handwritten]; deposited in ZMUM. Paralectotype (present designation), male: “ Scirtes / axillaris / Motsch / Ind. or. Ceyl. Mt. Pat” [rectangular yellow label, handwritten (reproduced)]; deposited in ZMUM.
Note. Three specimens were originally glued on the same cardboard, one of the specimens belongs, in fact, to Hydrocyphon rufithorax (Gemminger).
Diagnosis. A small, bicoloured species. Certain identification possible on the basis of male genitalia, with Redescription. Holotype, male. Measurements: TL 1.75, EW 1.15, EL 1.50, PW 0.80, PL 0.30, HW 0.50, HL 0.30, interocular space 0.40, greatest depth of body 0.55.
Body small, oval, somewhat depressed, covered with brown setae. Head, elytra and ventrum brown, pronotum yellow, antennomeres 1–3 yellow, remaining brown, legs yellowish with darkened femora. Epipleura yellow in basal half, darkened apically. Body length 1.5X width.
Head width 1.7X length, 1.3X width of interocular space, with fine punctation, eyes relatively large, slightly protuberant. Antennae filiform, antennomere 1 and 2 subcylindrical, relatively broad, antennomere 3 narrower and shortest; length ratios of antennomeres 1.5: 1.5: 1.0: 2.0: 2.0: 1.5: 1.5: 1.5: 1.5: 1.5: 2.0; L/ W ratios of antennomeres 1.5, 1.5, 2.0, 2.7, 2.7, 1.5, 1.5, 1.5, 1.5, 1.5, 2.0. Anterior clypeal margin slightly explanate, with protruding anterolateral angles. Labrum reduced, partly hidden under clypeus.
Pronotum small, width 2.7X length, widest at base. Disc of pronotum with fine punctation. Posterior margin of pronotum bisinuate. Anterior angles slightly produced, posterior angles more or less straight. Lateral margins narrowing anteriorly. Angle between pronotum and elytra slightly marked in dorsal outline. Scutellum subtriangular, almost impunctate.
Elytra oval, without distinct ridges, length 1.3X width and 5.0X length of pronotum, broadest in the middle of their length. Humeri clearly evident. Punctation distinct but fine, denser than on pronotum, distance between punctures ca. 1.0 diameter. Epipleura narrowed behind metaventrite, present till apex. Hind wings fully developed.
Prosternal process very narrow, laminar, slightly broadening posteriorly. Mesocoxae separated by a very narrow subparallel process (length ca. 5.0X width), metaventral discrimen present in posterior 2/3. Metaventrite short, ratio of ventrites’ lengths: 1.0: 1.7: 1.7: 1.7: 1.8.
Posterior femora width ca. 5.0X width of metatibia. Posterior tibia armed with long spines, the longer one as long as 0.7 length of tarsomere 1, slightly curved. Smaller spur curved, almost as long as 0.5 length of longer one.
Male genitalia. Aedeagus (L 0.64, W 0.17) symmetrical, penis and tegmen fused, basal part narrow, apical Y-shaped, in the median part narrow obliquely outwardly pointed spines are present; sternite 9 (L 0.15, W 0.12) small, reduced, consisting of hemisternites; tergite 8 (L 0.22, W 0.18) relatively narrow, with short apodemes; tergite 9 (L 0.17, W 0.22) with small apical part and relatively short apodemes.
Variability. TL of paralectotype 1.70.
Female unknown.
Remarks. In the original description Motschulsky stated the species resembles Hydrocyphon ruficollis (Motschulsky), but differs in the morphology of the posterior femora. Indeed, one of the syntypes was Hydrocyphon rufithorax (see the redescription of H. rufithorax).
description: Published as part of Ruta, Rafał, 2009, Revision of Scirtidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) described by Victor Ivanovitsch Motschulsky, pp. 26-50 in Zootaxa 2210 on pages 40-42, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.189843