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

description: Cyphochilus candidus (Olivier, 1789)
Figs 8, 18, 23-25, 80-81
Melolontha candida A.G. Olivier, 1789: Vol. 1, g. 5, p. 15, pl. VIII, fig. 98.
Type material examined: Lectotype, by present designation: MNHN; 1 ♂; INDIA OR: // candidus Ol / India or. (H) // Co-Type (H on red) // Muséum Paris / 1952 / coll. R. Oberthur //. (Figs 8, 80).
Additional material examined: 118 specimens.
NEPAL: MTD; 1 ♂, 2 ♂; Syangia distr., 2-10 km East Sangya, 1200-1600 m; 22-26.VII.1995; No. 112, leg. G. Csorba. – HNHM; 1 ♂; same data as previous. – NHMB; 2 ♂, 1 ♀; Kathmandu valley, Godavari, 1500 m; 19.V.1989; leg. M. Brancucci. – NHMB; 1 ♂, 6 ♀; Bagmati, Umg Kathmandu; 28-30.VI.1989; leg. M. Brancucci.
SIKKIM: NHMB; 1 ♂ 3 ♀; Rangopo, 680 m; 3.VIII.1981, leg. B. Bhakta. ‒ NHMB; 1 ♀; Mirik Top, 1260 m; 14.IX.1980; leg. B. Bhakta. – NHMB; 2 ♀; Tengling-Yoksam, 1200-1700 m; leg. B. Bhakta. – NHMB; 1 ♀; Sakyong, 1140 m; 15.IX.1981; leg. B. Bhakta. – NHMB; 1 ♂; Jadung, 800 m; 7.VII.1895; leg. Ch. J. Rai. – NHMB; 2 ♂; Rangali, 1500 m; 9.VII.1985; leg. Ch. J. Rai. – ISNB; 1 ♂; R. Ley coll. & det. – MTD 2 ♂; sub sylhetinus Brsk [unpublished, unavailable name].
ASSAM: BMNH; 1 ♂; leg. W.F. Badgley 1906-185. – PCMN; 1 ♂; Kaziranga, Pan Bari, Wild life Res. Forest; leg. S. Murzin. – HNHM; 1 ♂; ex coll. Felsche 1918. – MTD; 2 ♂; Kohima, V.M. Duchon. – NMW; 1 ♂; same data as previous. – ZMAN; 1 ♂, Assam. – MTD; 1♂; W. H. Muche, Redeberg, Ankauf. – ISNB; 1♂; ex coll. Ogier de Baulny. – MHNG; 2♂; PCMN; 3♂; Nambor Res. For. Garampani, 100 m; 25-29.XI.1997; leg. V. Siniaev & V. & S. & M. Murzin.
WEST BENGAL: NHMB; 2 ♀; Jalpaiguri distr., Bagra Kote, 250 m; 16-22.XII.1985; leg. B. Bhakta. – MHNG; 6 ♂; Darjeeling, ex coll. Petrovitz. – ISNB; 1 ♂; leg. R.P. Verschraeghen 1908. – NHMB; 1 ♂; Kalimpong, Pedong; leg Bhakta Bahadur 1978. – NHMB; 1 ♂; 700 m, 6.VIII.1981. – NHMB; 1 ♂; Tista, 230 m; 10.VII.1981; leg. B. Bhakta. – MHNG; 1 ♂; Gorubathan, 185 m; 2.VIII.1985; leg. B. Bhakta. – NMPC; 1 ♂; same data as previous. – NHMB; 1 ♂; same data as previous. – NHMB; 5 ♀; Kalimpong, Pankha Banglo; 9.VIII.1978. – NHMB; 1 ♂, 2 ♀; Kalimpong; 5-24.VII.1961; leg. B. Bhakta. – NHMB; 1 ♂, 3 ♀; Kalimpong, 9th mile, 1500 m; 14.VII.1984; leg Ch. J. Rai. – MHNG; 1 ♀; Pedong, 700 m; 6-14.VIIII.1981; leg. B. Bhakta. – NHMB; 1 ♂, 1 ♀; Pankha Sari, 8.VIII.1978; leg. B. Ch. Bhakta. – NHMB; 1 ♂, 4 ♀; Nowri Khola, 2200 m; 12.VIII.1978; leg. B. Bhakta. – NHMB; 1 ♂, 1 ♀; Gurubathan, 350 m; 15-19.V.1986; leg. B. Bhakta. – NHMB; 5 ♂, 3 ♀; Dek; 22.VII.1985; leg. B. Bhakta.
