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

description: Scirtes grandis Motschulsky, 1863: 483
(Figs. 14, 68–78)
Type material. Holotype (severly damaged), sex unknown: [small square red label]; [small oval yellow label]; “ Type ” [small rectangular label, handwritten]; [red rectangular label]; “ Scyrtes / grandis / Motsch / Ind. or. Ceyl. Mt. N” [rectangular yellow label, handwritten]; deposited in ZMUM. Specimen is severly damaged by pests; only part of right antenna and portions of ventrum including right metafemur are present. Neotype (present designation), male: “Bogawantalawa. / 4,900–5,200 ft. / 28.II-12.III.82.” [printed label]; “ Ceylon. / G. Lewis. /1910-320” [printed label]; “ Scirtes / grandis / Motsch.” [handwritten by Champion]; deposited in NHM.
Additional material studied. Female: “Dikoya. / 3,800–4,200 ft. / 6.XII.81 - 16.I.82.” [printed label]; “ Ceylon. / G. Lewis. /1910-320” [printed label]; “ Scirtes / grandis / Motsch.” [handwritten by Champion]; deposited in NHM.
Diagnosis. The species belongs to the micronesianus -group of Scirtes (see remarks under redescription of S. canescens). It differs from other known members of the group by the lack of lateral tegminal processes, shape of penis, and morphology of female bursal sclerite.
Redescription. Neotype, male. Measurements: TL 4.75, EW 2.90, EL 4.10, PW 1.85, PL 0.75, HW 1.10, HL 0.70, interocular space 0.65, greatest depth of body 1.50.
Body large, oblong oval, somewhat depressed, covered with brown setae. Whole body dark brown, head and scutellum somewhat lighter, mouthparts, ventrum and epipleura yellowish-brown, metafemora with dark apices, antennomeres 1–3 uniformly yellow, remaining antennomeres bicoloured, annulated, base brown, apex yellow. Body length 1.6X width.
Head width 1.6X length, 1.7X width of interocular space, with distinct punctation, eyes large, protuberant. Antennae filiform (only 6 basal antennomeres present in the neotype), antennomere 1 subcylindrical, antennomere 2 subglobular, narrower and shorter than antennomere 1, antennomere 3 as long as antennomere 2, but slightly narrower, antennomeres 4–6 as long as 2 and 3 combined; length ratios of antennomeres 1.5: 1.0: 1.0: 2.0: 2.0: 2.0; L/W ratios of antennomeres 1.8, 1.5, 2.0, 3.4, 3.4, 3.4. Anterior clypeal margin slightly explanate, with subtly protruding anterolateral angles. Labrum small, transverse, partly hidden under clypeus. Mandibles symmetrical, subtriangular, broad in basal part with sharp, tapering apices, without denticles on mesal edges.
Pronotum width 2.5X length, pronotum widest at base. Disc of pronotum with distinct punctation, a bit stronger than on head. Posterior margin of pronotum bisinuate. Anterior angles produced, posterior angles more or less straight. Lateral margins narrowing anteriorly. Angle between pronotum and elytra not marked in dorsal outline. Scutellum subtriangular, with even punctation.
Elytra elongate, with three indistinct ridges, and a subtle adsutural stria, length 1.4X width and 5.5X length of pronotum, broadest in the basal 1/3 of its length. Lateral margins slightly explanate in anterior half. Sides regularly converging to apex in posterior half. Humeri clearly evident. Punctation dense and distinct, slightly denser than on pronotum, distance between punctures ca. 0.5–1.0 diameter, punctures sometimes fused into transverse lines. Epipleura abruptly narrowed beyond metaventrite, present till apex. Hind wings fully developed.
Prosternal process long, very narrow, laminar. Mesocoxae separated by a subparallel process (length ca. 4.0X width), metaventral discrimen present in posterior 2/3, in its posterior half a subtle depression may be noticed. Metaventrite short, ratio of ventrites’ lengths: 1.0: 1.4: 1.2: 1.2: 1.9.
Posterior femora width ca. 4.5X width of metatibia. Posterior tibia armed with long spines having small denticles on inner edges, the longer one is evenly curved, and a bit longer than tarsomere 1. Smaller spur curved, slightly longer than 0.5 length of the longer one.
Male genitalia. Penis (L 1.05, W 0.20) elongate, with long parameroids and short trigonium, basal part somewhat widened basally; tegmen (L 0.95, W 0.25) tubular, without lateral outhgrowths, with blunt and densly punctate apices; sternite 8 (L 0.40, W 0.35) small, v-shaped; sternite 9 (L 0.60, W 0.40) lyriform, consisting of two hemitergites; tergite 8 (L 0.75, W 0.50) moderately broad, with a row of dense setae at apical margin; tergite 9 (L 0.65, W 0.50) with small apical part and relatively long and stout apodemes.
Female. TL 5.20, body uniformly dark brown, sexual dimorphism indistinct. Female genitalia. Ovipositor very long (L 2.90), prehensor (L 0.80, W 0.41) wide, subrectangular, with peculiar microreticulation at apices. Bursal sclerite (L 0.42, W 0.17) relatively short, with widely bifurcate dorsal process and short ventral plate. Remarks. Because of a very poor state of preservation of the holotype, it was necessary to designate a neotype according to the article 75 of the ICZN. The neotype is designated from the series of specimens on which the redescription published by Champion (1918) was based. Motschulsky stated that antennae are “fusco-annulatus” what agrees with those of the damaged holotype, and neotype specimen as well. The length of metafemora of the holotype is almost identical to one of the neotype. Bogawantalawa becomes the type locality of Scirtes grandis Motschulsky (ICZN: 76.3).
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 45-47, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.189843