Cyphochilus tricolor Waterhouse 1867
Creators: name: Sabatinelli, Guido
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Melolonthidae
Cyphochilus
Cyphochilus tricolor

description: Cyphochilus tricolor Waterhouse, 1867
Figs 11, 12, 56-58
Cyphochilus tricolor Waterhouse, 1867: 142.
Cyphochilus vestitus Sharp, 1876: 82. new synonym
C. tricolor type material examined: Lectotype by present designation: BMNH; 1 ♂; SIAM: // C. tricolor, Waterh. Type (H) // Siam (H) // Type (P on white with red border) // Bowring. 63’47* (P on white) //. (Fig. 12).
C. vestitus type material examined: Holotype: MNHN; 1 ♂; // Cyphochilus vestitus / Cambodia Type / D. S. (H on red) // Camb (H) / Mouhot (P) // Ex Musaeo / D. Sharp 1890 (P on white) // Muséum Paris / Coll. R. Oberthur (P on white) // Typus (H on red) //. (Fig. 11).
Additional material examined: 2 specimens.
CAMBODIA: MSNG; 1 ♂; Cambodia.
LAOS: ISNB; 1 ♂; Takek; ex coll. Le Moult.
Description of the lectotype male: Size – BL: 13.5 mm, BW: 5.8 mm, BWX: 7.5 mm, situated at midpoint of elytra. Color – Integument light brown; dorsal surface with scales densely aggregated along sides of pronotum and margins of elytra; scales are white on discus, ochre on head, sides of pronotum and of elytra and yellowish on the margins of elytra. Head – CW/L: 3.2; clypeus largely rounded; (F/O: 5.7); antennal club slightly shorter than antennomeres 2-7 (A2-7/CL: 1.1). Pronotum – (PnW/L: 2); apical angles and lateral margins flattened, apical angles right and protuberant; basal lateral margins straight, basal angles obtuse. Elytra – Without any visible striae. Thoracic sterna – Surface with short, white pubescence and scales; mesosternum feebly developed (MstL: 0.45 mm) however visible between mesocoxae in lateral view. Abdomen – Sternites with uniformly sparse scales; pygidium convex with apical margin narrowly reflected. Legs – Protibia tridentate with basal tooth vestigial; slender apical tooth as long as the middle tooth. Aedeagus – Parameres strongly asymmetric with 5 appendices (Figs 56-58).
Variability: BL: 13-14.5 mm.
Females: Unknown.
Type locality: The type locality given on the labels of the lectotype is “ Siam ”, an old geographical name referable to the territories of Thailand and Cambodia.
Distribution: This species is known from three specimens with generic collection data: Thailand, Cambodia and Laos, the most precise locality being Thakhek in Laos at the border with Thailand (17°24’N 104°48’E).
Remarks: Although it seems that Waterhouse described C. tricolor on a single specimen this is unfortunately not explicitly stated. Therefore, I prefer to designate the only available type specimen as the lectotype. Cyphochilus vestitus Sharp was explicitly described based on a single specimen, which is hence the holotype. The comparison of these types shows that C. vestitus is a junior synonym of C. tricolor. The species can be readily separated from all other congeners by the unique conformation of the strongly asymmetric parameres with five appendices (Figs 56-58).
description: Published as part of Sabatinelli, Guido, 2020, Taxonomic notes on the genus Cyphochilus Waterhouse, 1867 (Coleoptera, Scarabaeoidea, Melolonthinae) with description of 10 new species, pp. 157-181 in Revue suisse de Zoologie 127 (1) on pages 173-174, DOI: 10.35929/RSZ.0014, http://zenodo.org/record/5743429