MEGHALAYA: MTD; 2 ♂; Khasi Hills; ex coll. Felshe – MHNG; 1 ♂; Shillong.
MANIPUR: BMNH; 1 ♂; Doherty, ex coll. Boucard – ISNB; 2 ♂; ex coll. J. Muller.
MYANMAR: NMPC; 1 ♂ 1CMARoll. Nonfried.
INDIA (generic): MHNG; 3 ♂; ex coll. J. Thomson. – ISNB; 2 ♂; ex coll. P. de Moffarts. – ISNB; 1 ♂, 3 ♀; ex coll. Madon. – ISNB; 1 ♂; ex coll. J. Muller. – INDES: MHNG; 1 ♀; Bengale, Chassot, VIII.1903.
HIMALAYA (generic): NMPC; 3 ♂, 2 ♀; ex coll. Kallert, Amburg. – MNHN; 1 ♂; ex coll. Nonfried. HINDUSTAN (generic): ISNB; 1 ♂; E. Deyrolle 1869, ex coll. de Borre.
BENGAL: ISNB; 1 ♂; Bengal. – MNHN; 1♂; same data as previous.
Description of the lectotype male: Size – BL: 23 mm, BW: 10 mm, BWX: 12.5 mm, situated in the distal third of elytra. Color – Integument dark brown including antennal clubs and legs; dorsal surface with scales uniformly white cream, more dense along sides of pronotum and margins of elytra. Head – CW/L: 2.9; anterolateral edges of clypeus slightly angulate, lateral edges of clypeus gradually rounded posteriad; frons large, making eyes not prominent (F/O: 6); antennal club slightly longer than antennomeres 2-7 (A2-7/ CL: 0.9). Pronotum – Transverse (PnW/L: 2), strongly convex, slightly concave just behind eyes; apical angles flattened, right, not protuberant; basal lateral margins gently curved, basal angles obtuse and smooth. Elytra – Without any stria visible. Thoracic sterna – With long, yellowish-brown pubescence and scales; mesosternum well developed anteriorly between the mesocoxae (MstL: 2 mm), pointed and curved dorsally (Fig. 18). Abdomen – Sternites with sparse scales except median part of the eight sternite; pygidium convex with apical margin reflected. Legs – Protibia tridentate, smallest tooth at base; slender apical tooth subequal to middle tooth. Aedeagus – Parameres slightly asymmetric both curved dorsally; left paramere with flat spur (Figs 23-25).
Variability: BL: 20.5-26 mm (x = 23.5, n = 66); vestiture of scales may be of any intermediate color between white (Fig. 80) and yellow (Fig. 81).
Females: Antennal club ovoid much shorter than in the males and preceding antennomeres A2-7/CL: 1.4).
Type locality: The type locality is generically “Indes Orientales” or East Indies that referred in colonial time to the lands of South (Indian subcontinent) and Southeast Asia thus making very difficult to define an exact location. Burmeister (1855) indicates as additional information for the species origin Malabar, situated on the West coast of India and outside of the geographical distribution area of the genus Cyphochilus; therefore, this information is not considered valid.
Distribution: The confirmed records for this species show a quite large distribution from Nepal to North Myanmar including Sikkim, Darjeeling, Assam, Meghalaya, West Bengal, and Manipur.
Remarks: The specimen marked as “Co-typus” might be of doubtful authenticity as the specific epithet on the label should be candida and not as given candidus because the original combination was Melolontha candida. However, this is the closest specimen to this species we could find in the Olivier collection (MNHN) and therefore it is designated here as lectotype in order to stabilize the nomenclature. Cyphochilus candidus, C. septentrionalis, C. gandhii, C. satyarthii and C. tenzingyatsoi are very close in the external morphology and they inhabit the same geographical area in the north East of Himalaya. Therefore, they were often confused in the past, as it is evident from the misidentifications in the old collections. They may be considered a group of species with parameres generally only slightly asymmetric and curved dorsally; they remain easily distinguishable from the characters of the parameres and C. candidus left paramere bears a flat spur absent in all other species of this group. In some old collections, there are a few specimens of C. candidus identified as C. sylhetinus Brenske, however, this name has never been published.
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 160-161, DOI: 10.35929/RSZ.0014, http://zenodo.org/record/5743429